strategic site selection at the landscape level michael mccollum, mccollum associates and deborah...

Strategic Site Selectionat the

Landscape Level

Michael McCollum, McCollum Associates

andDeborah Mead, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

ServiceConservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011

Session Overview

USFWS Strategy and Available Tools NMFS Strategy and Available Tools Practical Approach Examples Discussion – Other Plans and

Planning Tools

Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011

Strategic Habitat Conservation

SHC is the USFWS framework for landscape conservation; encourages a comprehensive view

Adaptive resource management framework for making management decisions about where and how to deliver conservation efficiently to achieve specific biological outcomes

Encompasses all USFWS programs and addresses both habitat and non-habitat factors limiting species populations


Strategic Habitat Conservation


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BiologicalPlanning

ConservationD

esignAssumption-based

Research

ConservationDelivery

Planning

Implementation

Evaluation

Climate Change – DOI Secretarial Order No.

3289 Issued September 14, 2009, includes

the following:

“A network of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives will engage DOI and federal agencies, states, tribal and local governments and the public to craft practical, landscape-level strategies for managing climate change impacts…”


Landscape Conservation Cooperatives

The Right Science – in the Right Places LCCs are management-science

partnerships that inform integrated resource management actions addressing climate change and other stressors within and across landscapes.

LCCs are geographically based cooperatives in which DOI bureaus will work with other agencies and outside partners to expand the understanding of climate change and how it is interfacing with other forces to alter natural and cultural resources and to facilitate strategic responses.


SHC and LCCs

Conservation Banking Training Course * July 19-23, 2010

Consideration of Climate Change

Considering climate change in conservation planning and management at a landscape scale is crucial for effective site-scale conservation

Need to apply the best available scientific information and tools to address: Spatial and temporal variability Complexity (e.g., multiple stressors) Uncertainty


Climate Change Considerations


Global Climate ChangeImpacts in the US (Karl et al

2009)

Climate Change Considerations


Global Climate Change Impacts

in the US(Karl et al 2009

Example: San Joaquin Kit Fox



Why this approach? 21st Century challenges demand new

capacities to better understand what is happening and likely to happen across large scales

No single agency has the capacity to do this alone; interdependence is more crucial than ever

LCCs will inform resource management decisions to address landscape-scale stressors including habitat fragmentation, genetic isolation, spread of invasive species, water scarcity—all of which are magnified by accelerating climate change

LCC resources and products will be shared


How many LCCs, where, and when?

How many? 21 Boundaries based on combination of

Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs) and watersheds

Where? Proposed for the entire U.S. and parts

of Canada and Mexico When?

Now! 9 in Fiscal Year 2010; others to follow in Fiscal Year 2011+


LCCs Link to Climate Service Centers

LCCs link to USGS Climate Service Centers (CSCs) 8 CSCs to include Alaska, Hawaii and

the Caribbean FY2010 in AK, NW, and the SE FY2011 in SW and North Central regions

CSCs will deliver basic climate change impact science products that LCCs and others can all use, including multi-scale modeling and ecological forecasting. Downscaled climate models and

derivative products Land use change scenarios Watershed modeling Sea-level rise visualization tool +

science to support tool Habitat and occupancy models for fish

and wildlife


LCCs Links to State Wildlife Action Plans

Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) Guidance on Incorporating Climate Change into State Wildlife Action Plans

LCCs offer opportunity for states and partners to develop regional adaptation strategies that can be included in state plans


Strategic Conservation Planning

and Conservation Banking Look at existing plans first:

State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) Green Infrastructure Plans Recovery Plans Special Area Management Plans (SAMPs) Add to this list. . .

Use the LCCs (expertise, science products, etc.)

Then ask, “where and how can conservation banking and other market-based programs contribute to these conservation strategies?”


The Big Picture

A landowner says he wants you to approve a conservation bank on his land. Does it make sense? Will it help achieve your agency’s mission, or detract from it? Where do you start?

First, recognize that a conservation bank is simply a financial tool to conserve privately held habitat that will add value to a larger habitat conservation plan.


With that in mind, take a look at what is happening on the land now, and what is planned in the area for the future.

Before looking at a potential bank property, develop a list of questions to consider when analyzing the viability of a bank. Every property is different, so use these questions as a guideline, not a make or break analysis.Conservation Banking Training Course * May 16-20, 2011

Check the Checklist

Is the proposed parcel big enough to function as habitat on its own, even if nothing further is conserved?

If not, is the property adjacent to existing preserved habitat?

If not, and alternative properties are rare, will it support the target species as part of an archipelago of preserved land?

Are existing and future uses of surrounding land compatible with a bank?


Can the property be adequately managed? Are there opportunities to partner with

other public agencies to assemble a larger parcel?

Does the proposed service area make sense?

Does the bank have, or does it expect to have, habitat that will be needed as mitigation habitat within the likely service area?

This last question is interesting. Who should make decisions such as this? Should the regulator be concerned about the bank’s financial viability, or just the landowner? What other issues are only the landowner’s prerogative, and what are, legitimately, the government’s?


The Nitty-Gritty

Work with the local land use agencies to help determine where you want banks to develop.

The best scenario is working in an area that is part of a regional planning effort. The following slides are an example of formal landscape level planning, but many points can be applied in the context of informal planning.


North San Diego County MSCP



North San Diego County Multiple Species Habitat Plan

Whelan Ranch Conservation Bank

Cities of:OceansideCarlsbadVistaSan MarcosEncinitasSolana BeachEscondido

Whelan Ranch Conservation Bank


Core Areas & Linkages

Carlsbad Highlands Conservation Bank

Carlsbad Oaks Conservation Bank

North County Habitat Bank


Carlsbad Oaks – Carlsbad Highlands


Carlsbad Highlands Conservation Bank


Austin Creek Conservation

Bank

NMFS Coho Salmon and

Central California Coast Steelhead Fish

Bank

Austin Creek State Recreation Area


Example of a Potential Salmon Creek(Before Restoration)


Pools Are Established

(After Restoration)



Usal Creek

Big River

NavarroRiver

GarciaRiver

Russian River

Salmon Creek

Walker Creek

LagunitasCreek

PilarcitosCreek

San Lorenzo River

AlamedaCreek

GuadalupeRiver

PetalumaRiver

SonomaCreek

NapaRiver

Scott Creek

Napa

Oakland

San Jose

Boonville

Santa Cruz

Santa Rosa

Cloverdale

Fort Bragg

Half Moon Bay

0 25

Miles

Eureka

Santa Cruz

Sacramento

Fort Bragg

San FranciscoArea of Detail

City

Major Rivers/Creeks

East Austin Creek Conservation Bank

Primary Service Area

Secondary Service Area

Bank Service

Area


Conservation banks present opportunities to be partners with landowners. The more they realize a profit, the better you can achieve your mission.

strategic site selection at the landscape level michael mccollum, mccollum associates and deborah...

Documents

available tools usfws

usfws framework

management decisions

available tools nmfs

planning tools discussion

usfws programs

based cooperatives

strategic responses