The California Landscape Conservation Cooperative (CA LCC) continues its support of integrated natural resource management by funding eight science projects this year that enhance conservation efforts in the state.
On June 11 the CA LCC Steering Committee approved eight projects totaling nearly $775,000 that support efforts ranging from regional invasive plant management to predicting sea level rise impacts on tidal wetlands.
“Natural resource managers have difficult decisions to make in addressing the impacts of climate change and other landscape-scale stressors,” says CA LCC science coordinator Rebecca Fris. “The results of these projects provide tools and relevant information to support conservation decision making.”
Funded projects include:
Setting Regional Strategies for Invasive Plant Management – This project will develop regional invasive species management plans using a tool called CalWeedMapper that predicts where invasive species are likely to spread.
Project team: California Invasive Plant Council, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Forest Foundation and California State Parks.
A Vulnerability Assessment for Focal Resources of the Sierra Nevada - A multi-stakeholder group will develop a large-scale vulnerability assessment and climate change adaptation strategies for the Sierra Nevada.
Project team: EcoAdapt, US Forest Service, Conservation Biology Institute and Geos Institute.
Training Curriculum to Support Improved Conservation in the Face of Climate Change – Two training curriculums will be developed – one for managers and one for GIS analysts – on current best practices for developing and using spatial information to support conservation decision making.
Project team: PRBO Conservation Science, UC Davis, US Fish and Wildlife Service and Colorado State University.
Improved Decision Support Tool for Tidal Wetland Management – Natural resource managers in the San Francisco Bay will build on an existing system to improve a sea level rise tool for adaptive tidal wetland restoration and management.
Project team: PRBO Conservation Science, San Francisco Bay managers
California Climate Commons – Work will continue on an online portal where land managers and their technical support staff can quickly find conservation and climate change information, communicate with each other and with researchers producing the data, and share lessons learned.
Project team: Sonoma Ecology Center, UC Davis Information Center for the Environment and PRBO Conservation Science.
Geomorphic Alteration of Intertidal Foraging Habitats for Migratory Birds - US Geological Survey ecologists will work with geomorphologists and others to evaluate the effects of climate change and sea-level rise on intertidal shoals in the San Francisco Bay Estuary, a foraging habitat for migratory birds.
Project team: USGS, UNESCO-IHE
Habitat Threat Assessment on California Rangelands – Analyses will be conducted of threats to California rangelands including potential economic impacts, as well as development of an online tool for identifying high priority areas for ranching and maintaining biodiversity.
Project team: USGS, Defenders of Wildlife
Understanding Impacts of Climate Change on Central Valley Birds - Analysis will continue on the impacts of climate, urbanization and water management scenarios on habitats for waterfowl, shorebirds and other waterbirds in the Central Valley.
Project Team: USGS, Ducks Unlimited, Central Valley Joint Venture, Stockholm Environment Institute, UC Davis and Delta Waterfowl Foundation.
The process for selecting projects began in March when more than 90 pre-proposals were received by the CA LCC.
This is the third consecutive year the CA LCC has provided support for tools and other applicable information requested by resource managers. Including this year’s selections, the partnership has funded more than 30 science-based projects totaling almost $2.8 million. With partner contributions, more than $6.5 million has been invested in creating science-based tools and products.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012