Planning open spaces for wildlife: I. Selecting focal species using a Delphi survey approach

Abstract

In a world being transformed by human population growth, conservation biology has emerged as one discipline focused on preventing, mitigating, and reversing the loss of species, ecosystems, and landscapes. Because of the need to act quickly with incomplete information, conservation biologists have developed shortcuts that rely on identifying key species to be focused on during planning efforts. We describe a process that can be used to select those species, using a suburbanizing region in the United States as an example. The Triangle region of North Carolina, USA—Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill and surroundings—is undergoing rapid suburbanization, resulting in land-use changes that will alter wildlife communities and might result in the loss of some species. We are developing a wildlife conservation plan for the region based on a combination of landscape and focal species approaches. The objective of the research described in this paper was to identify focal species to be used for conservation planning in the region; our effort focused on amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles. In theory, habitat conserved by planning for a few carefully chosen focal species is expected to encompass habitat for many other species with similar requirements. To identify focal species, we used a three-part Delphi survey, administered to a panel of experts. The panel identified six landscape types and nine associated focal species: extensive undisturbed habitat (bobcat, eastern box turtle); riparian and bottomland forest (barred owl, beaver); upland forest (ovenbird, broad-winged hawk); mature forest (pileated woodpecker); pastures and grassy fields (loggerhead shrike); and open and early successional forest (northern bobwhite). The panelists generally agreed that a combined landscape—focal species approach was reasonable, but noted a number of problems to be expected during the planning phase. The most critical of these problems are that the approach has not been well tested, required data are often unavailable, and implementation will be difficult in the face of extreme economic pressures to develop land. Administering the Delphi survey was more labor-intensive, and took longer, than we anticipated; it might have been more effective had it been completed more quickly. Nevertheless, we believe this process can be applied to a broad range of conservation problems, which are often characterized by a high degree of uncertainty and the need to act quickly.