Projects

This research project will identify effective landowner engagement strategies and incentives to sustain ecosystem services (e.g., clean water, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, recreation, aesthetics) in the Southeastern United States through a focused case in three major habitat types (bottomland

This project will determine the effects of climate change, urbanization, succession, disturbance, and management on forest landscape change in the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks (GCPO) region for the period 2000-2100.

This project will combine existing biotic and abiotic metrics for open pine savannas and woodlands developed by the US Forest Service and NatureServe with metrics developed to assess wildlife habitat value as part of the EGCPJV's desired forest conditions project.

Delivering adequate water supplies to support expanding human enterprise while maintaining the necessary flow regimes to support desired riparian ecosystems and formally protected wildlife species that depend upon them is increasingly difficult in the arid western United States.

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.

Rocky Mountain Research Station scientists initiated a study in the 1990s on avian distribution and habitat associations within the Sky Islands.

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.

Projected water deficits mean that land and water managers must be proactive in their management of rivers and shallow aquifers, if they want to maintain the ecosystems dependent upon them.

A strong data foundation is needed to inform science-based decisions for fisheries management at a watershed level.

The Grassland, Shrubland, Desert Program of the U.S.

In February 2014, taking action to implement a 2012 U.S.-Mexico agreement on the Colorado River known as Minute 319, International Boundary and Water Commissioners (IBWC) Edward Drusina and Roberto Fernando Salmon Castelo announced plans to move forward with a one-time pulse flow (a release of wa

Overgrazing and fire suppression have led to a loss of deep soils and vegetative cover in the 420,000 acre Alamosa Creek watershed in southwestern New Mexico.

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.

Assessing the vulnerability of species or ecosystems to climate change and formulating appropriate management responses requires predictions of the exposure and sensitivity of the species or ecosystems to projected changes.

University of Arizona will conduct an ecosystem conservation assessment for the lower San Pedro (LSP) watershed.

The substantially natural hydrography of the upper Gila River supports one of the highest levels of aquatic and riparian biodiversity in the region, including the largest complement of native fishes and some of the best remaining riparian habitat in the lower Colorado River Basin.

Southern Nevada Water Authority will add new modeling and analytical capabilities to tools developed as part of a previous WaterSMART Climate Analysis Tools Grant that assessed impacts of climate change on water quality and sediment transport in Lake Mead.

Museum of Northern Arizona, Inc. will leverage tools previously developed by the Springs Stewardship Initiative to help resource managers in the southwestern U.S.

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.

Explore climate change impacts on vegetation across the Desert and Southern Rockies LCCs using historical monitoring data collected from 23 sites across the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Mojave and Colorado Plateau deserts for 30-50 years.

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.

Understanding the physiological impacts of climate change on arid lands species is a critical step towards ensuring the resilience and persistence of such species under changing temperature and moisture regimes.

Texas Tech University will conduct quantitative and predictive analysis of the connectivity of isolated desert "wetlands", that include tinajas, the name for eroded pools in bedrock, for 20 wildlife species over the Sonoran desert ecoregion.

Sediment and nutrient runoff contributes to loss of agricultural productivity, degradation of local streams, and hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. The North Fork Maquoketa Basin has been identified as a major contributor of sediment and nutrients.

As part of the Genoa National Fish Hatchery Native Freshwater Mussel Restoration Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service researchers utilized advanced technology in mobile rearing to evaluate how different water sources support growth and survival of young freshwater mussels.

The purpose of this workshop is to identify important hydro- and ecological relationships that will affect the ability of floodplain managers to optimize their approaches to providing: 1) fish habitat; 2) wildlife habitat; 3) nutrient and sediment processing; and 4) flood regulation.

Provide decision support through develpoment of models and DSTs that inform conservation delivery for easements and habitat management within the LCA that address population and habitat objectives for surrogate species.

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.

Researchers with U.S.

Despite growing interest in ecosystem services and multi-functional landscapes, there are still relatively few examples of projects that assess the delivery of multiple goods and services and evaluate how multi-objective conservation strategies can improve outcomes relative to single-objective or

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.

To better understand the motivations of landowners, specifically farmers, to participate in programs that improve wildlife habitat and water quality in the region. The LCC is working with U.S. Geological Survey to evaluate factors influencing landowners’ enrollment in U.S.

Seven Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) are working together to identify key scientific uncertainties associated with design and management of a sustainable ecosystem/floodplain landscape that provides multiple benefits for agricultural productivity, water quality, and wildlife conservat

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

In FY12, hydrogeomorphic methodology was being applied along 670 miles of the Missouri River from Decatur, Nebraska to St. Louis, Missouri.

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.

The focus of the first Midwest Urban Conservation Workshop was to understand the challenges stakeholders are facing, define the needs for collaboration and best management practices, establish a platform for conversation focusing on learning from each other and creating an opportunity for collabo

FY2013

FY2013
Cheatgrass die-offs are unexplained instances of stand failure observed in areas of Nevada and Utah, where cheatgrass fails to grow even though it has been a dominant component of plant communities in the past. The goals of this project are to:

FY2013
The proposed project's objective is to provide a scientific review of

The project objective is to transfer to California a previously developed prioritization framework that combines intraspecific genetic and morphological variation with traditionally used indices of biodiversity, and test its general utility for conservation prioritization.

This project supports a collaborative, multi-stakeholder effort led by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to develop a largescale vulnerability assessment and associated adaptation strategies for focal resources of the Sierra Nevada.

To be successful, natural resource managers need to synthesize diverse information on the effects of management actions, climate change and other stressors on wildlife populations at appropriate scales.

Phase 1 (2013): The Northern California Coastal Forest ecoregion is dominated by coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) covering 13,300 km2 from just north of the California-Oregon border to Santa Cruz County, California, extending ~60 km inland.

The North-central California coast and ocean is a globally significant, extraordinarily diverse and productive marine and coastal ecosystem that is home to abundant wildlife, valuable fisheries, two national marine sanctuaries, two national parks, and a national wildlife refuge.