Conservation Targets Next Steps North Atlantic LCC Steering Committee Meeting Gardiner, New York December 12, 2012 Ken Elowe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chair, North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative 1

Which species/habitats to conserve? At what levels? Who decides? GOAL-SETTING What do we know about the status of priority wildlife? BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT SCIENCE TRANSLATION How do we make science solutions useful? CONSERVATION ADOPTION How do we get communities and landowners engaged in conservation? INFORMATION MANAGEMENT How will we manage the demand for and creation of data? CONSERVATION DESIGN What should landscapes look like to conserve species at goal levels CONSERVATION DELIVERY How will we most efficiently put conservation on the ground? What new information will we gather to support conservation? PRIORITIES Which species and issues demand immediate attention? Northeast Conservation Framework MONITORING, EVALUATION AND RESEARCH 2

Conservation Targets Next Steps Assemble Conservation Targets Team NYS DEC Biologist TBD Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife – habitat goals, John O’Leary Fish Habitat Partnerships via Rachel Muir EPA, Ecological Flows – Ralph Abele The Nature Conservancy – Eastern Resource Office, Mark Anderson Atlantic Coast Joint Venture Staff LCC Staff UMass Staff 3

Conservation Targets Next Steps Agree on process and timeline Review Guidance and Existing Efforts LCC Conservation Targets White Paper South Atlantic LCC Natural Resources Indicators process NEAFWA Monitoring and Performance Reporting Framework Others Propose Approach to Steering Committee (Jan/Feb. call) Present initial Indicators and Targets for consideration (April meeting) Apply Indicators in Conservation Design 4

Conservation Targets Next Steps Initial Indicators to Consider Species and habitat indicators from NEAFWA Monitoring and Performance Reporting Framework Surrogate (representative) species from USFWS Migratory Birds - Atlantic Coast Joint Venture SGCN of High Regional Responsibility and Concern NEFWDTC, Northeast Regional Synthesis Rare and unique species and habitats Vulnerable species and habitats from RCN/LCC Regional Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments Ecological Flows from EPA and others Habitats (Ecological Systems) from UMass (Ecological Integrity) and TNC/NEAFWA (Geospatial Condition Analysis) Landscape Resiliency (The Nature Conservancy) 5