Issues in forest restoration: Integrating ecological restoration and conservation biology: a case study from Southwestern ponderosa pine forests

Among the many challenges land managers face in implementing restoration projects, one of the greatest is the difficulty of integrating restoration with other management imperatives. One of the most significant of those is the need to manage natural areas for the conservation of native animal and plant species. Some species are popular for hunting and wildlife watching; many serve vital ecological roles; many are rare and under special legal protection. It is not always clear if their habitat needs are compatible with restoring ecological integrity across the landscape. Yet there is evidence that ecological restoration can overlap to a large degree with the priorities of conservation biology. In 2004 the Ecological Restoration Institute sponsored two workshops aimed at exploring this issue

Some suggestions for keeping national wildlife refuges healthy and whole

National wildlife refuges have a biological conservation mandate surpassing that of any other category of public land in the United States. The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 forged a statutory requirement to maintain the biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health of refuges, Yet, considerably more guidance from science is needed if this mandate is to be interpreted in a scientifically defensible and biologically conservative manner. After evaluation of the extent to which well-accepted goals and principles of conservation biology are reflected in the wildlife refuge system mandate and in the actual design and management of refuges, it is evident that connections of refuges and other reserves across regional landscapes and better integration of refuge management with surrounding land uses are needed to enhance the conservation mission of refuges. A careful interpretation of biological (or ecological) integrity, biodiversity, and health in establishing policies for refuges and in indicator selection, monitoring, and adaptive management is essential. Integrity, the broadest of the three concepts invoked in the new mandate, incorporates notions of wholeness (or intactness or completeness), resistance to stress, and resilience - the capacity to bounce back after a disturbance. Measuring the position and movement of refuges along a complex gradient Of relatively pristine to highly degraded requires well-selected indicators and a rigorous monitoring design. Finally, the spirit of the new mandate can be fully realized only when managers and policy makers embrace the land ethic of Aldo Leopold and are willing and able to think bigger in space, time, and ambition

Managing fire-prone forests in the western United States

The management of fire-prone forests is one of the most controversial natural resource issues in the US today, particularly in the west of the country. Although vegetation and wildlife in these forests are adapted to fire, the historical range of fire frequency and severity was huge. When fire regimes are altered by human activity, major effects on biodiversity and ecosystem function are unavoidable. We review the ecological science relevant to developing and implementing fire and fuel management policies for forests before, during, and after wildfires. Fire exclusion led to major deviations from historical variability in many dry, low-elevation forests, but not in other forests, such as those characterized by high severity fires recurring at intervals longer than the period of active fire exclusion. Restoration and management of fire-prone forests should be precautionary, allow or mimic natural fire regimes as much as possible, and generally avoid intensive practices such as post-fire logging and planting

A Vulnerability Assessment of 300 Species in Florida: Threats from Sea Level Rise, Land Use, and Climate Change

Species face many threats, including accelerated climate change, sea level rise, and conversion and degradation of habitat from human land uses. Vulnerability assessments and prioritization protocols have been proposed to assess these threats, often in combination with information such as species rarity; ecological, evolutionary or economic value; and likelihood of success. Nevertheless, few vulnerability assessments or prioritization protocols simultaneously account for multiple threats or conservation values. We applied a novel vulnerability assessment tool, the Standardized Index of Vulnerability and Value, to assess the conservation priority of 300 species of plants and animals in Florida given projections of climate change, human land-use patterns, and sea level rise by the year 2100. We account for multiple sources of uncertainty and prioritize species under five different systems of value, ranging from a primary emphasis on vulnerability to threats to an emphasis on metrics of conservation value such as phylogenetic distinctiveness. Our results reveal remarkable consistency in the prioritization of species across different conservation value systems. Species of high priority include the Miami blue butterfly (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri), Key tree cactus (Pilosocereus robinii), Florida duskywing butterfly (Ephyriades brunnea floridensis), and Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium). We also identify sources of uncertainty and the types of life history information consistently missing across taxonomic groups. This study characterizes the vulnerabilities to major threats of a broad swath of Florida\u27s biodiversity and provides a system for prioritizing conservation efforts that is quantitative, flexible, and free from hidden value judgments

Connectivity Conservation and Endangered Species Recovery: A Study in the Challenges of Defining Conservation-Reliant Species

Many species listed under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) face continuing threats and will require intervention to address those threats for decades. These species, which have been termed conservation-reliant, pose a challenge to the ESA\u27s mandate for recovery of self-sustaining populations. Most references to conservation-reliant species by federal agencies involve the restoration of population connectivity. However, the diverse threats to connectivity faced by different species have contrasting implications in the context of the ESA\u27s mandate. For species facing long-term threats from invasive species or climate change, restoration of natural dispersal may not be technically feasible in the foreseeable future. For other species, restoration of natural dispersal is feasible, but carries economic and political cost. Federal agencies have used a broad definition of conservation reliance to justify delisting of species in the latter group even if they remain dependent on artificial translocation. Distinguishing the two groups better informs policy by distinguishing the technical challenges posed by novel ecological stressors from normative questions such as the price society is willing to pay to protect biodiversity, and the degree to which we should grow accustomed to direct human intervention in species\u27 life cycles as a component of conservation in the Anthropocene Epoch

Environmental policies to cope with novel disturbance regimes–steps to address a world scientists’ warning to humanity

ABL acknowledges postdoctoral funding from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and grants RTI2018-096187-J-100 from FEDER/ Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades and LRB20/1002 from the British Ecological Society.Alexander von Humboldt Foundation RTI2018-096187-J-100FEDER/ Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades LRB20/1002British Ecological Societ

Use of population viability analysis and reserve selection algorithms in regional conservation plans

Current reserve selection algorithms have difficulty evaluating connectivity and other factors necessary to conserve wide-ranging species in developing landscapes. Conversely, population viability analyses may incorporate detailed demographic data, but often lack sufficient spatial detail or are limited to too few taxa to be relevant to regional conservation plans. We developed a regional conservation plan for mammalian carnivores in the Rocky Mountain region using both a reserve selection algorithm (SITES) and, a spatially explicit population model (PATCH). The spatially explicit population model informed reserve selection and network design by producing data on the locations of population sources, the degree of threat to those areas from landscape change, the existence of thresholds to population viability as the size of the reserve network increased, and the effect of linkage areas on population persistence. A 15% regional decline in carrying capacity for large carnivores was predicted within 25 years if no addition to protected areas occurred. Increasing the percentage of the region in reserves from the current 17.2% to 36.4% would result in a 1-4% increase over current carrying capacity, despite the effects of landscape change. The population model identified linkage areas that were not chosen by the reserve selection algorithm, but whose protection strongly affected population viability. A reserve network based on carnivore conservation goals incidentally protected 76% of ecosystem types, but was poor at capturing localized rare species. Although it is unlikely that planning for focal species requirements alone will capture all facets of biodiversity, when used in combination with other planning foci, it may help to forestall the effects of loss of connectivity on a larger group of threatened species and ecosystems. A better integration of current reserve selection tools and spatial simulation models should produce reserve designs that are simultaneously biologically realistic and taxonomically inclusive

New Directions in Conservation for the National Wildlife Refuge System

The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 includes the nation’s broadest statutory commitment to ecosystem protection: to “ensure that the biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health of the system are maintained.” The act also directs the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to expand the scope of conservation monitoring, assessment, and management beyond refuge boundaries to encompass surrounding landscapes. The act thus gives the FWS a leadership role in developing research and management partnerships with other agencies, organizations, and neighboring landowners. Increasing research capacity and scientific expertise, and strengthening institutional resolve to limit activities that impede the attainment of this directive, are challenges for the FWS. Success requires reexamination of existing priorities, refocused training, the acquisition of new funding and technical expertise, and creative application of those new skills to meet the law’s broad mandat