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Northwest Habitat/ Biodiversity Metrics:
Oak Floodplain Sagebrush/Sage Grouse Defenders of Wildlife
Sagebrush/ Sage Grouse
Metrics
Oak Floodplain Defenders of Wildlife
How habitats were selected
• Conservation priorities • Potential for regulation (sage grouse) • Priority for incentive programs
Defenders of Wildlife
Process for building metrics
• Adamus Resource Assessment • Willamette Partnership facilitation • Expert advisors met 3 times • Field testing at 5+ sites • Extensive checking of calculators • Development of user’s guides
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Practicality Speed Cost Level of involvement Capture everything Precision Defenders of Wildlife
Our Partners
Defenders of Wildlife
American Bird Conservancy Oak Oregon Institute for Natural Resources The Nature Conservancy Kenagy Farm Willamette University Heritage Seedlings Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District U.S. Forest Service Columbia Land Trust U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Natural Resource Conservation Service Wildwood, Mahonia Zena Timber McKenzie Land Trust Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Greenbelt Land Trust Polk County Conservationist Lost Lagoon Farm Oregon State University Yamhill Co. District Conservationist Willamette Partnership Defenders of Wildlife
Floodplain American Bird Conservancy City of Yakima Washington The Nature Conservancy U.S. Forest Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Wildwood, Mahonia Environmental Protection Agency Department of Environmental Quality Freshwater Trust Greenbelt Land Trust McKenzie Land Trust Columbia Land Trust Oregon State University Willamette University University of Oregon Oregon Institute for Natural Resources Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District Natural Resource Conservation Service U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Zena Timber Lost Lagoon Farm Kenagy Farm Willamette Partnership Defenders of Wildlife
Ecotrust Sagebrush/sage grouse Natural Resources Conservation Service The Nature Conservancy U.S.D.A. Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center Oregon State University Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Harney County Watershed Council Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Bureau of Land Management Western Governors Association, Columbia Plateau Project Environmental Defense Fund U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ecosystem Management Research Institute U.S. Geological Survey Oregon State University Extension Service Willamette Partnership Defenders of Wildlife
How the metrics can be used
• Rapid assessments • Ecological baseline • Impact of development • Ecological improvement • Measure outcomes • Mitigation programs
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What the metrics measure
•
Measuring Up categories
– Context – Vegetation – Species – Abiotic – Practices – Risk
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•
Context
Priority conservation area
•
Connectivity
•
Compatible neighbors Defenders of Wildlife
Vegetation
•
Amount of natural land cover
•
Forest canopy
•
Composition
•
Invasive species Defenders of Wildlife
Special status animal & plant species
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Abiotic
•
Proximity to water
•
Area of site flooded Defenders of Wildlife
Practices
•
Feasibility of burning
•
Adaptive management Defenders of Wildlife
•
Risk
Proximity to roads
•
Influence of water diversions
•
Structures and development Defenders of Wildlife
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Sagebrush/Sage Grouse Habitat Metric
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Sagebrush metric: In the office
• Consult with landowner • Research project site • Aerial image, map retrieval • Designation of project site boundaries
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Sagebrush metric: At the project site
• Gather transect
data
• Revise answers
as necessary Defenders of Wildlife
Sagebrush metric: Back at the office
Transfer field data to calculator Defenders of Wildlife
Calculator
• Excel workbook: – Cover page – Data entry – Species information – Field forms
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Sagebrush metric: Final scores
• Scores automatically calculated • Error checks • Score = % optimum habitat quality
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Sagebrush metric: Final scores
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Sagebrush final score vs.
sage grouse final score
• Sage grouse indicator (leks) not in
sagebrush score
• Sensitive species not in sage grouse score
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What the metrics do not do
• Provide detailed site-level
biological inventories
• Support landscape-scale
conservation planning decisions Defenders of Wildlife
Lessons learned
• Collaborative, adaptive
management
• Integrated team
approach to calculator development
• Extensive review • More field testing • More time to develop • Economies of scale
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What’s next?
• Consistent national
framework?
• Organized by plant
communities?
• Habitats, species,
or both?
• Which habitats,
species, why, and how many? Defenders of Wildlife
Benefits of a metrics framework
Cost effective Uniformity Easy to use Consistent format, but flexible for different habitats/species Defenders of Wildlife
Challenges remain
• Who develops, manages suite of metrics? • How to connect to broader scale priorities? • How to apply across jurisdictions and
ownerships?
• Flexibility for specific ecosystems, program
needs?
• Initial and long term funding?
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Building a consistent framework
• Partnership agreement • Reach agreement on overall structure for
habitat types
• Assemble a team – public/private
partnership
• Secure funding from multiple sources • Identify a management structure –
outside government? Defenders of Wildlife
Marketplace for Nature:
New portal in the Conservation Registry
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Conservation Registry: 7 state portals, 12 partner portals, 100,000 projects
www.conservationregistry.org
Conservation Registry: Home of the National Conservation Easement Database
nced.conservationregistry.org
Conservation Registry:
Showing projects relative to priorities
nced.conservationregistry.org
Marketplace for Nature portal
marketplace.conservationregistry.o
rg
Habitat metrics: user’s guides & calculators
New data fields for marketplace projects
Search terms: Biodiversity, Wetlands, Pollinators, Carbon
Project detail pages:
targeted ecosystem services, credit summary
Questions?
Defenders of Wildlife
Sara Vickerman Defenders of Wildlife 503-697-3222 [email protected]
www.conservationregsitry.org
Defenders of Wildlife
Questions?
Defenders of Wildlife
Sara Vickerman Defenders of Wildlife 503-697-3222 [email protected]
www.conservationregsitry.org
Defenders of Wildlife