014
Landscape Conservation Design: Pilot Project for the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative
The Great Plains LCC has engaged the partnership in developing a pilot landscape conservation design (LCD) in the southern high plains ecoregion. We have committed to using this LCD approach to plan and prioritize conservation efforts implemented by the partnership to accomplish our short- and long-term grassland conservation goals. GPLCC partners identified 11 wildlife species to serve as representatives of our conservation priorities in this ecoregion; the habitat needs of these species will guide the integration of spatially-explicit data and potential conservation approaches across various scales. The process will include an assessment of the current state of grassland ecosystems throughout the GPLCC, including explicit delineation of major ecosystems and habitat types. Ecosystem threat assessment and identification of high-priority science and research needs will incorporate all 11 representative species, which include both resident and migratory species. This “state of the ecosystem” assessment will encompass the human ecosystem and will include human demographic as well as environmental variables. Through explicit consideration of data gaps and conservation needs, this assessment will enhance our understanding of Great Plains grasslands. Although much of this process will focus on delineating current and imminent ecosystem threats, its purpose is to provide regional context to help the partnership identify landscape-scale conservation opportunities that might otherwise remain unseen. Resulting products will help partners identify priority actions and locations to maximize our conservation effectiveness across the landscape; they provide decision support because they facilitate the consideration of landscape context within our partners’ individual decision-making processes.