FLPMA at 40:Perspectives on landscapes and conservation planning

Dr. David M. Theobald1,2

1Conservation Science Partners2Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University

Local

Space

Millennia

Century

Decade

Year

Month

Day

Speciation

Wildfire regime

Pest/pathogenoutbreaks

Neotropical migrationHabitat specialists, endemic

Foraging,nesting

Seasonal migration

Ecoregion Continental Global

Ecological and decision-making scalesT

ime

Protected areas

LandscapesClimate change

Landscape principles

3

CompositionWhat’s there?

StructureHow arranged?

FunctionAre ecological processesfunctioning? Noss 1990

Greater Yellowstone Coord Comm

Wyoming Landscape

Conservation Initiative

Arid Lands Initiative

Kootenay Conservation Program

Blackfoot Challenge

Rocky Mountain Front

Big Hole Conservation Alliance

Crown of the Continent

Interagency Grizzly Bear Comm

Washington Connected Lands

Columbia Basin Fed Caucus

Intermountain West JV

Yellowstone to Yukon

Western Governors

CAN Wildlife Directors Council

And others….

Courtesy of Yvette Converse

Human landscapes

Landscape planning

5

Landscape Conservation CooperativesBLM Rapid Ecological Assessments

Challenges/opportunities

• Landscape integrity

• Transboundary connectivity

• Monitoring across landscapes

6

Landscape integrity

7

Linking terrestrial and freshwater

systems

Scale Factors

Litho-topographic template

Geology, soils

Watershed Up and downstream

Reach Lateral movement, riparian

9

Hydro-geomorphic classification

Transboundary connectivity

10

Example: US-MX trans-boundary cover

I

11

Transformative geospatial

technology

I

12

Summary

A shared sample design facilitates

leveraging other collection efforts

and maximizes co-location of data

collection. 13

14

Thanks! Questions? Feedback? davet@csp-inc.org

From inventory of resources

to monitoring across landscapes

Inventories of forests , range, soils, wetlands, land cover, water quality

Need to provide for integrated monitoring of landscapes

15

Landscapes

A large area containing a mosaic of ecosystems and human systems- Defined by the set of

interacting ecological elements – not by a smaller site or project or protected area

- Often transcends boundaries

Ecologically-based, 16

17

Word cloud from Fancy et al. (2008)

Resources: coarse- and fine-filter

LQ2:Riverinea. Habitatlossb. Fragmenta onc. Ecologicalfunc on

SagebrushSteppe

Riparianand

RiverineWarm

waterfish

Yellow-billedcuckoo

Cuthroattrout

Muledeer

Pronghorn

Pygmyrabbit

Burrowingowl

Greatersagegrouse

Upland

Raptors

Coarse-filter

Ecology/Conserva ontargets Decision-making

LQ1:Sagebrushsteppemanagementvulnerabili esa. Habitatlossb. Fragmenta onc. Ecologicalfunc on

LQ3:Vulnerableareasacross

naturallandscape

SQ’s3,4,7,18,20

SQ8,18,20

SQ10,26,29

SQ’s1,5,6

SQ2,6,9,11,12,27,

29Outofprojectscope:SQ’s16,17,19,21?,24,

25SQ’s14,15,28

SQ2,10,18,29

Fine-filterLandscapeques onsandopportuni es

Specific?andac onareas

Dataanalysis&m

odeling

Conserva

onopportunityareas

ChangeAgents

Climatechange&energydevelopment

Resources (conservation targets)

High contrast

Core w/buffer

Theobald 2013