Geological Survey

Description

This funding represents a collaborative project between US Geological Survey (USGS), Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) and the recipient university for a research project to identify priority conservation areas within the Midwestern United States, taking into account multiple uncertain stressors to the future condition of the landscape. USGS, along with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is implementing Strategic Habitat Conservation, an adaptive management business practice that iteratively implements models and monitoring to direct and evaluate, respectively, the implementation of conservation action. Conservation delivery is an interdisciplinary endeavor requiring consideration of both sociopolitical constraints and biological or ecological opportunity. Goals: -Provide appropriately qualified, trained and experienced personnel in order to perform its obligations under the Agreement; -Ensure that personnel associated with USGS funded activities are adequately briefed regarding the activities, objectives and goals; -Be responsible for the performance and conduct of all personnel involved with the activities. -Be responsible for all administrative costs associated with the activities. -Ensure that the performance and impact of all activities are adequately and effectively monitored and assessed and comply with local and federal regulations Research objectives are as follows: Objective 1: Visualize past and future landscape condition with respect to climate change, urban sprawl, and agricultural land use change in relation to current NWRS holdings in Region 3 to determine which stressor has the most influence in a given time period. Objective 2: Compare and evaluate the interaction between climate change and land use change (using scenarios to look at a range of potential futures) and how it might affect existing refuges, wetland management districts, and the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program. Objective 3: Estimate the effects of land use change and climate change on selected response indicators (species with differing vagilities) in regard to movement among and between protected areas and wintering and breeding grounds. Objective 4: Explore the importance of extreme climate events and of rarely used habitats/refugia during extreme events. Objective 5: Identify potential priority areas for protection in the face of projected radical landscape change.

Who can apply

• Others

Contact

FAITH GRAVES <br/>Contract Specialist <br/>Phone 703-648-7356
fgraves@usgs.gov