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Ecosystem Delineation Ecosystem Delineation Workshop BriefingWorkshop Briefing

Challenges in Urban Meteorology: A Forum for Users and Providers

21 Sept 2004

Douglas P. DeMasterNOAA Ecosystem Goal Team Lead

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Purpose of WorkshopPurpose of Workshop

• Discuss the delineation of large ecosystems on the basis of natural science (not political boundaries).

• Discuss how those large ecosystems might be broken down into sub-areas, again, based on natural science criteria.

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NOAA Delineationof Regional Ecosystems

• Workshop was August 31- Sept 1 in Charleston, SC

• Co-chaired by Paul Sandifer (USCOP) and Doug DeMaster (Ecosystem Goal)

• Key Federal Agencies (e.g. EPA, FWS, USGS, FS, NRCS, COE,

Navy, MMS, etc.) • Academics and NGOs, (e.g., Heinz, USCOP, South Atlantic/

Caribbean and Western Pacific FMCs, Atlantic Inter. Comm., TNC, etc.)

• States (SC, MS, MN, AK, HI)

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Marine Side of Marine Side of Regional EcosystemsRegional Ecosystems

Generally, the participants believed that large regional ecosystems -

• Should be based on the Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) Delineations;

• Need to be further delineated into nested ecoregions based on coastal biogeographic characteristics (e.g TNC,NACEC);

• This further delineation should be accomplished by regional stakeholders;

• Need to conduct additional work on Pacific Island LMEs;• Need to reinforce that observation and assessment must

include key marine geographic areas influencing LMEs.

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Example of Regional Ecosystem: Large Marine Ecosystems

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Potential Alternatives Potential Alternatives for Sub-ecoregionsfor Sub-ecoregions

NERRS TNC

NACEC

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Mapped LMEs and EEZMapped LMEs and EEZ

Red line = EEZ

Colored Polygons = LMEs

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Regional Ecosystem Regional Ecosystem ComplexComplex

Pacific Islands and Alaska may be treated as “regional complex” of several Pacific Islands and Alaska may be treated as “regional complex” of several LMEsLMEs

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Alaska’s LMEs and EEZAlaska’s LMEs and EEZ

Dark blue = Beaufort SeaViolet = Chukchi SeaMedium Blue = E. Bering SeaGreen = Gulf of AlaskaRed line = EEZ

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Inland BoundaryInland BoundaryOptions Options

1. Entire Coastal Assessment Framework

2. Estuarine and Coastal Drainage Areas

3. Inland extent of diadromous fish habitat

4. Head of tide/dam

5. The coastal portion of the Coastal Assessment Framework and watersheds containing diadromous fish habitat (Options #2 + #3)

A number of Workshop Participants supported: Option # 2 + #3

Others supported Option #1

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Coastal Assessment Framework(CAF)

438 Estuarine Drainage Areas [EDAs] (150 major, 288 minor)

67 Fluvial Drainage Areas [FDAs]

11 Interior watershed areas*

Area in km2

EDAs 942,792 (12%)FDAs 5,373,130 (69%)Interior 1,463,348 (19%)

* self-contained, groundwater-contributing only, or watersheds draining to outside the U.S.

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Oregon

Washington

Idaho

Montana

Interior Drainage Area

FDA

EDA

State Boundary

Inland Extent of Inland Extent of Diadromous FishDiadromous Fish

Anadromous Fish Range

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Inclusion of Humans Inclusion of Humans as Part of Ecosystemas Part of Ecosystem

Area of the NationPopulation in 2000

Gulf of Mexico 16621632

Great Lakes 18723701

Mid Atlantic 41772090

North Atlantic 5576712

Pacific 32405675

South Atlantic 12175118

Total 127274928

Pacific

Gulf of Mexico

Great Lakes

South Atlantic

North Atlantic

MidAtlantic

Gulf of Mexico13%

Great Lakes15%

Mid Atlantic33%

North Atlantic4%

Pacific25%

South Atlantic10%

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NOAA Delineation and the NOAA Delineation and the Administration’s Response Administration’s Response

to USCOPto USCOP USCOP Findings:• US ocean and coastal resources should be managed to

reflect the relationships among all ecosystem components, including human and nonhuman species and the environments in which they live.

• Applying this principle will require defining relevant geographic management areas based on ecosystem, rather than political, boundaries.

• Because of the connection between land-based activities and ocean conditions, an appropriate geographic boundary for ecosystem-based management of ocean areas would combine large marine ecosystems with the watersheds that drain into them.

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Next Steps

• Submit regional ecosystem delineation recommendation through NEP and NEC by Oct. 1

• Submit NOAA recommendations through collaborative interagency response process to the final USCOP Report – October/November 2004

• Identify potential near term ecosystem pilots/case studies

• Convene Regional stakeholder workshops to further delineate regional ecosystems, identify key ecological, social and economic regional ecosystem indicators and joint efforts to observe and monitor them, & development of regional pilots - April 2005

• Develop in each region, necessary steps and plans to advance ecosystem approaches to managing coastal and marine resources efforts - October 2005 & beyond