The Green River Basin Landscape Conservation Design Project A collaborative effort of the Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative, the Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Conservation Science Partners, and Northern Arizona University’s Landscape Conservation Initiative SRLCC Steering Committee Meeting November 30 th , 2016 www.csp-inc.org
Green River Basin LCD • One of 3 basins identified by SRLCC Steering Committee • Funded by LCC Network in FY15 • Joint effort with Great Northern LCC • Coordinators and Analysts – Conservation Science Partners – Landscape Conservation Initiative (NAU)
LCD is both a Process and a Product Process engages stakeholders and encourages collaboration – Multi-organizational Oversight Team – Workshop and webinar participants – Collaboratively selected Resources and Change Agents – Wiki website to share information – Databasin to share data and analysis Products are Spatially Explicit – Assessment of current condition and potential future conditions – Maps identifying places to focus conservation – Identify opportunities for coordinated conservation
Timeline Oversight Team (OT) Convened Winter 2014 Conservation Science Partners/NAU contracted Summer 2015 Needs Assessment Fall/Winter 2015 Data assessment and data development Winter 2015-Spring 2016 Workshop 1 Spring 2016 Refine spatial data and analysis, develop opportunity Summer 2016-Spring 2017 maps Ad-hoc technical work groups, review meetings, and Fall 2016-Spring 2017 webinars Workshop 2 Summer 2017 Finalize data products Fall 2017 Project end Winter 2017
Needs Assessment • Objectives were to build relationships, share info, explore relevance of LCD to individual organizations in the GRB, identify opportunities, and build a larger group of contacts • Interviewed 43 individuals representing >30 organizations and offices • Generated referral-based contact list of >140
Key opportunities • Build coordination, relationships, and info sharing • Leverage partnerships to increase funding and on-the-ground conservation • Develop new partnerships • Integrate climate change into planning • Coordinate across states • Address landscape scale stressors across habitats and resources (e.g. upland energy development and native fish habitat) • Provide data products that are determined by ecology rather than boundaries
Referral network reflects interview results
Analytical framework Resource Vulnerable/ resilient Change agents Collaboration Focal sites Actionable Actions Conservation Opportunity Areas
Gap analysis and compilation of existing data
Workshop 1 • April 2016 in Rock Springs, WY • Objectives: – Share background on context and approach for the GRB LCD – Develop shared understanding of project – Share information about existing programs and priorities – Review available data sets: understand why they were chosen, what is under development, and data gaps – Interact with data in order to refine data products – Determine next steps
Workshop 1: Outcomes • Attended by 47 from across the basin • Interactive spatial data: layered PDFs • Identified additional existing spatial data • Guidance on refining spatial analysis going forward • Field trip to Seedskadee NWR: on- the-ground look at public/private issues and collaborative management
Data development and preliminary analysis Resource Vulnerable/ resilient Change agents Collaboration Focal sites Actionable Actions
Analytical framework Resource Vulnerable/ resilient Change agents Collaboration Focal sites Actionable Actions
Process-based approach to freshwater integrity • Mechanistic • Minimal assumptions • Reliable • Consistent coverage throughout GRB study area • Built on peer-reviewed and applied frameworks (Allan 2004; Reeves et al. 2004) • Addresses integrity upland (upslope), lateral (riparian zone), and longitudinal (in-channel)
Efforts to assess freshwater integrity � Studies� Criteria� GRB� Freshwater� Colorado� WY� Basin� WLCI� Aquatic� TU� Conservation� Integrity� Plateau� REA� Multicriteria� Success� Index� REA� Index� Sedimentation,� Hydrologic� Livestock,� Roads,� energy,� Species� distribution,� Pathways� of� contaminant� pollution,� alteration,� development,� mines,� urbanization� population,� and� influence� hydrologic� alteration,� water� quality,� climate� habitat� components� � thermal� alteration,� roads� change,� of� integrity� riparian� clearing� invasives� Oil� and� gas,� climate� Urbanization� Invasives,� Energy,� invasives,� Land� conversion,� Future� change� change� climate� change� minerals,� climate� resource� extraction,� agents� � change,� urban� energy� development,� � � climate� change,� � introduced� species� � � No� No� No� No,� covers� species- Complete� specific� geographies� coverage� for� GRB� � � � � No� Ecological� generality� �
Process mechanism measurement Hydrological� Mechanism� of� ecological� Variable � process � influence� (Allan� 2004) � Upland � Sedimentation� due� to� human� Slope-weighted� human� modification� modification � � Nutrient� enrichment � Nitrogen� and� phosphorus� � Contaminant� Pollution � Biological� impairment� � Oil� &� gas� exposure � Vulnerability� to� potential� breaches� by� wells� and� holding� ponds� Lateral � Riparian� clearing/canopy� Human� modification� opening � Longitudinal � Hydrologic� alteration � Flow� Modification� Index� � � Accumulated� road-stream� crossings� density� � � Timing� of� snowmelt� discharge*� � Thermal� alteration � Stream� temperature� warming*� *Climate-related change agent
Upland Sedimentation Erosion/sedimentation potential linked to human modification and topography Cumulative average slope-weighted human modification, overland to river (but not instream) Sources: Human modification (Theobald 2013; Theobald et al. in prep )
Upland Contaminant pollution Streams listed under 303(d) of the Clean Water Act as “chemically, biologically, or physically impaired” Proportion of stream length classified as impaired Sources: 303(d) listing (USEPA)
Lateral Floodplain modification (detailed map) Localized floodplain modification by human activities Sum of modified area within floodplain / Area of floodplain, within a HUC12 Sources: Human modification (Theobald et al. in prep); High resolution floodplains (TerrainWorks)
Lateral Riparian vegetation Classified ~1 m aerial photography as riparian vegetation Uses NDVI classification techniques Sources: NAIP 2014-2015
Longitudinal Projected change in timing of discharge Projected shift in timing of flows, such as earlier snowmelt due to climate change Change in the timing of center of mass of flow (days) from historic to future (2040; A1B scenario, GCM ensemble model) Sources: Western US Streamflow Metrics (USFS RMRS)
Webinar series • Purpose: provide updates, build interest and understanding of spatial data products, receive feedback in order to further refine products, demonstrate what we’ve learned from stakeholders • Freshwater integrity (October) • Riparian vegetation (December) • Sage steppe resilience, change agents, focal areas (TBD) • High interest level – >70 registered for riparian vegetation – 40 attended (55 registered) freshwater integrity
Products and outcomes • New cross boundary spatial data products for use in planning by individual organizations and across groups via collaboration and cooperation • Maps of conservation opportunity areas (COAs) • Opportunities for adaptation strategies given uncertainty of climate and ecological data, as well as social dynamics • Relationship building • Groundwork for future work together to address landscape-scale challenges and opportunities in the Basin
An iterative process Features: • Many forms of engagement • People move in and out as they have time and resources to engage Workshop • The “right people” are #1 those who are here… and we are always doing more outreach • We are laying the Workshop foundation for many #2 years of future work
Informing strategic efforts to expand and connect protected areas using a model of ecological flow with application to the western United States Dickson et al. 2016 Cons. Lett.
Example of connectivity atlas Great Northern Connectivity Atlas
More information https://sites.google.com/site/grblcdwiki/
Thank you! Any questions? More info at: https://sites.google.com/site/grblcdwiki www.csp-inc.org
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