State prairie may2014 bartush edwards ls

DEVELOPING COMMON PLATFORMS DATA & INFORMATION SHARING: INVENTORY, MAPPING & EVALUATION

5th Annual State of the Prairie Conference Challenges in Conservation & Restoration Session Bill Bartush & Cynthia Edwards Gulf Coast Prairie LCC May 31, 2014 www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

The GCP LCC • Established in 2001 • Parts of 5 States and

portions of Mexico • Sound Science • Coordination of partner efforts • Adding value to those efforts

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

GCP LCC Steering Committee • Federal Agencies • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service • U.S. Geological Survey • National Park Service • Natural Resource Conservation

Service • Department of Commerce (NOAA) • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

• State Agencies • Texas Parks and Wildlife

Department • Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries • Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation • Other Organizations • The Conservation Fund • Ducks Unlimited • The Nature Conservancy • Joint Ventures of the NAWMP • Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

LCC GCPLCC: Geographic Boundaries: Where The Place

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

• Edwards Plateau • Oaks & Prairies • Tamaulipan Brushlands • Gulf Coastal Prairie

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Diverse Grassland Types that include: • Texas Blackland Tallgrass Prairie • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie • South Texas Sand Sheet • Central Mixed Grass Prairie • Tamaulipan Savanna Grassland

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Strategic Habitat Conservation • Steering Committee

direction • Grassland habitats essential for many species our partners work to conserve – and the Focal Species agreed to in the LCC Partnership www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

2012 Science Forum • Development of GCP LCC geo-database depicting priority

habitats/species range, soils, threats • Habitat management- restoration/re-vegetation

(grasslands, fire and burn effects, bottomland hardwoods, riparian hardwoods, Chenier forests, etc.)

• Led to the OK Ecological Systems Mapping effort o Principle Investigator: Allan Janus, ODWC

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Ongoing Efforts • Multi-State High Resolution Land Cover: o Oklahoma Ecological Systems Mapping o Principal Investigator: Allan Janus, ODWC • Conservation Planning Atlas o Data Storage o Mapping Products • Inventory Tools (GMIT) o Developed with the Joint Venture partners

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

2013 Prairie Partners Meeting • Needs identified: • Decision Support Tools (DST) to enable well informed

decisions o Common elements as a basis o Flexible so partners can focus on their priorities – education,

species, diversity, working lands, connectivity…

• Opportunities to come together to come up with novel

solutions to different priorities

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

2013 Prairie Partners Meeting • ACTION ITEM: partners need to provide

recommendations to the organizers on where this team needs to go next • Led to the Development of the GCP LCC Project:

Grassland Decision Support Tool

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Project: Grassland Decision Support Tool • Initiated in 2013 • Dave Diamond (MoRAP) & Pat Comer (NatureServe) • Goals: 1) identify landscapes of importance at appropriate scale for further work 2) develop GIS data and decisions support tools to facility further conservation efforts

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Grassland Partner Workshops • Solicit partner input on: o Grassland types of interest: o Where are they? o Stressors?

o Types of grassland decisions that need to be made o Who is making them? o Identifying potential pilot project sites

• Partner Workshops held in: o Oklahoma City – May 7th o Austin – May 8th o Kingsville – May 13th o Lafayette – May 15th www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Oklahoma City Workshop • Grassland Types: o Savannas & native remnants o Grassland in poor condition that can be improved • Grassland Decisions: o Link to NRCS funding opportunities o Determining if management practices are working o Cross Timbers: better information on who is working there • Pilot Project areas: OPJV priority area (Southern OK), Deep Fork Wildlife Refuge

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Austin Workshop • Grassland Types: o Size/structure/species – all important factors o All grasslands important & all under stress • Grassland Decisions: o Where to direct funding & how much o Impact on Focal/Priority bird species o Receptive community – landowners • Pilot Project areas: Southern Priority area for OPJV GRIP

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

South OPJV East Focus Area: Washington, Austin, Fayette, Colorado and Lavaca Counties

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Kingsville Workshop • Grassland Types: o Coastal sand plain o Tamaulipan Grassland Bird Habitat o Ingleside Sand Sheet • Grassland Decisions: o Enhancing connectivity o Where best to provide incentives – willingness & efficiency o Outreach & demonstration locations • Pilot Project areas: South Texas Plains west of Highway

#77

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Lafayette Workshop • Grassland Types: o The mosaic of pasture, rangeland, improved pasture • Grassland Decisions: o Where to acquire, restore and manage • Pilot Project areas: Chenier Plain – Calcasieu and

Cameron Parishes – possibly moving into Jefferson & Chambers Parishes

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Next Steps: Grassland DST • Establish overall workplan based on the feedback • Determine Pilot Project areas • Map current locations of priority grassland types • Spatial Analysis • Develop the Decision Support Toolkit • Project completion in Summer 2015

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

The LCC adding value • Catalyst to bring partners together • Ability to store and provide access to data & mapping

products • Multiple Partners: Strategic Habitat Conservation • Getting land managers to contribute to SHC objectives • AND enabling them to continue to make a living from that land

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Conservation on the Landscape Seeking Better Ways to Live

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

The LCC adding value • Moving into Human Dimensions Science – Barriers to the

Use of Prescribed Fire Case Study • Special Session at the upcoming GCP LCC Steering Committee • Sociologists and economists – studies to identify and then address

barriers to uptake of conservation programs

Source: TPWD www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Montague County Texas

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Oklahoma Ozark Glades

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Oklahoma Ozark Prairie

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Questions?

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

Texas prairies - GCJV File Photo

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org

www.gulfcoastprairielcc.org