Developing a Conceptual Scientific Framework for Conservation in the Arid West

DEVELOPING A CONCEPTUAL SCIENTIFIC FRAMEWORK FOR CONSERVATION IN THE ARID WEST Aridlands Grazing Network, Workshop 1 Medano-Zapata Ranch, Colorado April 11–13, 2001 TNC’s Mission Statement The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. Conservation Vision The Nature Conservancy’s vision is to conserve portfolios of functional conservation areas within and across ecoregions. Through this portfolio approach, we will work with partners to conserve a full array of ecological systems and viable native species. Conservation Goal for 2010 By 2010, The Nature Conservancy and its partners will take direct action to conserve 600 functional landscape--500 in the United States and 100 in 35 countries abroad. The Conservancy also will deploy high-leverage strategies to ensure the conservation of at least 2,500 other functional conservation areas--2,000 in the United States and 500 in other countries. Copies of this summary are available on the Landscape Conservation Network Web Site: www.tnc-ecomanagement.org Or contact: Bob Unnasch Monitoring and Adaptive Management Program 1109 Main Street, #333 Boise, ID 83702 208-343-8826; [email protected] Important concepts were outlined in three EXECUTIVE guest presentations: SUMMARY · Bruce Runnels, Vice President of TNC’s Rocky Mountain Division, provided an andscape Conservation Networks overview of grazing within the Conser- (LCNs) are a promising new vehicle vancy and touched on some of the Lfor catalyzing the development and biodiversity challenges unique to the implementation of innovative, landscape- American West. Bruce also introduced scale ecological management and restoration the Rocky Mountain Division’s Range- strategies at hundreds of TNC’s conserva- land Conservation Initiative. tion areas. The networks bring together Conservancy field staff, partners, and ex- · Charles Curtin, Director of the Arid perts in a progressive series of facilitated Lands Project, gave an overview of the workshops focused on key threats and scientific literature on the impacts of strategies. grazing. Charles noted that the impacts of grazing are confounded, and often In the five-state region known as the Rocky overshadowed, by factors such as cli- Mountain Division, TNC has identified 60 mate (especially rainfall) and fire. R e- landscape-scale areas where it intends to moving cattle from a particular work with partners to conserve biodiversity. degraded area will not necessarily lead Because more than 75% of these 60 areas to recovery. Rather, evidence suggests occur in ranching landscapes, the Conser- that conservation practitioners need to vancy has begun to develop strategies that focus their efforts on restoring and sus- are inclusive of livestock production; this taining natural processes. work also extends beyond the states that comprise TNC’s Rocky Mountain Division. · Richard Knight of Colorado State Uni- The Conservancy is now involved with versity talked about socio-economic is- grazing as a conservation tool at more than sues in today’s American West, and 25 sites in the American West. how they relate to conservation of ranchlands. There has been much dis- The issue of “conservation ranching” is both cussion about the relative impacts of complex, requiring integration of a number residential development versus ranch- of disciplines, and controversial. Recogniz- ing in the West (the “ranches vs. ing the need to imbue “conservation ranch- ranchettes” debate). Citing both his own ing” with sound science, and develop research and studies conducted by oth- practical, appropriately scaled solutions, ers, Richard explained why he believes TNC created the Aridlands Grazing Net- the conservation community needs to work. seek common ground with today’s ranchers to preserve both biodiversity The network held its first workshop at the and the ranching way of life. Medano-Zapata Ranch in Colorado, April 11–13, 2001. The meeting focused on re- Over the course of the three-day meeting, viewing the conceptual scientific frame- six key lessons and ideas emerged. Four of works of four “focal landscapes.” These the lessons relate to the idea that models four focal landscapes are the Zumwalt Prai- form the foundation for adaptive manage- rie in Oregon, the Owyhee Canyonlands in ment and effective conservation: southwest Idaho, the Great Sand Dunes portion of the Closed Basin in Colorado, and Clearly document conceptual model as- the Headwaters Ranch area in New Mexico. sumptions and where model components are based on expert opinion versus data. By documenting our degree of certainty in ES-1 model structure, we can identify areas similar sites where they will foster achieve- needing further study, and where adjust- ment of conservation goals. ments may be necessary based on improved knowledge. Identify shared goals as a means to reduce barriers to action. When working with Maintain consistency between viability partners, be open to compromise but be analyses and model structure. Models need aware of the consequences for conservation to include those key ecosystem structures, goals. Document why decisions are made functions, and dynamics that maintain or and scientifically assess the impacts of ac- degrade conservation target viability. tions taken. Long-term success depends on maintaining a realistic approach to land- Short-term climatic variation can be over- scape planning. whelmingly important to aridland systems. Physical drivers (e.g., geologic sub- strate, climate, soils) can often be more important than anthropogenic agents of change or biological factors to system structure and func- tion. In the Arid West, systems are often sensitive to climatic variation (especially rainfall) and long-term climate change, and these relation- ships are integral to a thorough understanding of the conservation needs of targets. Physical template and ecology first, economics second. It is critical to understand the physical template of a system and how physical factors constrain ecosystem dynamics. Although economic and social components must eventually find their place within our hypotheses about ecosystem structure and dynamics, site practitioners must gain a thorough understanding of the ecology of a system before incorporating economic and social analyses. The other two lessons are about adaptive management and engag- ing our partners in the ranching community: Use compatible grazing practices as a multi-site or ecoregional-scale strategy. Successful grazing practices on Conservancy-owned or The Nature Conservancy is using cattle grazing as a strat- other properties should be ex- egy to help protect two rivers and their associated conser- ported to adjacent or regionally vation targets at the Headwaters Ranch in New Mexico. ES-2 · Communicating standardized methods FOREWORD and concepts (e.g., the 5-S framework). ritical threats to biodiversity, in- Each network consists of 15 to 35 landscape- cluding fire suppression and danger- scale sites, and is structured around a series Cous fuel loads, invasive species, and of workshops held over a period of two to incompatible forestry and grazing practices, three years. Each workshop lasts approxi- imperil thousands of species and hundreds mately three days and consists of presenta- of conservation areas across millions of tions by Conservancy and external scientific acres. If The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is experts, work group sessions, and intensive to achieve its mission of preserving the di- peer review of products created by the focal versity of life on earth, these threats must be and participating landscapes (e.g., concep- addressed at the scale of entire landscapes. tual ecological models or monitoring plans). Accordingly, the Conservancy recently set the ambitious goal of taking direct action to The Aridlands Grazing Network, launched conserve 600 functional landscapes—500 in in April 2001, provides a forum and ongoing the United States and 100 in 35 countries support for the development and imple- abroad—by 2010. mentation of conservation strategies in the context of aridland ranching. There are cur- Achieving this goal will require TNC to de- rently four other Landscape Conservation velop ecological management strategies that Networks addressing wetland management, are effective at large spatial scales, and to restoration of fire-adapted ecosystems, inva- implement these strategies across portfolios sive species, and compatible forest man- of conservation areas quickly and efficiently. agement. To address these challenges, the Ecological Management and Restoration Program For more information on the Aridlands launched a series of Landscape Conserva- Grazing Network, contact Bob Unnasch tion Networks (LCNs) in late 2000. ([email protected]). For more information about the LCNs, contact Jeff Hardesty The goal of the Landscape Conservation ([email protected]) or Wendy Fulks Networks is to foster cross-site learning ([email protected]). while significantly advancing ecological management practices at TNC’s priority landscapes. The networks bring together site-based practitioners, partners, and scientific experts who deal with similar landscape-scale ecological threats such as fire suppression, invasive species, or incompatible forestry practices. They provide a highly effective forum for: · Fostering cross-site learning; · Identifying and communicating best practices and lessons learned;

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