Planning For and With Ecosystem Services January 24, 2012

Tacoma Narrows Bridge, 1940 (http://ta. twi. tudelft

Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge as caught on film by Barney Elliott. 8-minute DVD on the construction and collapse of the 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge by The Camera Shop in Tacoma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TacomaNarrowsBridgeCollapse_in_color.jpg)

Good planning and design fits the constraints of the site while satisfying the needs of the users

Isle Royale National Park, MI

6 Characteristics of Ecological Engineers The anticipated amount of activity that can be accomplished within the organisms lifetime; The population density of the organism; The spatial distribution of the organism; The duration that an organism has occupied a region; The type, formation, and permanency of construction, artifacts, and impacts and their durability in the absence of the engineer; The number and type of resources that are directly and indirectly controlled by the engineering activity.

Characteristics of Static Systems Easy to evaluate and determine risk; Easy to control; Easy to construct; Easy to locate; Easy to navigate Easy to understand; Degree of permanence; Predictable; Convenient; Replaceable; Intended to be somewhat immutable; Manageable;

There is no plan or design so magnificent or so permanent that it cannot be undone by nature in time

Inventories and Assessments Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) Ecological Assessment (EA) Ecosystem Modeling Habitat Evaluation Habitat Suitability Index Data intensive Mapping intensive Field work intensive Document major species or habitats Map habitat differences on the landscape Identify composition of habitats Evaluate relative rarity Estimate relative health

Set tangible ecosystem service goals Let nature do the work Do more yourself by planning for self sufficient opportunities Avoid homogenous landscapes Plan for succession and change Plan for dynamic system development areas within the fabric of the static core Allow dynamic systems the room to move and function as intended