Presented at the Aug. 2011 Lake Erie LaMP Forum hosting by the Ohio Environmental Council

1. Lake Erie Biodiversity Conservation Strategy:
PROJECT UPDATE AND DISCUSSION
Doug Pearsall, Senior Conservation Scientist
Lake Erie LaMP Forum Meeting
August 26 – 27, 2011

2. Summary of Session
Lake Erie Biodiversity Conservation Strategies: Project
Update
Web access to biodiversity conservation information:
Developing the Great Lakes Information
Management and Delivery System
Small-group Discussions
Recap

3. Developing Biodiversity Conservation Strategies
for Great Lakes Erie and Michigan
“…working with a broad network…developing strategies for the
restoration and conservation of the native biodiversity and
ecosystem function… ”
“primary output… biodiversity conservation strategies that
will complement and be incorporated into the
Lakewide Area Management Plans (LaMPS)
With funding from:

4. Project Update
Project Structure Biodiversity Conservation Plan Final Products
Oct ‘10 – Mar ‘11 Assessment Oct ‘11 – Apr ‘12 Jun ‘11 – Sep ‘12
• Core Team Jan – October ‘11 • Conservation • Final Report
• Steering Committee • Compiling Information Strategies • Summary Report
• Agreements • Project Scope • Implementation • Data/Information/ Map
Recommendations products
• Viability Assessment
• Threat Assessment

5. Communications highlights
Quarterly Report just released
Presented at multiple meetings
– LM LaMP Forum
– CZ 2011
– SOLM (upcoming)
– Lake Erie Forum (upcoming)
Featured in MI CMP newsletter
Featured in LaMP annual reports
TNC Web feature in development (coming soon)

6. CZ 2011 café session
Participation
Feedback
Moving forward to Lake Erie Forum and SOLM

7. Viability Assessment Details
Assess viability of conservation targets Minor Issues 2011-01-01 - 2012-03-31
Determine target leads Completed
Compile existing information and identify experts On-Track 2011-01-01 - 2011-06-30
Identify KEAs and indicators On-Track 2011-02-01 - 2011-06-30
Refine nested targets with experts On-Track 2011-03-01 - 2011-06-30
Map indicators On-Track 2011-03-01 - 2011-08-31
Assign current status On-Track 2011-03-01 - 2011-09-30
Assign desired status ranks On-Track Q1 FY12
Write draft report On-Track 2011-05-01 - 2011-09-30
Revise viability section of report Scheduled Q3 FY12

8. Viability assessment next steps
Finish analyses
Schedule webinars with small groups of experts
Send out materials for review prior to webinars
– Summary of methods
– Description of KEAs/indicators
– Viability tables
– Maps/supporting information
Hold webinars
Conduct follow-up calls to flesh out details
Write up preliminary results

9. Threat assessment next steps
Complete analyses and receive data from GLEAM
Set up surveys on Survey Monkey and invite
experts to complete surveys
– For each reporting unit—scope, severity, and
irreversibility
Compile results to obtain threat ranks
Write up preliminary results

10. Project Update (cont’d)
Project report status
– Draft report completed for Introductory material and
Methods.
– Started work on detailed outline of Viability and
Threats Results.
– Will begin writing results of viability and threat as
soon as data from webinars and surveys are
available.

11. Completed Biodiversity Conservation
Strategies

12. Great Information, Great
Decisions:
Developing a Great Lakes information
management and delivery system
Scott P. Sowa, PhD
Great Lakes Senior Aquatic Ecologist, TNC
Paul Seelbach, PhD
Chief, Ecosystem Health and Restoration Branch, USGS
Mary Khoury
Aquatic Ecologist , TNC
Sagar Mysorekar
GIS Analyst, TNC

13. Overview
Why an information management and delivery
system (IMDS)?
What is the IMDS that we are designing?
What is our progress to date?
Why are we talking about it to you today?

14. Imagine
You are a coastal zone manager responsible for many
conservation values – what if you could . . .

15. The Problem
We lack an information supply chain that supports core
decisions needed to achieve strategic conservation
results at a landscape-scale.

16. TNC’s Great Lakes Project
Objective: To ensure the Great Lakes watershed is
among
Goals: the most effectively managed ecosystems on
Earth.
1)Build a Network of Conservation Lands & Waters
1)Build
2)Restore the Health of Working Lands and Waters
2)Restore
3)Create, Share and Leverage Science and Knowledge
3)Create,
Project Teams:
• Watershed Health • Coastal & Nearshore Health
• Food Web Restoration • Northern Forests
• Climate Change Adaptation • Aquatic Invasive Species

17. Role of USFWS Landscape
Conservation Cooperatives
Science and
Technology Social Logistical
• Data Development
• Downscaled climate data
• Complete NWI Data Decision
• Knowledge Development Making • Protection
• ID Climate vulnerable
species • Shared vision • Land and Water
• Climate adaptation • Communication Management
recommendations • Policy
• Information Delivery • Coordination
• Great Lakes IMDS • Collaboration
Conservation
Delivery
Information
Development
and Delivery
LCC Role

18. What is an IMDS?
It is NOT…
– A collection of GIS maps or data
– A single decision support tool (e.g., fish
passage)
– Designed to answer one specific
question, or decision

19. What is an IMDS?
An information supply chain supporting core
decisions of strategic habitat conservation
1. What are realistic desired conditions?
2. What are current conditions;
is there a problem?
3. Can we, and how can we,
strategically achieve our
desired conditions?
4. Are our actions leading to
desired improvements?

20. Great Lakes Information
Management and Delivery System
Knowledge Network
Visualization
Data Catalog
Decision Tools
Project Tracking
Assess and Adapt

21. Knowledge Network
Purpose: Provide users with conservation knowledge needed to
effectively interpret the data available in the other IMDS modules
and promote informed conservation decisions and communication.

22. Data Visualization
Purpose: Allow users to query and find existing visualizations
relevant to the conservation of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

23. Data Catalog
Purpose: Allow users to efficiently locate and obtain data relevant
to the conservation of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

24. Decision Tools
Purpose: Allow users to efficiently identify, locate, and compare models and decision
tools, which support assessment, forecasting, and planning for Great Lakes ecosystem
conservation.

25. Project Tracking
Purpose: Allow users to efficiently track and coordinate the implementation of
conservation actions by providing mapped locations and the ability to query and
summarize relevant project information within and across projects.

26. Assess and Adapt
Purpose: Allow users to locate and obtain relevant sets of status and trend
indicators across related ecological attributes, human activities and conservation
strategies/actions.

27. Green Bay Focal Strategies
• Stream Connectivity
Duck-Pensaukee Watershed
• Wetland mitigation

28. Progress to date
Phase I (2011): Design pilot scope and structure
o Define scope - complete
o Create system architecture - underway
o Develop Content – underway
Phase II (2012): Populate
Phase III (2013): Populate, Evaluate, and Create
Plan for Long-term

30. Questions?
http://conserveonline.org/workspac
es/
great-lakes-project