Projects

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives use a collaborative approach to identify landscape scale conservation solutions. LCCs work across jurisdictional and political boundaries to work with partners to: meet unfilled conservation needs, develop decision support tools, share data and knowledge, and facilitate and foster partnerships.

As part of a shared science strategy, LCCs coordinate closely with the National Climate Change and Wildlife Center and the eight regional Climate Science Centers.

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

We propose a regional assessment of aquatic species vulnerabilities and responses to climate change as the basis for adaptive management for aquatic ecosystems in the Great Northern LCC, using the Transboundary Flathead Ecosystem as a case example.

This proposal is to deliver the pilot component of a wetland tracking project initiated by the CIJV in 2010.

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

We propose to work with the Rocky Mountain Partnership Forum to expand upon the successful approach applied in the first two years of this project to help managers incorporate climate change science into their natural resource management decisions for a new resource of interest that will be chose

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 Western Governors Association has sponsored an assessment of crucial habitats which will be used for the evaluation of landscape-scale energy, land use, and transportation projects.

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.

Defenders staff, contractors and Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative partners will build a portal on the Conservation Registry to visualize landscape scale plans and conservation projects that address the priorities of the program.

Workshop goals were to gather a diverse group of researchers and management professionals
to focus on three objectives:
Sharing current information regarding the effects of climate change on aquatic ecosystems

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

Landscape simulation modeling will be used to develop detailed management guidelines for restoring and sustaining whitebark pine under future climates, accounting for the principal stressors that threaten its persistence (exotic disease infections, mountain pine beetles, and fire exclusion polici

Despite extensive knowledge and data surrounding the status and threats to Yellowstone cutthroat trout there is currently no comprehensive framework for prioritizing conservation of populations and metapopulations (i.e., locations) and potential actions that could be taken in these locations to s

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.

Colville Tribes Fish and Wildlife scientists will participate in GNLCC meetings in FY2014, so that we can explore our mutual interests, learn about available resources for landscape level assessments, and discover opportunities to expand research and mitigation efforts in our area of the Pacific

FY2013
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:

FY2014
The goals for the project are

Sea level rise caused by climate change is an ongoing phenomenon and a concern both locally and worldwide.

The Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership, a partner in the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative, is advancing instream flow science by developing basic information necessary to support flow standards and water management recommendations for waterways throughout the region.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley in south Texas is one of the largest migratory bird stopovers in North America and a major birding hotspot.

Grassland-shrubland prairie has been important to the livelihoods of generations of ranchers; to the hunting community because of prized game species; and to endangered species, such as the black-capped vireo, as habitat.

This project, part of a broader effort called the Gulf Coast Vulnerability Assessment, involved identifying gaps in data and integrating datasets and corresponding metadata required for a Gulf of Mexico-wide assessment of conditions and variables affecting barrier island vulnerability.

While siltation in the areas between reservoir and riverine ecosystems can damage habitat, there is emerging evidence to suggest certain water management strategies could promote high fish diversity in these areas—but this needs to be further studied.

Comprehensive geospatial data covering the area of the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative is needed to better inform and improve countless conservation efforts and help partners convey a shared vision and priorities for this area in geospatial terms.

This project will use a Bayesian statistical framework to predict coastal erosion and inundation under a range of sea level rise scenarios.

This project integrates a reforestation decision support model for priority forest breeding birds and a restoration decision support tool for the federally-threatened Louisiana Black Bear.

This project links downscaled climate data to an ecosystem model (LINKAGES) to a landscape simulator (LANDIS) to wildlife models (HSI). Collectively, these models offer a means to assess the response of wildlife to climate change - mediated through habitat.

The Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative Geomatics Working Group developed an on-line platform to serve geospatial data in a consistent manner that also allows end-users to easily discover, access, and integrate existing data and tools without dedicated GIS software o

A prioritization model for identifying potentially suitable but currently unoccupied habitats to target search and restoration efforts for the federally-threatened Louisiana Pearlshell Mussel.

Development of a model to identify areas within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley that are suitable for alligator gar.

Anabat surveys of bats are being coordinated across National Wildlife Refuges in the Southeast as part of a larger effort to monitor trends in abundance and distribution of bats

Building off the successes of the stratified random sampling approach to selecting aerial transects for waterfowl surveying used by Mississippi and Arkansas, the waterfowl conservation community is undertaking this approach across the entire Mississippi Alluvial Valley.

This project represents the first attempt to map floodplain inundation frequency at the landscape scale in the south central United States. Using 15-40 images per Landsat scene, we established a wide range of possible flood frequencies across a variety of rising and falling river stages.

The objectives of this study are to quantify occupancy rates for species endpoints in the open pine broadly defined habitat type.

This project maps glade complexes from aerial imagery at fine-scale resolution and ground truths the classified data. Phase I covers the Missouri Ozarks.

This project maps glade complexes from aerial imagery at fine-scale resolution and ground truths the classified data. Phase Ii covers the Arkansas Ozarks.

This communications strategy provides a comprehensive framework of prescribed fire issues and messages within which the East Gulf Coastal Plain Joint Venture can identify priority actions according to their 'niche' of focusing on fire's ecological benefits to wildlife, especially birds, particula

This project will evaluate the extent to which planted pine can provide Desired Ecological States for wildlife species using literature review and meta-analyses.

This project will expand the East Gulf Coastal Plain's existing grassland bird habitat model for prioritizing habitat management to include non-avian species of conservation concern in theGulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks region.

This project will improve the existing Louisiana and Ozarks black bear models by incorporating more accurate, up-to-date landcover data, detailed agricultural data, and urbanization data.

This project will use more than 10 years of monitoring data to develop biometric habitat models for 9 of the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative's species endpoints within the open pine woodland and savanna habitat type.

The Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership will engage regional aquatic experts to provide input into the development of desired ecological states - defined by landscape and species endpoints - for each of the broadly defined Freshwater Aquatic habitat types listed in the Gulf Coastal Plains and