The Fundamentals of Conservation Design Image by Rex Johnson

Conservation Design –  Describing desired future conditions at landscape scales  Developing tools that facilitate the efficient attainment of those future conditions Conservation design is one element of an adaptive approach to science-based habitat conservation, that is, Planning; Implementing; Evaluating planning assumptions and management outcomes; Planning anew with better information

FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS What is our goal or objective? What management tools should we use? What resources are available ? What criteria will we use to evaluate our strategy?

Image by Rex Johnson Step 1. Define Conservation Goals Option 1 – Establish measurable population objectives for priority species* (an explicit population approach) *From National or State Plans and Initiatives Option 2 – Describe historic abundance and distribution of habitat once capable of sustaining populations at satisfactory levels (an implicit population approach) Each approach is founded on a set of assumptions about how populations respond to habitat and landscape conditions.

Population objectives are arbitrary, that is, they are a value-based statement of how many individuals, or discrete populations, of a species we want. However, population objectives must be: Linked among spatial scales Measurable with existing or anticipated surveys Informative to the question of how much habitat is needed Performance metrics that are appropriate to the spatial scale (numbers at continental scales versus vital rates at local scales) Communicable Option 1- Measurable Population Objectives Step 1. Define Conservation Goals

By-passing explicit population objectives by starting with a description of an historic landscape configuration presumes that population-habitat relationships and limiting factors are the same today as they were historically Option 2 – Describe Historic Conditions Step 1. Define Conservation Goals

Image by Rex Johnson Step 2: Develop the tools to effectively and efficiently attain conservation goals 1.Select focal species;

Focal species may represent the habitat needs of a broader array of species, or have high socio-economic or legal stature. The suite of focal species should represent the relevant range of habitat and landscape types and disturbance/management.

Image by Rex Johnson Step 2: Develop the tools to effectively and efficiently attain conservation goals 2.Identify the factors most limiting populations of focal species; 3.Systematically apply good scientific information; 4.Identify the actions and sites that will most efficiently affect the limiting factors (a decision support tool); 1.Select focal species;

Pheasants- Wetlands Migrant Shorebirds Black Terns Examples of Species*Treatment Decision Support Tools (DSTs)

Priority Landscapes for Grassland Conservation Grasslands for Ducks + Migrant Shorebirds (grass) + Marbled Godwits + Grassland nongame birds (GBCAs) + Grasslands for Pheasants Priority Landscapes for Grassland Conservation An integrated landscape assessment created by combining species DSTs for a particular habitat type or treatment

 What programs do we direct or can we influence? Unique program goals and priorities Allowable program practices, e.g., CRP is mainly a grassland restoration program Funding  What are the programmatic gaps? Species or other environmental functions Authorized management practices Funding  Can partnerships help address these gaps? Step 3: What resources are available ?

Conservation Design is most valuable when linked with Conservation Delivery and Evaluation in an iterative, adaptive cycle Conservation Design Conservation Delivery Evaluation Step 4: What criteria will we use to evaluate our strategy?

Evaluation - 3 Necessary Inferences: Effects of a particular action on habitat and the species’ response Program and agency accomplishments Net progress toward population objectives Monitor a subset of management sites Did the action result in the expected habitat response? Enables us to tweak our management tactics Did species respond as predicted? Enables us to refine our models Monitor populations at appropriate scales Did we achieve our stated objectives? Enables us to measure performance and adjust our goals and strategies

A credible process for conservation design must: be a systematic application of existing biological knowledge; be explicit about uncertainties and potential errors so as to guide evaluation and research activities; be transparent and communicable; and yield information that is useful for managers delivering conservation plans and practical for landowners to apply.

The continuing challenge will be to maximize aggregate benefits to the full range priority species and environmental functions by coordinating partner actions and integrating programs without sacrificing individual program efficiency. In other words, we’re still learning how to do strategic, partnership-based conservation

The End Image by Rex Johnson