Stone Soup Conservation Responding to Landscape Challenges In the Plains and Prairie Potholes LCC Rick Nelson, Coordinator Plains and Prairie Potholes LCC Bismarck, ND

Presentation Outline Background – Why Why I’m in the business Why LCC’s Why the PPP-LCC Foundational Pieces How are we different than other conservation partnerships? Where we’ve been and where we’re going Integration of decision analysis Projects of interest Questions

Conservation is a Core Value

Some see things as they are and say why?

I see things as they could be and say why not?

Why Are “We” Doing This? The future in the modern imagination has always stretched out ahead like a broad highway drawing us onward with the promise of tomorrow. Now rather suddenly, as it becomes impossible to ignore dramatic physical changes taking place across the Earth, the future looms like an urgent question. Whatever the coming century brings, it will not unfold smoothly as some improved but largely familiar versions of life as we know it. This is the only thing that seems certain. Dianne Dumanoski, The End of the Long Summer I promised a bit of background related to why we’re doing this. Why do we need a new approach. How many of you are starting to feel just a bit overwhelmed by the number of stressors that are impacting those natural resources that are near and dear to us – I certainly know that I’m sensing that “the times they are a changing!”…

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives: Geographic Areas If a map is worth 1000 words (and I think many of them are) here are 1,000 words that describe where the LCC’s are located. Boundaries are designed to be porous – If this approach to conservation is going to work (and I know it will) this has to be an integrated, national, network of conservation efforts. Mention that the Dakota Chapter’s LCC is most definitly the PPP-LCC

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives A Functional Conservation Network Vision: “Landscapes capable of sustaining natural and cultural resources for current and future generations."

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives A Functional Conservation Network Mission A network of cooperatives depends on LCCs to: Develop and provide integrated science-based information about the implications of climate change and other stressors for the sustainability of natural and cultural resources; Develop shared, landscape-level, conservation objectives and inform conservation strategies that are based on a shared scientific understanding about the landscape, including the implications of current and future environmental stressors; Facilitate the exchange of applied science in the implementation of conservation strategies and products developed by the Cooperative or their partners; Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of LCC conservation strategies in meeting shared objectives; Develop appropriate linkages that connect LCCs to ensure an effective network.

“Our” Challenges Land use changes/Habitat fragmentation Genetic isolation Invasive Species Water Scarcity Energy Development Climate change – direct and compounding effects Economics – Budgets These challenges will be compounded by continued growth, and growing affluence in human populations and the associated demands on land and water resources. Our vision and our determination must be equal to these challenges. Temperature Change,° C 1958-2008

Institutional Change is hard - But landscape level changes are happening all around us…are we aware, are we doing anything about it, is the agency “nimble” enough to respond to these types of threats to our misson? Change is also coming to sleepy little ND. This is 6,000 wells on our way to 50,000….

Foundational Framework Landscape Scale Conservation The LCC Network and Landscape Scale Conservation

Why is Landscape Scale Conservation and an Adaptive Approach Important? Political boundaries - We’re facing challenges that are immense in scale and cross political boundaries. Agency/Organizational silos - Cross-organizational coordination is critical to assuring the most efficient use of limited resources to address issues that cross agency missions. Nonstationarity - Adaptive management approaches provide the best chance to address large-scale issues effectively in an unpredictable future.

Strategic Habitat Conservation: This slide is to make sure everyone is on the same page with understanding SHC, particularly the priority species boxes. Over the course of the day we will discuss how surrogate species fits into this part with another graphic. This SHC approach has been referred to as our business model…I think that turns some people off – they don’t think of conservation of fish and wildlife as a business…and businesses are those entities that pollute and destroy the environment….well, they also do a lot of critical thinking about how to solve problems and believe it or not - - - we can learn from business. Many of our folks think that nothing changes when it comes to conservation – in fact where I live and work, North Dakota, people thought that nothing would EVER change….Custer joke??? While this may look like a complicated way to embrace and implement the Service’s Mission – it’s proven, it’s accountable, it will help our agency be contemporary in our approach to conservation and, if we do this right, we should be able to continue to prove how our mission is relevant to the American people.

How to flourish in an era of rapid change? Build a Strategy Network* vision, opportunity, agility, inspired action, community Convene many change agents from within the ranks. Draw attention to front-line concerns. View the future from multiple angles. Focus passion and intelligence on the biggest opportunities. Think creatively to solve wicked problems. Eliminate collaborative barriers between organizations. Promote a useful flow of information and activity. *Accelerate! J.P. Kotter. Reprint R1211B. Harvard Business Review, Nov 2012. Just a reminder that the LCC’s have several fundamental characteristics that describe their roles. 15

The LCC Niche Geographic scale Work across taxa Forward looking Decision focused Adaptable Integrate human dimensions components (economics, social science, etc…) Here it is in a nutshell – the LCC niche’. I don’t think you can underestimate that last facet enough. In the FWS, up to now, we’ve had extremely limited ability to examine the human dimension aspects of conservation – social science, economics have up to now been considered taboo…this is changing. Remember Archemedies Boast – “Give me a place to stand and I shall move the earth”…Well the leadership at the FWS and Interior is providing this “place to stand” and a lever to use as a tool….now it’s up to us to “move the earth”.

The LCC Network LCCnetwork.org If a map is worth 1000 words (and I think many of them are) here are 1,000 words that describe where the LCC’s are located. Boundaries are designed to be porous – If this approach to conservation is going to work (and I know it will) this has to be an integrated, national, network of conservation efforts. Mention that the Dakota Chapter’s LCC is most definitly the PPP-LCC LCCnetwork.org

Plains and Prairie Potholes LCC Where we’ve been and where we’re headed

PPP LCC Science Needs 25 uncertainties identified in first DA workshop Reduced these to 7 (in order of importance): Species responses to stressors Energy development Decision makers Land use under policy scenarios Emerging threats Invasive species Hydrology

First 5 years of the PPP-LCC Accomplishments Funded 40+ research projects Decision Analysis and SDM Workshops – focus science needs. Hosted Connections Workshop Working with NCCSC on integration Collaborating on numerous multi-lcc efforts to knit the network together So… I’ve covered a bit of the philosophy about “why” we need a new approach to addressing landscape scale stressors across the conservation community – what has the LCC accomplished in it’s first year and a half. (READ LIST?)

Projects of importance to the PPP LCC Partners include… Effects of oil and gas development on grassland birds Pattern tile drainage & wetland consolidation Native Prairie Adaptive Management Bats, Birds & Wind Sagebrush habitat – grazing impacts. Grassland Conversion Risk Analysis Assist with updated SWAP’s Grassland bird conservation on working landscapes: spatial analysis linking populations to habitats Invasive species connections to energy development Fish Passage in response to climate change Aquatic Habitat models – NFHAP

Connections II Workshop Goal: “Connect” the why and what of specific research with how managers can use the research products – from science production to application. Expected Outcome: Participants will know how to use recent results of PPP LCC science in conservation plans and actions.

Connections II Workshop Bob Gresswell, Bob Bramblett, Kathy Chase: Predicting effects of climate change on native fishes in northern Great Plains streams Matt Blank: Maintaining Migratory pathways of imperiled large river and small stream prairie fishes in the face of climate change and energy development Ben Rashford: Targeting grassland conservation: An estimate of land-use conversion risk in the northern Great Plains Vicky Dreitz: Assessing Land Use Practices on the Ecological Characteristics of Sagebrush Ecosystems: Multiple Migratory Bird Responses Todd Preston: Presence and Abundance of Non-Native Plant Species Near Oil Well Pads in Native Prairie Landscapes

Connections II Workshop Doug Johnson, Sarah Thompson: Effects of Oil and Gas Development on Grassland Birds in North Dakota Max Post Van der Burg: Developing a Foundation for Strategic Management and Mitigation of Energy Development in the Northern Great Plains Megan Cross. Megan shared with the group an update on her human dimensions work at the University of Minnesota. Megan is focusing on three counties in MN, ND, IA and the decisions that landowners make related to entering (or not entering) into a conservation reserve program contract. Larry Gigilotti and Lily Sweikert: Human Dimensions of Habitat Loss in the Plains and Prairie Potholes LCC

How can we work together across the continent? Multi-LCC projects How can we work together across the continent? How can we use decision-making tools for strategic adaptation to land use and climate impacts? How can we combine efforts across the Mississippi River Basin to connect conservation areas? Least tern meta-population monitoring design Pintails – linking regional management to continental scale. Using LCMap host CHAT Sage-Steppe Partner Forum Cross LCC project reviews

Focus for 2014 and Beyond 1. Information related to land use, land use policy and factors influencing land use and land conversion, including potential impacts to aquatic systems. Improve our estimate of rates of change – linking high resolution images to large landscape questions to assist in conservation planning. This could include work on synthesizing what is known about land use changes (habitat loss). Improve our estimates of risk related to landscape scale change Improve our understanding of interrelationship between land-use change and decisions made by landowners related to these changes Information related to landowner decision making that will help the partnership improve and/or incentivize conservation. PPP LCC Strategic Plan - 2015

Why?

The conservation community has achieved great things through the efforts of many agencies and organizations. And, conservation success will be measured as our willingness to be innovative, try new approaches, make modifications as needed, embrace change, shift from reactive to proactive conservation, and use any and all possible methods to ensure success. But, the 21st Century issues we face place us in “a whole other world” and our traditional and highly successful place based strategies may not be well suited to meeting landscape scale, 21st Century challenges. Therefore, “we” are building the LCC Network to successfully navigate an unknown and uncertain future.

≠ Relevant and “Relateable” Conservation in an era of rapid and disruptive change . Our conservation passion ≠ Public understanding or support ≠ Will the public understand and support what we’re all striving for – and will they take action on behalf of natural resource conservation….well, this may be our best shot at tipping that scale in our favor. What a different world we would live in IF – WHEN! The goals/values of the people that work in conservation match the goals/values of the American Public.

LCCnetwork.org PlainsandPrairiePotholesLCC.org Feedback and Questions LCCnetwork.org PlainsandPrairiePotholesLCC.org