A model for measuring and achieving Landscape Integrity: the Great Northern LCC

The Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative is one of 22 LCCs that are part of a continental model for ecologically connected landscapes.   Each LCC has unique ecological, jurisdictional and geographical opportunities and challenges that are being inegrated at a continental scale.  In this presentation, we offer a model of measuring landscape integrity as a measure of 'intactness.  The Great Northern LCC has a vision to sustain its diverse natural resources, traditional cultures and robust human communities.  The GNLCC Strategic Conservation Framework describes the over-arching goal of landscape integrity through intact blocks, connectivity, aquatic integrity and resilience of natural disturbance and describes 29 conservation targets used to measure progress.   Landscape Integrity is being measured through an index of conservation potential (inverse of human footprint) and is described in the draft final GNLCC Science Plan.   The process endeavors to synthesize ecological science and conservation practice across spatial and ecological scales — from fine grained, species-specific conservation targets through coarse quantifications of landscape integrity — to derive repeatable measures of conservation outcome effectiveness, thereby enabling the measurement toward goal attainment.