February 25, 2016 | 3:30 PM
Stakeholder-based, non-regulatory Landscape Conservation Designs (LCDs) are an opportunity to think, plan, and act across boundaries and jurisdictions to meet mutual goals for agreed upon conservation targets. These efforts don't replace existing science or plans, and are not intended to undermine current management. Rather, these collaborative processes complement existing projects and partnerships by synthesizing and developing spatial data and information that is consistent and comprehensive across the landscape. Outcomes from the LCD process are then appropriately matched to partner objectives and capabilities such that progress toward agreed upon objectives are optimized across the landscape. Speakers will discuss LCD projects for the Northwestern Basin and Range, the High Divide, the Green River Basin, and the Columbia Plateau. Forum style discussion will follow.
Session Leads: Sean Finn and Todd Hopkins
Sean Finn, Science Coordinator, Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Snake River Field Station, 970 Lusk St., Boise, ID 83706; Phone: 208-426-2697; sean_finn@fws.gov
Todd E. Hopkins, Science Coordinator, Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative, 1340 Financial Blvd, Reno, Nevada 89502; Phone: 775-861-6492; todd_hopkins@fws.gov
Speakers Include:
Landscape Conservation Design and the iCASS Platform
Rob Campellone, S. Hall, T. Hopkins, K. Johnson, T. Miewald, and M. Whitfield
Rob Campellone, Landscape Conservation Design Policy Advisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA; rob_campellone@fws.gov
Rob has served the American public as a natural resources conservation planning professional for 19 years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He works very closely with the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives in promoting landscape conservation design: a collaborative partnership-driven, science-based, decision-making approach to achieve environmental sustainability. Before joining the USFWS, Rob applied conservation on-the-ground with the National Park Service (Utah), the U.S. Forest Service (WY), The Nature Conservancy (NJ, RI), and the Venezuelan Ministry of the Environment (State of Amazonas).
Convening Stakeholders for Landscape Conservation Design in the High Divide, Idaho and Montana.
Michael Whitfield and B. Beltran
Michael Whitfield, Executive Director, Heart of the Rockies Initiative, 1790 E 2000 S Driggs, ID 83422; michael@heart-of-rockies.org
Michael B. Whitfield, a long-time leader in the conservation field, has been Executive Director for the Heart of the Rockies Initiative for 8 years, and serves on the Steering Committee and/or Executive Committee for the Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative, the Crown Conservation Initiative, and the Practitioners Network for Large Landscape Conservation. Michael coordinates the High Divide Conservation Collaborative, and works with many partners in landscape conservation throughout the US/Canadian Central Rockies. Michael served on the national Land Trust Accreditation commission with the Land Trust Alliance. He was the founding board president and long-term executive director of Idaho's Teton Regional Land Trust. He's also a conservation biologist and research associate for the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, through which he investigates the ecological needs of sensitive wildlife species, like the bald eagle and bighorn sheep, and partners with management agencies to conserve their habitats. He is a recipient of the Craighead Conservation Award.
Northwest Basin and Range Landscape Conservation Project – Assessing Conditions.
Todd E. Hopkins and Thomas Miewald Todd E. Hopkins, Science Coordinator, Great Basin LCC, 1340 Financial Blvd, Reno, NV 89502; todd_hopkins@fws.gov
Todd Hopkins has been working on landscape scale conservation for 15+ years including efforts in the Great Basin, Everglades, and San Francisco Bay.
Green River Basin Landscape Conservation Design – Spatial Design
Kevin Johnson, D. Theobald, S. Finn, and J. Rice
Kevin Johnson, Coordinator, Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative, 134 Union Blvd, Lakewood, CO 80228; kevin_m_johnson@fws.gov
Kevin has been Coordinator of the Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative for the past five years. His previous work placed him in Montana, North Dakota and Colorado where he worked on cross-disciplinary resource management issues including refuge and public lands management, endangered species recovery, conservation planning assistance, environmental contaminants, and as legislative lobbyist for The North Dakota Chapter of The Wildlife Society. Kevin received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Fish and Wildlife Management from Montana State University.
The Columbia Plateau – A fragmented landscape that demands coordination
Sonia Hall, T. Miewald, and M. Steele
Sonia A. Hall, Principal, SAH Ecologia LLC., 669 Crawford Ave, Wenatchee WA 98801; hallsoniawild@gmail.com
With a background in agronomy, a PhD in ecology, and a passion for helping science inform management decisions at multiple scales, Sonia has worked in conservation of arid lands for over 10 years. She helped convene the Arid Lands Initiative, a public/private partnership intent on coordinating conservation across eastern Washington's arid lands. Her role has ranged from convener, science lead, science liaison with related science projects, and coordinator as the partnership transitions from planning to implementation. Sonia also works part time with the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at Washington State University, helping researchers effectively communicate their workwith a broad array of agricultural professionals.