A proposal for a comprehensive landscape conservation design paradigm to integrate features of islands and continents

The Department of the Interior’s Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC) are regional applied conservation partnerships, which together form a network of scientific and management expertise to sustain the natural and cultural diversity of landscapes and seascapes within the United States and affiliated islands and territories. Of the 22 LCCs, three are composed entirely of islands, while several others contain numerous islands of high conservation value. Ecological and societal features of islands that are critical to effective conservation design differ markedly from continental settings, and necessitate a framework that identifies shared priority resources and develops guidelines for Landscape Conservation Designs (LCD) that are relevant to achieving sustainable landscapes and seascapes at regional scales. This report summarizes key island features among the LCCs that vary in degree by archipelago and underlie the challenges of LCD in these settings, including endemism, connectivity, scale, linkage of terrestrial and marine systems, exposure to climate change, and social/political diversity. Differences and similarities between island and continental systems that are relevant to the LCC mission are assessed, and analysis of interviews and surveys conducted with LCC members highlight the social, technical, and management issues that are unique to islands within the LCC network. This cross-island synthesis is vital to guiding evaluation of issues at appropriate spatial scales, and developing a conservation framework that integrates planning processes for terrestrial and marine resources, and connects LCD efforts for both islands and mainland LCCs.