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A Primer for Using Conservation Science to Select and Design

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A Primer for Using Conservation Science to Select and Design Using Conservation Science Science Conservation Using Green r fo r e f rim P A Community-based Design and Select to Reserves Nature Beyond Islands o Beyond Islands Green of Beyond Islands of Green A Primer for Using Conservation Science to Select and Design Community-based Nature Reserves and diversity of biological systems. biological of diversity and positive actions can conserve the integrity integrity the conserve can actions positive consequences that sometimes occur when people people when occur sometimes that consequences interact with nature, it is founded in optimism that that in optimism is founded it nature, with interact While conservation science recognizes the negative negative the recognizes science conservation While Conservation science is ultimately a science of hope. hope. of a science is ultimately science Conservation To order printed copies contact: May be cited as: Environment Canada Environment Canada. 2005. Beyond Islands of Green: A Primer Canadian Wildlife Service for Using Conservation Science to Select and Design Community- 4905 Dufferin Street based Nature Reserves. Environment Canada, Downsview, Downsview, ON M3H 5T4 Ontario. 80 pp. Tel: (416) 739-5830 Fax: (416) 739-5845 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS E-mail: [email protected] Principal authors: Ron Reid of Bobolink Enterprises and Dan Kraus of the An electronic version of this guide is available at: Nature Conservancy of Canada www.on.ec.gc.ca/wildlife/publications-e.html Concept and coordination: Graham Bryan, Environment Canada – Ecological Gifts Canadian Wildlife Service publications are available at Program (Ontario) www.on.ec.gc.ca/wildlife. All publications are available Production: in both HTML and PDF formats. Liz Sauer, Environment Canada – Wildlife Outreach Section (Ontario) This guide was printed on recycled paper with vegetable-based inks. Julie Suzanne Pollock, Environment Canada – Wildlife Outreach Section (Ontario) Published by authority of the Minister of the Environment Illustrations: ©Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2005 Krista Holmes, Environment Canada – Habitat Section (Ontario) Catalogue No. En164-6/2005E-PDF Design: ISBN 0-662-42071-3 Thrive Design and Communications Inc., Toronto Contributors: Aussi disponible en français sous le titre : Thank you to Nancy Patterson and Lesley Dunn for direction, Au-delà des îlots de verdure : Guide d’introduction à l’utilisation des advice and guidance sciences de la conservation pour choisir et concevoir des réserves naturelles communautaires Thank you to the many reviewers who took the time to comment, revise and in some cases provide additional text: Tom Beechy, Photo credits: Kara Brodribb, Lesley Dunn, Blair Hammond, Natalie Helferty, Front cover: Canadian Wildlife Service Krista Holmes, Olaf Jensen, Mike McMurtry, Angus McLeod, Back cover: Eric Dresser Nancy Patterson, Don Ross, Paul Zorn About the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) The Canadian Wildlife Service, part of Environment Canada, manages wildlife matters that are the responsibility of the federal government. These include protection and management of migratory birds, nationally-significant habitat and endangered species, as well as work on other wildlife issues of national and international importance. In addition, the Canadian Wildlife Service does research in many fields of wildlife biology and provides incentive programs for land stewardship and donation. r e s s e r D c i r E BEYOND ISLANDS OF GREEN Table of Contents Executive Summary ....................................2 1.0 Introduction .....................................5 1.1 The Need for Good Conservation Planning 7 2.0 The Foundations of Protected Areas Planning ....................9 2.1 A Brief History of Conservation Approaches 10 2.2 An Introduction to Biodiversity 14 2.3 Geographic Scales of Biodiversity 18 2.4 Distribution of Biodiversity 20 2.5 Threats to Biodiversity 21 3.0 Using Conservation Planning to Focus on What Matters Most ...........25 3.1 Defining and Understanding a Planning Region 26 3.1.1 Assembling Existing Biodiversity Information 28 3.2 Selecting Potential Conservation Targets 32 3.3 Evaluating the Priority of Potential Targets 37 3.3.1 Assessing the Viability of Conservation Targets 37 3.3.2 Gap Analysis 41 3.3.3 Assessing Future Threats 42 3.3.4 Threats, Vulnerability, and Urgency 44 3.3.5 Setting Goals and Mapping Potential Priority Sites 45 4.0 Building a Network of Nature Reserves – Balancing Science and Opportunity ...47 5.0 Designing Nature Reserves That Work .......................54 5.1 Purpose and Values 55 5.2 Overlap and Efficiency 57 5.3 Size and Shape 58 5.4 Buffers and Adjacent Lands 59 6.0 From Planning to Practice: Securement, Stewardship and Monitoring .......60 6.1 Responding to Securement Opportunities 61 6.2 Stewardship 62 6.3 Measuring Conservation Success 63 Literature Cited.....................................64 Glossary of Terms....................................68 Appendix A: Disjunct and Endemic Insects and Vascular Plants from Ontario . 73 Appendix B: Criteria to Evaluate Land Protection Projects...............77 Appendix C: The Big Picture and The Conservation Blueprint . 79 B E Y O ND ISLANDS OF GREEN 1 Executive Summary he number and capacity of organizations involved Key Principles: in land conservation in Ontario has been rapidly • Base landscape analysis on an ecologically based T growing. Their effectiveness can be strengthened planning region to provide a strong framework for over time by moving to a more systematic approach to conservation planning. planning based on conservation science. This report is intended as a “primer” for land trusts and other commu- • Incorporate conservation goals and data relevant nity organizations involved in nature protection projects, to the planning region that have been identified in especially the lands to be certified by Environment previous conservation planning initiatives. Canada as ecological gifts. This report provides an introduction to the basic principles of conservation science and how to incorporate this science into the 2.Selecting Potential Conservation Targets: design and selection of nature reserves or other areas A key step is to develop a list of priority species, commu- set aside for biodiversity conservation purposes. nities and ecological systems within the planning region as potential conservation targets. These targets could Nature reserves are usually designed to conserve elements include rare or distinctive species and communities, of biodiversity, which include species diversity, genetic high quality representation, sites of regional interest, diversity, and community and ecosystem diversity. or critical ecological functions. Biodiversity operates at different spatial scales ranging from a few square metres to vast ecosystems, with its distribution driven by variations in climate, soils, topography and geology. Conservation targets: Species, communities, or other elements selected as a focus for While biodiversity is sometimes threatened by broad- conservation efforts. scale processes such as climate change, five threats most commonly impact nature conservation at the Natural heritage sites: Defined areas of regional level: conservation interest that form integrated units • Habitat change and that have been mapped and often named • Habitat fragmentation (e.g., Greenock Swamp). • Invasive species Nature reserves: Generally, specific tracts of land or water set aside to conserve natural • Altered ecological processes features and functions through protective • Over-exploitation and persecution ownership and/or regulation. Agencies such as the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources may The process of using conservation science and planning have separate definitions and mandates in regard to focus on “what matters most” generally follows a to nature reserves – selecting and designing series of steps: such reserves are not the focus of this report. 1. Defining and Understanding a Planning Region: The starting point for conservation planning is selecting Key Principles: a region on the basis of its ecological characteristics • Begin at the community and landscape level (coarse- (which may not always correspond to a land trust’s area filter targets) in setting conservation targets. of operations). Initial information collection usually highlights sources of information and other planning • Give highest priority to communities, species and initiatives that can be useful. For land trusts established features that are globally at risk. according to political or community boundaries, identifying ecologically based planning regions can greatly aid in planning and identifying priorities. 2 B E Y O ND ISLANDS OF GREEN • In landscapes with little inventory information, i Representation of as many communities and make use of indicators of special biodiversity values, species as possible including unique landscape features, an exceptionally ii Resiliency to respond to anticipated stresses high richness of species, and a high diversity of ecological systems including landscape ecotones iii Redundancy of habitat types in case some examples a (transition zone between two adjacent types of are lost vegetation that are different). iv Restorable habitats • Include habitats and species with a high frequency v Sufficient habitat to ensure ecological functions of good-quality sites within the planning region, are protected especially for groupings of species of conservation concern. vi Flexibility where appropriate in incorporating common elements
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