Planning For and With Ecosystem Services

January 24, 2012

Tacoma Narrows Bridge, 1940 (http://ta.twi.tudelft.nl/nw/users/vuik/information/fig06.gif)

Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge as caught on film by Barney Elliott.8-minute DVD on the construction and collapse of the 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge by The Camera Shop in Tacoma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TacomaNarrowsBridgeCollapse_in_color.jpg)

Good planning and design fits the constraints of the site while satisfying

the needs of the users

Isle Royale National Park, MI

1. The anticipated amount of activity that can be accomplished within the organisms lifetime;

2. The population density of the organism;3. The spatial distribution of the organism;4. The duration that an organism has occupied a region;5. The type, formation, and permanency of construction, artifacts, and

impacts and their durability in the absence of the engineer;6. The number and type of resources that are directly and indirectly

controlled by the engineering activity.

6 Characteristics of Ecological Engineers

Characteristics of Static Systems1. Easy to evaluate and determine risk; 2. Easy to control;3. Easy to construct;4. Easy to locate;5. Easy to navigate6. Easy to understand;7. Degree of permanence;8. Predictable;9. Convenient;10. Replaceable;11. Intended to be somewhat immutable; 12. Manageable;

There is no plan or design so magnificent or so permanent that it cannot be undone by nature in time

Inventories and Assessments• Natural Resources Inventory (NRI)• Ecological Assessment (EA)• Ecosystem Modeling• Habitat Evaluation• Habitat Suitability Index

1. Data intensive2. Mapping intensive3. Field work intensive

• Document major species or habitats• Map habitat differences on the landscape• Identify composition of habitats• Evaluate relative rarity• Estimate relative health

1. Set tangible ecosystem service goals2. Let nature do the work 3. Do more yourself by planning for self sufficient opportunities4. Avoid homogenous landscapes5. Plan for succession and change6. Plan for dynamic system development areas within the fabric of the static

core7. Allow dynamic systems the room to move and function as intended