Conservation conflicts with the recovery of endangered California clapper rails, the eradication of invasive cordgrass and rising sea levels

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has invested heavily in Ecoregional Assessments, a form of systematic conservation planning, to help guide the geographic focus of our conservation work, especially in the United States. The systematic process and scientific analyses and information contained within these plans gives the Conservancy credibility to work with public agencies, industry sectors, and private landholders in implementing these plans. Implementation is often guided and influenced by funding sources, conservation opportunities (e.g., policy), enabling conditions, diverse stakeholder interests, and the urgency of threats to particular landscapes or seascapes. The search for conservation’s silver bullet of multi-site strategies that could leverage conservation efforts over large areas is often an overriding implementation concern. Although all of these factors can represent challenges, regional conservation assessments can also provide opportunities for engaging the private sector in such diverse areas as energy development, fisheries and MPAs, and timber or range management to help insure that these activities are conducted in places and a manner that promotes biodiversity conservation and conservation-friendly industry practices. Based on TNC’s success and failures, we suggest some lessons for future systematic conservation planning efforts.

We have seen and heard of the successes of effective stakeholder involvement in developing conservation strategies. Too often, however, stakeholder involvement 'early and often' comes in the simple form of informational meetings. In this session, we will share several case studies from Maine emphasizing the methods used to facilitate collective learning among resource users and managers. A central method we will share is called Community Fisheries Action Roundtable, or C-FAR, which we have used in several marine fisheries projects. We will present the projects, how we used C-FAR , and the communication and facilitation theory that supports how and why these methods work. In these projects, we seek to move beyond informational meetings that convey knowledge from manager to resource user to incorporate resource user's ecological knowledge into conservation and management strategies. We do this by creating meetings designed for multilateral information exchange. We used these methods to develop a new approach to fishery and watershed management, the development of new Maine licensing structures, and collaborative resource monitoring. For the last half of the session we will demonstrate these methods as we facilitate collective learning on this subject drawing from audience experiences in stakeholder engagement.

Effective biodiversity conservation usually requires coordinated action between stakeholders operating across local, regional, and landscape scales. A lack of collaboration in the decision making process might result in resources being wasted or uncoordinated on-ground implementation that fail to address the full scope of the conservation problem. In large-scale corridor restoration, the social networks that enable the collaboration necessary for effective action are as important as the ecological networks requiring restoration. Through a case study in Western Australia, we illustrate the ways in which the network of collaborations formed among actors in this area can affect effective conservation. We show how connections between actors can drive coordination across diverse scales of action, and highlight the role that key actors can play depending on how they are connected to the rest of the network. Our study contributes towards understanding of the relationship between social networks and successful biodiversity conservation, and has implications for how conservation partnerships are developed on the ground to increase the likelihood of success of conservation investments.

A good survey design for threatened or invasive plants and animals needs to reflect conservation management or scientific objectives. In the design of surveys aimed at inferring species presence or absence at a site, the objective is often to minimize the costs associated with surveying, detecting and missing the species. Whether these costs are borne by a single entity or multiple entities fundamentally affects survey design. Here we analyze approaches to setting minimum survey effort requirements for impact assessments when the costs of detecting and missing the species are borne by two different entities (developers and society). We consider two different design criteria that have been proposed in the literature for impact assessment surveys: 1) setting a target probability of non-detection at occupied sites and 2) setting a target probability of occupancy at sites where the species is not detected. We show how the first criterion has the merit of a straightforward relationship with the conservation management objective of achieving at most a fixed, acceptable loss of occupied sites due to falsely concluding a species absence. The second criterion has a less obvious interpretation but, if properly coupled with management objectives, can lead to reduced overall survey costs.

Urban residential vegetation is driven by homeowners’ socioeconomic status, city government policy, and price and availability of water. Water use in a semiarid urban landscape should reflect the natural habitat of the area. Urban vegetation in the Fresno-Clovis Metropolitan Area (FCMA) in Central California, where annual rainfall is 28.5cm, however, is similar to high rainfall areas. Fresno did not have water meters until the end of 2012. With new metering and changes in water prices a few homeowners are transitioning to waterwise yards but most retain traditional grass lawns. We focus on homeowners’ perception of water use, and the effect of residential water use on biodiversity in the FCMA. We mapped all non-grass yards in FCMA using Google Earth imagery. We compared plant, bird and arthropod diversity between waterwise yards and traditional grass lawns (N=20 each). We conducted focus group meetings with a random sample of homeowners in 3 socioeconomic strata (n=18), engaged community members in Audubon and Café Scientifique meetings (n=28), and surveyed parents of 5-6th grade students (n=150). Waterwise yards have more plant species than traditional grass lawns. Bird and arthropod diversities were not significantly different in Fall 2012. Homeowners were unaware of their monthly water consumption. They would change their yards if water prices go up with metering, but lack information about waterwise options. A toolkit for creating low-water yards is under construction.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a principal conservation tool but their efficacy is variable. A significant factor impeding MPA success is a lack of consideration of associated human systems. Given that MPAs restrict human activity, gaining local stakeholders' support for management is integral to achieving sustainable outcomes. An understanding of the social impacts of MPAs is thus critical to their successful implementation but remains poorly understood. We address this gap by investigating the long-term impacts of MPAs on human well-being in Sulawesi, Indonesia. These MPAs were implemented during 1997-2003. Using data from more than 2,000 interviews from 1997, 2000, 2002 and 2012, we compared how several dimensions of well-being have changed over time in project and control sites. Our study - one of the first to examine social impacts of MPAs using controls and time-series data (including an ex-post assessment) - found changes in various indicators of well-being relevant to MPA implementation (e.g. property rights, environmental knowledge, community organization). Further, we identified multiple management factors and characteristics of the political and social context, which affect MPA persistence, and lead to negative and positive social impacts of MPAs. Our research thus highlights the need for an integrated approach to MPA management, and may aid managers in designing MPAs to achieve social and biological benefits, thus engendering the support of local stakeholders.

While more fundamental scientific knowledge may inspire and orient the conservation programs of private foundations, the research they actually support is likely to be directly related to the specific objectives of those programs and foundation values. At the outset, research can inform how a foundation’s grantees can best apply their work and, over time, it can evaluate that work and its products for their effectiveness. Smaller foundations often commission research through intermediaries such as grantees, their environmental networks, and philanthropic advisory consultancies. Foundations may also convene scientific conferences or call for research proposals to address environmental challenges of particular interest to them. Drawing from the example of the Woodcock Foundation’s program to reduce the impact of highways as impediments to wildlife movements, we explore the barriers that exist between foundations and the research community, and ways to overcome these. We also discuss how working within the relatively unfettered, entrepreneurial culture of a private foundation can offer researchers surprising opportunities to create and promote solutions to real threats to the viability of the world’s ecosystems.

Folk classification provides a considerable opportunity for identification and selection of plus shea trees (Vitellaria paradoxa) for conservation and improvement. In Uganda, indigenous knowledge points to differences in morphological and organoleptic traits in shea trees and recognizes various local varieties. However, there is a dearth of scientific information on morphological, chemical and molecular variation among these folk varieties. This study was conducted in the shea tree belt of Uganda to document folk classification and management, examine morphological variation, analyze fat content and fatty acid composition, and assess molecular variation among shea tree folk varieties. Using participatory rural appraisal techniques, 44 folk varieties based on morphological and organoleptic traits were documented. Analysis of variance of quantitative morphological traits as well as chemical (fat content and fatty acid composition) data obtained by near infrared spectroscopy and wet chemistry showed no congruence with folk classification. Nuclear microsatellite analysis showed that 86.90% of molecular variation occurred within individual trees, 8.43% was found among individual trees within folk variety groupings while 4.67% was found among ethno-variety groupings. This indicates that these folk varieties are arbitrarily defined sub-groups of a single randomly mating population. Sampling for conservation/breeding of this species should therefore target the entire population.

The Carpathian basin is one of the main migrating and wintering area of Eurasian wild geese. The Hortobágy National Park is a stopover place for birds with mainly grasslands, wetlands and fishponds. The most of the migrating geese are White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons), but the globally endangered Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus) and the Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis) also observed each year. The Greylag Goose (Anser anser) is the only breeding goose species in the area and regular in the migration periods as well. The Hortobágy Fishpond system is the annual migration resting site of the Scandinavian Lesser White-fronted Goose population in autumn and spring. The Red-breasted Goose is an annual visitor in Hungary between October and April. In recent years we observed a significant increase in number of overwintering geese, and we have found several changes in the timing of goose migration caused by climatic factors. Most of the wintering birds are White-fronted Geese, but the two endangered goose species also detected each year.

Although some might argue that there are far higher conservation priorities than any involving what we might call “urban” wildlife, there may be solid ground from which to challenge that notion. While it is true that the majority of species that have adapted to living in urban environments are generalists who face no great threat of extinction, at least some may be rare enough to be of real conservation concern. The tantalizing prospect that entirely new species may be arising with specific adaptations to urban habitats ought to be considered as well. Beyond such things, however, it the human dimension of urban wildlife that is relevant to larger conservation interests. If both positive and negative feelings are generated through direct experiential contact, then the sorts of interactions urbanites have with the wild animals with whom they share their daily lives will assume considerable significance. How conflicts between people and such synanthropes are resolved will be important in shaping attitudes and approaches to conflict resolution in other contexts. Urban wildlife can be visualized as comprising a bridging subdiscipline to link conservation biology and animal protection through an ethical framework that amplifies the values espoused by both.

Data quality is a primary concern in citizen science programs, particularly when the data are derived from opportunistic observations. Very rare or possibly extinct species such as the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) can gain near-mythical status in popular culture, potentially increasing the frequency of false reports at a time when actual sightings of the species are of enormous value. Thus, conservation practitioners must find ways to reliably assess the quality of reports submitted by the public. The Sasquatch/Bigfoot phenomenon is a largely untapped source for anecdotal data that may have surprising utility in tackling this problem. Here I present the methodology behind the Sasquatch Observers' Survey, an Internet-based survey designed to test the hypothesis that reports of Sasquatch submitted by the public represent fabrications and misidentifications. The survey uses a novel approach: it actively solicits fictitious reports and reports of non-target animals (bears) to compare against alleged reports of target animals (Sasquatches). It also collects metadata on participants' interactions with the survey, as well as information on their knowledge, experience, personal backgrounds, and levels of confidence. With this information, the study aims to develop broadly useful indices of data quality, which may be used to improve methods for collecting and analyzing anecdotal observations in citizen science programs.

Evidence-based decision making and adaptive management are cornerstones of wildlife conservation and key to confronting climate change. However, these tools require effective integration of the producers and users of science. We conducted a survey of wildlife researchers and managers in the state of Wisconsin to elucidate how differences in communication style and risk perception could impede climate-adaptive resource management. We received surveys from 95 field managers, 54 administrators/policymakers and 75 researchers. All but one respondent agreed that climate change is occurring, but 44% of the sample and 32% of field managers were unsure if it will negatively impact wildlife. All three groups had similar opinions of strategies like translocation, rely on personal experience when deciding when to use a strategy, and agree on what is needed to make good decisions (and that these factors aren't used enough in practice). As expected, researchers primarily communicate through the literature, but managers rely on in-person communication and want information that is relevant to decision-making. Relatedly, only

There are strong concerns about illegal hunting activities such as poaching. Poaching may negatively impact animal populations by causing local extinctions, reducing genetic variability, reducing trophy size and hunting opportunities, and altering sex ratios and age structures. One approach to help mitigate poaching is to identify patterns of reported poaching activity and to document poaching arrests to help facilitate the efficiency of future surveillance for poachers. Our goal of this manuscript was to analyze temporal, spatial, and environmental patterns associated with poaching activity reported for white-tailed deer, based on reports of poaching activity. We analyzed data from 67 reported poaching events from 2000 to 2009 and correlated these events with temporal, spatial, and environmental variables to determine trends in illegal hunting behavior. We found that poachers preferred to be active during the evening in mid to late autumn (primarily Oct-Dec), on days with no precipitation and high visibility, and in areas next to roads, forests, and riparian cover types containing variable topography. We used these results to develop a spatially explicit map depicting hot spots of poaching activity. By identifying patterns of poaching behavior and spatially explicit prediction maps, conservation officers will be able to survey for poaching activity more efficiently.