Systematic reserve design as a dynamic process: F-TRAC and the Florida Forever program

Abstract

Systematic conservation planning has become an important tool for increasing the efficiency of conservation decisions, but many planning efforts result in static plans that may lose relevance over time. We developed a process whereby planning is integrated into the decision-making process and updated every six months in response to conservation actions. The Florida Forever program is a 10-year, $3 billion land acquisition program expected to acquire approximately 1.25 million acres (607,000 ha) for conservation in Florida through the year 2010. With limited funding and duration, the program needs to be able to efficiently protect the most natural resources for a fixed cost, a situation well suited to a systematic reserve design approach. To inform this program, we conducted an assessment of natural resource conservation needs and developed the Florida Forever Tool for Efficient Resource Acquisition and Conservation (F-TRAC), a systematic reserve design analysis based on a simulated annealing site selection algorithm using Marxan software. The analysis considered conservation needs for a variety of natural resources including species, natural communities, high quality watersheds, wetlands, and sustainable forestry. Each 6-month analysis identifies an efficient portfolio of sites for resource protection, given the amount of land area likely remaining to be acquired by the Florida Forever program. The Spring 2004 model portfolio had a cost threshold of 206,308 ha, met conservation targets for 18 of 32 resource conservation features, and identified approximately 116,000 ha outside of current land acquisition projects. This study also demonstrates the use of reserve design results to evaluate existing and proposed land acquisition projects and inform decision makers; and the evaluation of acquisition trends and program success based on potential achievements as indicated by reserve design analyses.