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Setting Priorities (Ecoregional Assessments)

The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to protect the plants, animals and habitats that represent the diversity of life on earth by protecting the lands and waters that they need to survive. Setting Priorities (Ecoregional Assessments). Designing Strategies (Conservation Project Planning).

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Setting Priorities (Ecoregional Assessments)

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  1. The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to protect the plants, animals and habitats that represent the diversity of life on earth by protecting the lands and waters that they need to survive.

  2. Setting Priorities (Ecoregional Assessments) Designing Strategies (Conservation Project Planning) Measuring Success Conservation Action

  3. Outline • Volunteer monitoring examples • Use of the monitoring data • What to monitor • Recommendations

  4. Nature Conservancy monitoring programs

  5. Use of monitoring data • Inform public policy or DNR priorities? • Guide site-specific management actions?

  6. Use of monitoring data Types of Indicators • From Cairns (1993): • Compliance indicators • Diagnostic indicators • Early-warning indicators • Current Status & Trends

  7. Wetlands of the Mukwonago River Watershed High What to monitor? Cattails • Increase H20 levels, stable H20 level • Increase nutrients • Increase nutrients/ h20 levels • Restore hydroperiod • Kill cattails Emergent marsh • Dry out wetland • Fire exclusion Surface water input & nutreints • Increase h20 levels • High contribution of calcium rich groundwater • Fire • Small scale disturbance Tussock sedge meadow Shrub carr • Dry out wetland • Fire exclusion • Burn Calcareous fen Relict kettle bog • Fire • Seasonal water level changes Low • Reduce groundwater input • Fire exclusion pH Low High Low

  8. Wetlands of the Mukwonago River Watershed Tussock sedge meadow Emergent marsh Calcareous fen High What to monitor? Shrub carr Cattails Low

  9. Recommendations • Example: Between 2005 and 2010, we want to have a 90% probability of detecting a 10% change in [water quality, invasive species] and are willing to accept a 1 in 10 chance that we’ll say that a change occurred when it really didn’t. • 1. Develop state-wide monitoring objectives based on conceptual models and key driving factors • Key components: timescale, chance of detecting change, minimum detectable change, what to monitor chance of detecting a false change

  10. Recommendations • 2. Monitor both target-based and threat-based monitoring (and possibly management-based, such as voluntary BMPs). • 3. Focus on limited data at greatest number of sites • reduce observer bias • use for trend analysis to guide policy and budget decisions • complement detailed monitoring at fewer places, done by DNR and others. • 4. Data management structure needs to be developed prior to collecting data.

  11. Recommendations What? How? Who? • 5. Citizen-based monitoring should complement a comprehensive monitoring program

  12. Recommendations

  13. References • Cairns et al. 1993. A proposed framework for developing indicators of ecosystem health. Hydrobiologia 263: 1-44. • Elzinga et al. 1998. Measuring and Monitoring Plant Populations. BLM Technical Reference 1730-1. • Parrish et al. 2003. Are we conserving what we say we are? Measuring ecological integrity within protected areas. BioScience 53:851-860.

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