Projects By Category: Data Acquisition and Development

The collection of LiDAR data for the James River basin began in 2010. The detailed surface elevation data will be used for conservation planning, design, research, delivery, floodplain mapping and hydrologic modeling utilizing LiDAR technology.

Map drained wetland basins in the PPR of Iowa and complete data set for the eastern (Region 3) of the U.S. Prairie Pothole Regionl.

The Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Forests, Lands, & Natural Resource Operations, in partnership with Simon Fraser University and the Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center, led a third workshop to develop cross-boundary geospatial and climate data sets in support of regional conservatio

A combination of focus groups and usability tests were used to explore the needs and preferences of a variety of NPLCC stakeholders as regards data management platform content, format, and features.

Classifying estuarine and marine habitats was identified as a priority need for a variety of purposes in the Northeast.

Fishery and aquatic scientists often assess habitats to understand the distribution, status, threats, and relative abundance of aquatic resources. Due to the spatial nature of habitats and associated temporal changes, using traditional analytical methods is often difficult.

Due to the uncertainty of future climatic patterns and species responses, enduring features of the landscape (geophysical settings) are appropriate targets of assessment, planning, and conservation.

The goal of this project is to develop a detailed national sampling frame for bat monitoring at various spatial scales similar to the recently designed Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Initiative, which will allow biologists and managers to assess the status of North American bats.

The NCED partnership was initiated through a grant from the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) to begin the development of a first-ever database covering easement data nationwide.

Project goals are to provide LCCs and partners with recommendations of best practices for evaluating aquatic ecological integrity at different landscape scales, identify critical data and needs, and help develop a sustainable, collaborative network around improving integration of assessment produ

Numerous studies show that ongoing climate change will have major effects on the distribution and conservation status of much of our biodiversity.

Numerous studies show that ongoing climate change will have major effects on the distribution and conservation status of much of our biodiversity.

The Canadian portion of the Crown of the Continent (CCoC) ecosystem has been identified as crucial for wolverines north of the US border to rescue or supply individuals and genes through dispersal to the highly fragmented population in the northern US Rocky Mountains.

This project highlights the potential for LCCs to facilitate collaboration among conservation practitioners and research scientists to plan for the future.

This project highlights the potential for LCCs to facilitate collaboration among conservation practitioners and research scientists to plan for the future.

(NWI) protocols to provide complete NWI coverage for the state of Idaho. Where hard copy maps are unavailable, habitat will be interpreted and digital data will be completed by contractors/cooperators.

This region-wide coordinated bird monitoring program, supported by state, federal, tribal, nongovernmental organizations, and two statewide bird conservation partnerships, is designed to provide spatially-referenced baseline data for science-based biological planning and conservation design for t

The results of this proposed project would provide the first comprehensive identification of fisher distribution in the northern Rocky Mountains, which may serve as a baseline for identifying population trends and changes in distribution over time.

The GNLCC Multi-dimensional Synthesis is a synthesis of existing information in four categories to promote a common understanding of situation, existing information and information gaps, as well as providing an index of programmatic, resource and other climate and landscape related information fo

Greater sage-grouse genetic connectivity is essential to the species persistence across the Great Northern landscape; without such connectivity the greater sage-grouse may suffer the same fate as many other related species of grouse, which disappeared from the middle and eastern portion of the Un

The goal of this study is to use eDNA as a cost effective tool for documenting the occurrence and distribution of ESA-listed spring-chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) throughout the Okanogan and Methow watersheds in an effort to map habitat use and connectivity.

The Pacific Region National Wildlife Refuge System developed a strategic approach to identify region-wide land/habitat conservation priorities. This approach was piloted in the Columbia Plateau Ecoregion and resulted in a high-level landscape-scale conservation design.

The Heart of the Rockies Initiative (HOTR), on behalf of its 24 land conservation non-governmental partners, and its federal and state agency partners, seeks a second year of science support to incorporate emerging data on landscape integrity and connectivity, crucial habitats, and climate change

This project aims to provide large landscape practitioners of the U.S. Northern Rockies with a decision support tool for prioritizing conservation action to mitigate road impacts on wildlife corridors.

We will develop an approach to identify fire refugia in Rocky Mountain ecosystems of the U.S. and Canada then test the function of refugia for biodiversity conservation under current and future climate/fire scenarios.

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Pion (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) (PJ) currently occupy approximately 19 million hectars in the Intermountain West. Prior to 1860, approximately 66% of what is now woodland occurred as sagebrush plant communities.

This watershed scale project:

The Bird Conservancy of the Rockies will use, combine and optimize an array of remote sensing techniques to identify the most efficient process that characterizes grasslands and level of shrub component in those grasslands.

There is a need to understand how alteration of physical processes on the Rio Grande River have impacted aquatic biota and their habitats, and a need to predict potential future effects of climate change on biotic resources in order to prescribe research and management activities that will enhanc

The importance of riparian ecosystems in semiarid and arid regions has generated interest in understanding processes that drive the distribution and abundance of dominant riparian plants.

Our approach will include sampling a wide range of habitats and environmental conditions throughout the middle and lower Pecos River basin, across an 18 month time-span to account for seasonal and phenological events.

Topock Marsh is a large wetland adjacent to the Colorado River and main feature of Havasu National Wildlife Refuge (Havasu NWR) in southern Arizona. In 2010, U.S.

Freshwater systems are critically imperiled and continue to be threatened by human encroachment and water development.

This project will be focused on hosting 2-3 workshops in 2013 to train people to conduct the Springs Stewardship Institute's spring assessment protocol and promote it as a standardized method.

Construct enclosures at Columbia Mine to house approximately 60 turtles (translocated animals) that were collected off of the right-of-way for sections 2 and 4 of I-69.

Creating a detailed vegetation classification and digital map for Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge to use for habitat management decisions and tracking land use changes.

The efficiency and effectiveness of aerial photography by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Midwest Aviation Program has been improved with upgraded components for the Applanix DSS 439 Camera System, including a 60 millimeter lens and gyro-stabilization mount. Both are installed and in use.

Hardware to collect infrared digital imagery during periods of peak vegetative growth to develop a cover map for the Mississippi River floodplain from Minneapolis, Minn. to the Ohio River confluence.

Ecosystem services provided by floodplains include removal of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediments, and sequestration of carbon. Effectiveness of floodplains in providing these services is dependent on the extent and location of connection between floodplain and river.

An Iowa State University research team in collaboration with Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge and other partners has discovered that strategically adding a little bit of prairie back onto the agricultural landscape can result in many benefits – for water and soil quality, habitat for wildlife

The Midwestern Region is dominated by intensive agricultural production, primarily corn and soybeans. Economic pressures result in optimizing acreage planted and may place pressure on producers to resign not enroll in conservation programs.

Northern Arizona University will build upon the U.S. Forest Service Four Forest Restoration Initiative in Northern Arizona to investigate how restoration efforts can affect the water volume available in the snowpack and soil moisture in the Desert LCC.

Despite the lack of surface flows, the Colorado River riparian corridor in Mexico has proven to be ecologically resilient. Floods in the 1980s and 90s in the region brought back large swaths of native riparian habitat, which still persist today in some areas along the river.

Accurate estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) is essential for assessments of water balance and hydrologic responses to forest restoration treatments in uplands adjacent to the Desert LCC.

A combination of citizen science inventories and expert assessments will be used to collect critical baseline information on known spring and seep resources using the Spring Ecosystem Inventory and Assessment Protocols and adapting them as needed for the unique arid Sky Island ecosystems.

Riparian vegetation provides crucial habitat for wildlife and is a high conservation priority for land managers throughout the Southwest but a central scientific challenge is to generate quantitative predictions of how changes in water availability will affect the amount and quality of riparian w

The Desert LCC identified the need for a Protected Areas spatial database that showed land ownership, management designations and conservation status for lands in the United States and Mexico.

In practice, there are a number of challenges associated with formal consideration of the environment in water planning in large parts of the Desert LCC region.