Landscape Conservation Cooperative Research Articles

Landowner Satisfaction with Conservation Programs in the Southern United States

Landowner satisfaction with conservation programs affects their participation decisions and subsequently effectiveness of these programs in improving environmental quality. This study determined the influence of landownership goals, environmental concerns, frequency of contacts with federal agencies, and socioeconomic factors on landowner satisfaction with available conservation programs in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and East Gulf Coastal Plain sub-geographies of the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative. A generalized ordered logit model for each conservation program was constructed to analyze factors influencing landowner satisfaction levels with these programs. Of the 14 federal conservation programs assessed, the top programs, based on a satisfaction level, included Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). The size of agricultural land owned, landownership goals including profit-making and personal recreation, concerns about wildlife habitat losses, and frequent contacts with federal agencies were positively related to landowner satisfaction levels. Better strategies addressing landowner’s environmental concerns, communicating technical knowledge, clarifying contract terms, and supporting financial resource leveraging will help reach the enrolled and non-enrolled landowners to increase their participation in conservation efforts.

Defining Cultural Resources: A Case Study from the Mid-Atlantic United States

Integrating cultural and natural resources for large landscape conservation remains an applied challenge for landscape planners and resource managers across North America. When resources are considered at a regional scale, developing shared priorities, definitions, and metrics is an essential but complex process for successful conservation partnerships. Strategies exist for designing regional conservation models for natural resources, but methods for cultural resource conservation planning often remain focused on individual sites and buildings. Here, we build on our previous work with the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives to advance frameworks and spatial models for regionally integrated natural and cultural resource conservation design and planning. Specifically, we present the results of our survey of cultural resource specialists in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States to better understand how cultural resources are defined, classified, and valued by this group. Methods from applied cognitive anthropology are useful for uncovering cultural consensus and more marginalized perspectives around resource management priorities, offering a clear pathway for integrating cultural and natural resource conservation. We conclude by restating a call for a National GAP-like research program for cultural resources that integrates diverse cultural practices, perspectives, histories, and values of communities for designing future conservation priorities.

Build back a better National Landscape Conservation Framework

The US Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) Network served as a national conservation framework from 2010–2017. The LCC program created 22 regional self-directed partnerships covering the entire country, each one designed to understand the threats and develop collaborative strategies to conserve natural and cultural resources important to the partners operating within their geographic scope. The establishment of the LCC program was not without some controversy, but a 2015 congressionally mandated independent review of its scientific merits reached a positive conclusion. Neverthless, funding for LCCs was ended in 2017 and most were disbanded. This paper explains the need to increase US federal support for landscape-scale, collaborative conservation, and build back a better, more durable network to meet this century’s conservation challenges.

Increasing provision of ecosystem services through participation in a conservation program

Grasslands provide a variety of goods and services that benefit humans, but only a few have a market value. Despite the benefits provided, native grasslands continue to be degraded. Lack of a proper valuation, including a monetary value of grassland nonmarket goods and services, has become one of the factors contributing to the degradation trend. The objective of this research was to quantify the cost of increasing the provision of ecosystem services from grassland ecosystems in the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks (GCPO) Landscape Conservation Cooperative geographic area of the U.S. A contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to estimate landowner willingness to accept (WTA) monetary compensation in exchange for implementing management practices preserving grassland ecosystems. The mean WTA compensation was $290.10 per acre per year for a 10-year contract. Required compensation increased with landowner income, frequency of contacts with state wildlife agencies, and percentage change in grassland area. Landowner age and proximity to the nearest local park were negatively associated with WTA. The total cost of preserving ecosystem services, estimated based on WTA, was US$3 billion per year and 57 times larger than the 2016 Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) allocation for this purpose in the amount US$50 million. However, the preservation cost varied from US$1.7 million to 1.1 billion depending upon the number of ecological attributes to be preserved and corresponding levels of ecosystem services. Results will be helpful in quantifying future funding levels necessary for implementation of coordinated conservation activities in grasslands and other ecosystems, prioritizing ecosystem services for restoration, and developing conservation programs in the U.S. and other countries.

Landowner concerns related to availability of ecosystem services and environmental issues in the southern United States

The effectiveness of conservation initiatives on private lands in the southern United States plays an important role in improving provision of ecosystem services and mitigating negative environmental impacts. However, participation in conservation efforts is in part affected by landowner concern about environmental issues. This study used a seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) to quantify the impacts of local environmental conditions (e.g., air and water pollution, population density, and land cover type), private land attributes and sociodemographic factors on landowner ecosystem service and environmental concerns. The study involved a mail survey of private landowners in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and East Gulf Coastal Plain sub-geographies of the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative. At least 37% of landowners were extremely concerned about drinking water quality, drinking water quantity, soil erosion, loss of wildlife habitat, and loss of open spaces. Local environmental conditions and sociodemographic factors were only marginally related to landowner ecosystem service and environmental concerns, although these factors could affect landowner environmental attitudes, personal health and outdoor activities. Private land attributes, such as property size and landownership objectives, strongly influenced landowner concerns about environmental issues where landowners with larger agricultural land parcels, and who owned land for profit making and provision of ecosystem services were more concerned about environmental issues than other landowners. Conservation policies should focus not only on activities that address ecosystem service and environmental issues that are of concern to landowners but also help them attain their landownership objectives because such approach is more likely to increase their participation in conservation practices.

Investigating the Role of Archaeological Information and Practice in Landscape Conservation Design and Planning in North America

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to discuss the challenges and opportunities for integrating archaeological information in landscape-scale conservation design while aligning archaeological practice with design and planning focused on cultural resources. Targeting this opportunity begins with statewide archaeological databases. Here, we compare the structure and content of Pennsylvania's and Florida's statewide archaeological databases, identifying opportunities for leveraging these data in landscape conservation design and planning. The research discussed here was part of a broader project, which was working through the lens of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives in order to develop processes for integrating broadly conceived cultural resources with natural resources as part of multistate or regional landscape conservation design efforts. Landscape Conservation Cooperatives offer new ways to think about archaeological information in practice and potentially new ways for archaeology to contribute to design and planning. Statewide archaeological databases, in particular, offer transformative potential for integrating cultural resource priorities in landscape conservation design. Targeted coordination across state boundaries along with the development of accessible derivative databases are two priorities to advance their utility.

Wildlife value orientation of landowners from five states in the upper midwest, USA

ABSTRACTFive Upper Midwest states (Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa) participated in a Plains and Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (PPP-LCC) funded survey of landowners. All five surveys included a 13-item wildlife value orientation (WVO) scale to provide insight into how landowners in this region make land use decisions that affect wildlife habitat. Most landowners were utilitarian (59%), 11% were identified as mutualists, and pluralists and distanced landowners were 15% each. Pluralist and mutualist landowners placed more importance on wildlife considerations when making land use decisions compared to utilitarian and distanced landowners. However, landowners’ WVO was not related to their participation in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Bill conservation programs. The proportion of WVO types among landowners varied considerably by age cohort. The proportion of utilitarians was highest for landowners born during the 1970s age cohorts and has since declined.

Correlates of Habitat Fragmentation and Northern Bobwhite Abundance in the Gulf Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative

AbstractThe northern bobwhite Colinus virginianus has experienced range-wide declines over the past several decades, primarily due to habitat loss and habitat fragmentation. As northern bobwhite populations continue to decline, there is a need for studies that address the impact of habitat changes on population persistence at multiple spatial scales. Our goal was to assess changes in habitat and land use related to northern bobwhite declines across multiple spatial scales in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. We determined northern bobwhite trends for 1972–2012 using Breeding Bird Survey data. At the regional scale, we compared northern bobwhite population trends with road density (2000, 2012), human population (1970–2010), and land use (1974–2012). At the county and local scales, we compared class-level landscape metrics between counties with stable and declining northern bobwhite abundances using Student's t-tests. Northern bobwhite populations decreased from 45.95 ± 1.01 birds/route in 1970 to 11.55 ± 0.64 birds/route in 2012. Road density and human population increased by 3,331.32 ± 66.28 m/km2 and 42,873 ± 8,687 people/county, respectively. Percent pasture and rangeland was relatively stable, as was percent woodland. Alternatively, the percentage of other land (houses, roads, wasteland) increased. At the county scale, Texas and Oklahoma counties with declining northern bobwhite populations had higher road densities, larger patches of pasture, smaller patches of woodland, and larger patches of cropland compared with stable populations. At the local scale, Texas and Oklahoma counties with declining northern bobwhite populations had less woody cover in smaller patches, and fewer but larger patches of herbaceous and bare ground, compared with populations with stable abundance. Therefore, managers can provide woody cover and reduce cropland effects at the local scale to support stable quail populations; however, the large-scale drivers of northern bobwhite decline, which are human population growth and resulting habitat loss, will be an important aspect of northern bobwhite conservation and management in the future.

Assessing historical and projected carbon balance of Alaska: A synthesis of results and policy/management implications.

We summarize the results of a recent interagency assessment of land carbon dynamics in Alaska, in which carbon dynamics were estimated for all major terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems for the historical period (1950-2009) and a projection period (2010-2099). Between 1950 and 2009, upland and wetland (i.e., terrestrial) ecosystems of the state gained 0.4TgC/yr (0.1% of net primary production, NPP), resulting in a cumulative greenhouse gas radiative forcing of 1.68×10-3 W/m2 . The change in carbon storage is spatially variable with the region of the Northwest Boreal Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) losing carbon because of fire disturbance. The combined carbon transport via various pathways through inland aquatic ecosystems of Alaska was estimated to be 41.3TgC/yr (17% of terrestrial NPP). During the projection period (2010-2099), carbon storage of terrestrial ecosystems of Alaska was projected to increase (22.5-70.0TgC/yr), primarily because of NPP increases of 10-30% associated with responses to rising atmospheric CO2 , increased nitrogen cycling, and longer growing seasons. Although carbon emissions to the atmosphere from wildfire and wetland CH4 were projected to increase for all of the climate projections, the increases in NPP more than compensated for those losses at the statewide level. Carbon dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems continue to warm the climate for four of the six future projections and cool the climate for only one of the projections. The attribution analyses we conducted indicated that the response of NPP in terrestrial ecosystems to rising atmospheric CO2 (~5% per 100 ppmv CO2 ) saturates as CO2 increases (between approximately +150 and +450 ppmv among projections). This response, along with the expectation that permafrost thaw would be much greater and release large quantities of permafrost carbon after 2100, suggests that projected carbon gains in terrestrial ecosystems of Alaska may not be sustained. From a national perspective, inclusion of all of Alaska in greenhouse gas inventory reports would ensure better accounting of the overall greenhouse gas balance of the nation and provide a foundation for considering mitigation activities in areas that are accessible enough to support substantive deployment.

The importance of core habitat for a threatened species in changing landscapes

Abstract Habitat loss, fragmentation, and alteration of the landscape matrix are interdependent processes, collectively responsible for most recent species extinctions. Thus, determining the extent to which these landscape processes affect animals is critical for conservation. However, researchers have often assumed that interdependent effects are independently related to animals’ responses, underestimating the importance of one or several landscape processes in driving species declines. We demonstrate how to disentangle the interdependent effects of habitat amount, fragmentation, and edge context on population size by assessing abundance of a rapidly declining grassland songbird species (grasshopper sparrow Ammodramus savannarum) in eastern Kansas (USA). We conducted >7,000 point count surveys at >2,000 sites over two breeding seasons, then modelled the direct, interactive, and indirect effects of landscape factors on abundance within spatial scales (200‐, 400‐, 800‐, and 1,600‐m radii) relevant to our focal species’ dispersal behaviour. Sparrow abundance correlated most strongly with landscape structure within 400‐m radii, increasing nonlinearly with grassland area and decreasing with the proportion of grassland near cropland or woody edges. Sparrows’ negative response to cropland edges was mostly an added, indirect consequence of reduced grassland area, whereas sparrows’ stronger negative response to woody edges was not attributable to variation in grassland area. Fragmentation and edge context mattered most in landscapes comprising c. 50%–80% grassland. Synthesis and applications. In our research, abundance of a threatened grassland songbird was influenced more by core grassland area (a function of total grassland area, fragmentation, and edge context) than total grassland area per se. Moreover, a local extinction threshold of c. 50% grassland indicated that small amounts of habitat were unsuitable for our focal species regardless of habitat configuration or matrix type. Local extinction thresholds in response to habitat area provide clear baseline targets for land managers; above those thresholds, configuration and the matrix can be modified to increase abundance of edge‐sensitive animals. Conflicting evidence in the literature regarding the importance of fragmentation and matrix features could be partially explained by species‐level traits, or methodological issues such as defining landscapes at ecologically arbitrary spatial scales, assessing landscape quality using species richness, and ignoring interactive and indirect effects.

The role of driving factors in historical and projected carbon dynamics of upland ecosystems in Alaska.

It is important to understand how upland ecosystems of Alaska, which are estimated to occupy 84% of the state (i.e., 1,237,774km2 ), are influencing and will influence state-wide carbon (C) dynamics in the face of ongoing climate change. We coupled fire disturbance and biogeochemical models to assess the relative effects of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2 ), climate, logging and fire regimes on the historical and future C balance of upland ecosystems for the four main Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) of Alaska. At the end of the historical period (1950-2009) of our analysis, we estimate that upland ecosystems of Alaska store ~50 Pg C (with ~90% of the C in soils), and gained 3.26 Tg C/yr. Three of the LCCs had gains in total ecosystem C storage, while the Northwest Boreal LCC lost C (-6.01Tg C/yr) because of increases in fire activity. Carbon exports from logging affected only the North Pacific LCC and represented less than 1% of the state's net primary production (NPP). The analysis for the future time period (2010-2099) consisted of six simulations driven by climate outputs from two climate models for three emission scenarios. Across the climate scenarios, total ecosystem C storage increased between 19.5 and 66.3 Tg C/yr, which represents 3.4% to 11.7% increase in Alaska upland's storage. We conducted additional simulations to attribute these responses to environmental changes. This analysis showed that atmospheric CO2 fertilization was the main driver of ecosystem C balance. By comparing future simulations with constant and with increasing atmospheric CO2 , we estimated that the sensitivity of NPP was 4.8% per 100 ppmv, but NPP becomes less sensitive to CO2 increase throughout the 21st century. Overall, our analyses suggest that the decreasing CO2 sensitivity of NPP and the increasing sensitivity of heterotrophic respiration to air temperature, in addition to the increase in C loss from wildfires weakens the C sink from upland ecosystems of Alaska and will ultimately lead to a source of CO2 to the atmosphere beyond 2100. Therefore, we conclude thatthe increasing regional C sink we estimate for the 21st century will most likely be transitional.

Long‐term trends in weather severity indices for dabbling ducks in eastern North America

ABSTRACTAnnual distributions of waterfowl during the nonbreeding period can influence ecological, cultural, and economic relationships. We used previously developed Weather Severity Indices (WSI) that explained migration by dabbling ducks in eastern North America and weather data from the North American Regional Reanalysis to develop an open‐access internet‐based tool (i.e., WSI web app) to visualize and query WSI data. We used data generated by the WSI web app to determine whether the weather known to elicit southerly migration by dabbling ducks had changed, from October to April 1979 to 2013. We detected that the amount of area in the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways with weather severe enough to cause southerly migration decreased during 1) October–December for American wigeon (Mareca americana), green‐winged teal (Anas crecca), and northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata); 2) December–January for mallard (A. platyrhynchos), American black duck (A. rubripes), and northern pintail (A. acuta); and 3) February–April for mallard, American black duck, gadwall (M. strepera), American wigeon, green‐winged teal, and northern shoveler. Results were consistent with prior research indicating that weather causing autumn and winter migration of dabbling ducks has become increasingly mild in the past 3 decades. The WSI web app enables users to query daily data and maps by species and by Flyway, Joint Venture, Landscape Conservation Cooperative, and State. We encourage those with corresponding data on participation and satisfaction by waterfowl enthusiasts (i.e., birders and hunters) to test for relationships with the WSI because of the implications for conservation funding, especially if autumn and winter weather severity continues to become increasingly mild as predicted. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

Landscape-scale conservation design across biotic realms: sequential integration of aquatic and terrestrial landscapes

Systematic conservation planning has been used extensively throughout the world to identify important areas for maintaining biodiversity and functional ecosystems, and is well suited to address large-scale biodiversity conservation challenges of the twenty-first century. Systematic planning is necessary to bridge implementation, scale, and data gaps in a collaborative effort that recognizes competing land uses. Here, we developed a conservation planning process to identify and unify conservation priorities around the central and southern Appalachian Mountains as part of the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (App LCC). Through a participatory framework and sequential, cross-realm integration in spatial optimization modeling we highlight lands and waters that together achieve joint conservation goals from LCC partners for the least cost. This process was driven by a synthesis of 26 multi-scaled conservation targets and optimized for simultaneous representation inside the program Marxan to account for roughly 25% of the LCC geography. We identify five conservation design elements covering critical ecological processes and patterns including interconnected regions as well as the broad landscapes between them. Elements were then subjected to a cumulative threats index for possible prioritization. The evaluation of these elements supports multi-scaled decision making within the LCC planning community through a participatory, dynamic, and iterative process.

Modeling landscape condition for biodiversity assessment—Application in temperate North America

Conservation decisions are well supported by predictive spatial models that indicate the relative ecological condition of a given place. The intent of this 90m pixel landscape condition model is to use nationally available spatial data from the USA, Mexico, and Canada to express assumptions regarding the relative ecological effects of land uses on terrestrial natural communities and species. This approach emphasizes and updateable and transparent design which takes advantage of empirical biodiversity data from the USA to both calibrate and validate the model. Map layers depicting infrastructure, land use, and modified vegetation were each scored for site impact and distance decay, and then combined into one map surface. Field observations from Natural Heritage Programs, each scored for relative ecological condition (in categories A=excellent to D=poor), were used to calibrate distance decay parameters. Some 90,000 observations for at-risk species, invasive plant species, and natural communities were used for model validation. Statistically significant distinctions in ecological condition among validation samples were predicted by the resultant spatial model. Variation in landscape condition was then summarized by regional U.S. Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) in terms of areas approximating A–D condition. Montane and desert LCCs scored on average much higher in area approximating “A” and “B” landscape condition, while LCCs with more substantial agricultural and urban footprints scored overwhelmingly within the “D” range of condition. Similar analyses illustrated range-wide scoring of landscape condition for major vegetation types across temperate North America.

Indicator-Driven Conservation Planning Across Terrestrial, Freshwater Aquatic, and Marine Ecosystems of the South Atlantic, USA

Abstract Systematic conservation planning, a widely used approach to identify priority lands and waters, uses efficient, defensible, and transparent methods aimed at conserving biodiversity and ecological systems. Limited financial resources and competing land uses can be major impediments to conservation; therefore, participation of diverse stakeholders in the planning process is advantageous to help address broad-scale threats and challenges of the 21st century. Although a broad extent is needed to identify core areas and corridors for fish and wildlife populations, a fine-scale resolution is needed to manage for multiple, interconnected ecosystems. Here, we developed a conservation plan using a systematic approach to promote landscape-level conservation within the extent of the South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative. Our objective was to identify the highest-ranked 30% of lands and waters within the South Atlantic deemed necessary to conserve ecological and cultural integrity for the 10 primary ecosystems of the southeastern United States. These environments varied from terrestrial, freshwater aquatic, and marine. The planning process was driven by indicators of ecosystem integrity at a 4-ha resolution. We used the program Zonation and 28 indicators to optimize the identification of lands and waters to meet the stated objective. A novel part of our study was the prioritization of multiple ecosystems, and we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. The evaluation of indicator representation within prioritizations was a useful method to show where improvements could be made; some indicators dictated hotspots, some had a limited extent and were well represented, and others had a limited effect. Overall, we demonstrate that a broad-scale (408,276 km2 of terrestrial and 411,239 km2 of marine environments) conservation plan can be realized at a fine-scale resolution, which will allow implementation of the regional plan at a local level relevant to decision making.

Erratum

Wildlife Society BulletinVolume 41, Issue 1 p. 177-177 ErratumFree Access Erratum This article corrects the following: Landscape design: Integrating ecological, social, and economic considerations into conservation planning Anne M. Bartuszevige, Kyle Taylor, Alex Daniels, Michael F. Carter, Volume 40Issue 3Wildlife Society Bulletin pages: 411-422 First Published online: August 29, 2016 First published: 04 March 2017 https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.744AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Due to an oversight, Bartuszevige et al. (2016) inadvertently omitted acknowledgement of a funding source and an unpublished report that included background information supporting the article. The authors acknowledge Campellone et al. (2014), which was available as a draft report at the time of preparation of Bartuszevige et al. (2016) and prepared in response to a request from the USFWS Office of Science Advisor by an ad hoc group of conservation professionals from the National Wildlife Refuge System, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, and Playa Lakes Joint Venture identified as the “Landscape Conservation Design Minimum Standards Working Group”. The authors also acknowledge financial support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2–Southwest Region, Migratory Bird Office. David Haukos Editor-in-Chief Literature Cited Bartuszevige, A. M., K. Taylor, A. Daniels, and M. F. Carter. 2016. Landscape design: integrating ecological, social, and economic considerations into conservation planning. Wildlife Society Bulletin 40: 411– 422. Campellone, R., A. Bartuszevige, T. Chouinard, J. Lujan, T. Miewald, B. Murry, R. Nelson, K. O'Hara, A. Poe, and A. Roberson. 2014. An analytical framework for conservation design at landscape-scales (landscape conservation design). https://www.academia.edu/28942018 Volume41, Issue1March 2017Pages 177-177 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Landscape-Scale Geospatial Assessment of Open Pine and Natural Grassland Condition for Northern Bobwhite in the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks

The National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative 2.0 (NBCI) suggests >13 million acres of pine forests and >600,000 acres of grasslands have high potential for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) conservation in the Southeast. The Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) identifies northern bobwhite as one of 15 indicator species for open pine/woodland/savanna and grassland/prairie ecological systems, and describes specific habitat conditions considered desirable as measurable landscape endpoints in each system as part of an Integrated Science Agenda (ISA). The ISA suggests bobwhite are limited by the habitat characteristics associated with basal area and canopy cover in pine systems, and patch size, vegetation density, bare ground, shrub cover, and warm-season grass density in grassland systems across the 180 million acre LCC. We conducted Rapid Ecological Assessments (REAs) of pine and grassland systems to describe where, how much, and in what condition the desired habitat conditions exist for each system. Using endpoint threshold values, the best available geospatial data, and a dichotomous decision tree approach, the pine and grassland REAs assigned per-pixel Condition Index Values (CIV) for the entire LCC. Results indicate 46% of the 48 million acres of pine or mixed-pine hardwood forests are in patches >600 acres with one other endpoint present, but only 0.2% (100,000 acres) reflect all desired open pine conditions. In the grassland system, 48% of the 32 million acres of grassland were characterized by the presence of at least one desired condition, with no areas meeting all desired conditions. In many cases, areas with high CIV scores overlap areas classified as high and medium land use opportunities in NBCI 2.0, suggesting continuity of these independent empirical and expert-driven assessments. Understanding the current condition of pine and grassland systems in concert with NBCI potential acreage targets can help refine management and population objectives in NBCI and LCC conservation planning.

A Method for Setting Northern Bobwhite Population and Habitat Objectives for Large Landscape Partnerships

Population and habitat objectives are the foundation for many conservation actions. Often objectives set at one scale are difficult to translate to larger or smaller scales. Three bird habitat Joint Ventures, Gulf Coast, Oaks & Prairies, and Rio Grande, working cooperatively with the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative, have a common objective to stabilize northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations in four Bird Conservation Regions. We cooperatively developed a method using the North American Breeding Bird Survey trend for several scenarios with different time horizons (10-, 20-, 30-year, or longer), the spring home range size, and the per acre cost of habitat management actions, to set spring population and habitat objectives and projected costs. The spring population objectives can easily be converted to fall population objectives using the percent summer gain. We provide an example of how three Joint Ventures could use this methodology to set bobwhite objectives within their geographies and then scale those objectives up to the next larger geography, a Landscape Conservation Cooperative geography. This methodology can be used by other multi-state partnerships (e.g., Joint Ventures and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives) across the bobwhite range to provide the bobwhite conservation community meaningful objectives at regional and national scales.

Patterns of Spatial Distribution of Golden Eagles Across North America: How Do They Fit into Existing Landscape-scale Mapping Systems?

Abstract Conserving wide-ranging animals requires knowledge about their year-round movements and resource use. Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) exhibit a wide range of movement patterns across North America. We combined tracking data from 571 Golden Eagles from multiple independent satellite-telemetry projects from North America to provide a comprehensive look at the magnitude and extent of these movements on a continental scale. We compared patterns of use relative to four alternative administrative and ecological mapping systems, namely Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs), U.S. administrative migratory bird flyways, Migratory Bird Joint Ventures, and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. Our analyses suggested that eagles initially captured in eastern North America used space differently than those captured in western North America. Other groups of eagles that exhibited distinct patterns in space use included long-distance migrants from northern latitudes, and southwestern and Californian desert residents....

Uncertainty and the Entanglement of Habitat Loss and Fragmentation Effects in the Management of Northern Bobwhite

There is a need to understand the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and other grassland bird species and relate this to conservation action and delivery, especially in areas of intensive anthropogenic development. Through our research, we investigated the factors contributing to habitat loss and fragmentation in order to prioritize management within the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCP LCC) region of Texas, USA. For this geographic region, we completed these objectives: analyzed grassland bird habitat loss and fragmentation resulting from oil and gas development, which has become especially rapid in this region beginning in 2008, projected future habitat loss under possible future economic scenarios, modeled the outcomes of potential management alternatives, and identified drivers of habitat loss and fragmentation to direct management action toward minimizing threats to high-risk habitats. Using a modeling approach, we identified suitable bobwhite habitat and prioritized high-risk areas, particularly focusing on the best candidate areas for successful restoration. Briefly, point count data were related to patch- and landscape-level habitat characteristics using a modeling technique that formally estimated the scale of the landscape effect on bobwhite abundance. Thereafter, we identified possible management alternatives with the guidance of the GCP LCC and other stakeholders and modeled the consequences of these alternatives. Using results from this modeling, we produced an extinction risk map for northern bobwhite in this region. Our research adds to the understanding of the relationship between northern bobwhite populations and the expansion of energy extraction and also uses modeling informed by data to support a decision-making framework that incorporates uncertainty about this system to prioritize the conservation of high-risk and high-value areas of bobwhite habitat.