The Unifying Themes of National/International Bird Conservation Initiatives Implications to the Scope and Functioning of Joint Ventures

Implications to the Scope of Joint Ventures Topics… Implications to the Functioning of Joint Ventures Implications to Agencies/Organizations Individually The Unifying Themes: An Overview

“Implications to… Joint Ventures” Vs “Implications to Agencies and Organizations” Premise: Implications extend not only to the partnership but to the individual agencies and organizations that have accepted a measure of responsibility in implementing national and international plans.

Unifying Themes of National/International Bird Conservation Initiatives Population-based Goals and Objectives

North American Waterfowl Management Plan Breeding Population Objectives Wintering Population Targets Foraging Habitat Limits Wintering Duck Populations Public Lands Naturally Flooded Lands Private Lands Reinecke et al Reinecke and Loesch million Breeding Ducks

Unifying Themes of National/International Bird Conservation Initiatives Population-based Goals and Objectives Sustainable Landscapes at Ecoregional (BCR) Scales

How Do We Utilize the Population Estimates and Objectives Listed in the Continental Plan?

How Do We Assess the Ability of the WGCP to Support Priority Species at Prescribed Levels? What does this mean to my BCR? How do I derive habitat objectives?

Unifying Themes of National/International Bird Conservation Initiatives Population-based Goals and Objectives Sustainable Landscapes at Ecoregional (BCR) Scales Progressive Refinement of Goals, Objectives, and Strategies (ARM)

Linking On-the-ground Management to Higher Scale Goals With Testable Assumptions and Hypotheses Cross-seasonal Relationships Historic & Contemporary Distribution Patterns T Habitat Factors Limiting Carrying Capacity Disease Predation Environmental Contaminants Disturbance Foraging Non-foraging Regional/Seasonal Limiting Factors Harvested Croplands Rice752 Soybeans121 Milo849 Corn970 Habitat Duck-Use Days per Acre Forested Wetlands Moist-soil Area1,386 50% red oaks 321 Daily Energetic Demands of a Duck Metabolic Energetic Capacity of Primary Foraging Habitats Over Winter Survival Rate Winter Period Inter-specific Competition Arkansas Illinois Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi Missouri Tennessee Total 40,770 1, ,076 22,673 3,292 4, ,527 9, ,120 5, ,906 60, , ,602 80,695 55,047 8,326 29, , ,172 1,758 2, ,892 83,338 12,081 36, ,078 State Dabbling Ducks Diving Ducks Wood Ducks Total Habitat Threshold = 110 * Survival winter days Target state 0.85

Southern Illinois University Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ducks Unlimited Institute for Wetlands and Waterfowl Research Evaluating Rice Fields as Foraging Habitat for Wintering Waterfowl: Status of NAWCA Evaluation Grant Mississippi State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Unifying Themes of National/International Bird Conservation Initiatives Population-based Goals and Objectives Sustainable Landscapes at Ecoregional (BCR) Scales Progressive Refinement of Goals, Objectives, and Strategies (ARM) Integrated, “Wall-to-Wall” Partnerships

Regionally-based… Biologically-driven… Landscape-oriented partnerships… Delivering the full spectrum of bird conservation across the entirety of the North American Continent. The NABCI Vision of Integrated Bird Conservation

N orth A merican B ird C onservation I nitiative A Population-based, Landscape-Oriented Conservation Framework Target: Landscapes capable of sustaining populations of priority species range-wide at prescribed levels. Premise: By coordinating and leveraging its conservation actions through formal partnerships, the private, state, federal bird conservation community can achieve landscapes capable of sustaining priority species at prescribed levels.

Implications to the Scope of Joint Ventures Topics… Implications to the Functioning of Joint Ventures Implications to Agencies/Organizations Individually The Unifying Themes: An Overview

The Functional Elements of the Conservation Enterprise Planning Implementation Monitoring Evaluation Research …Implications to the Scope of Joint Ventures

The Functional Elements of the Conservation Enterprise Planning Implementation Monitoring Evaluation Research …Implications to the Scope of Joint Ventures Conservation Delivery Model

Planning Implementation Monitoring Evaluation Research Population-based Goals and Objectives Sustainable Landscapes at Ecoregional (BCR) Scales Progressive Refinement of Goals, Objectives, and Strategies (ARM) Integrated, “Wall-to- Wall” Partnerships Relationship between “Unifying Themes” and “Functional Elements”

The Functional Elements of the Conservation Enterprise Planning Implementation Monitoring Evaluation Research …Implications to the Scope of Joint Ventures Joint Ventures are being challenged to embrace the full spectrum of the conservation enterprise as an iterative whole.

The Functional Elements of the Conservation Enterprise Planning Implementation Monitoring Evaluation Research Conservation Enterprise Business Model

Implications to the Scope of Joint Ventures Topics… Implications to the Functioning of Joint Ventures Implications to Agencies/Organizations Individually The Unifying Themes: An Overview

Goals and Objectives Nature of Planning Management and Research Monitoring and Evaluation Technology The Unifying Themes of Bird Conservation Implications to the Functioning of Joint Ventures

Goals and Objectives Nature of Planning Management and Research Monitoring and Evaluation Technology Goals/objectives will be expressed in the context of population viability or system sustainability; derived from testable assumptions or predictions of biological response. The Unifying Themes of Bird Conservation Implications to the Functioning of Joint Ventures

Goals and Objectives Nature of Planning Management and Research Monitoring and Evaluation Technology Whereas traditionally… Goals and objectives have tended to be programmatically derived, activity focused, and opportunity based. The Unifying Themes of Bird Conservation Implications to the Functioning of Joint Ventures Reestablish and maintain three viable sub-populations of LA Black Bear in the Tensas Basin, Red River Backwater, and Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana.

Goals and Objectives Whereas traditionally… Protect and restore 200,000 acres of bottomland hardwoods in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Reestablish and maintain three viable sub-populations of LA Black Bear in the Tensas Basin, Red River Backwater, and Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana. Nature of Planning Management and Research Monitoring and Evaluation Technology The Unifying Themes of Bird Conservation Implications to the Functioning of Joint Ventures

Goals and Objectives Whereas traditionally… Nature of Planning Management and Research Monitoring and Evaluation Technology Planning becomes biologically focused and model-driven; directed at landscape-scale population/habitat relationships; focused less on temporally static decisions and more on supporting decisions over time. Planning is iterative and cyclic. Planning has been akin to cataloguing and prioritizing program-specific opportunities; tending to be sporadic and focused on temporally static decisions; responding to administrative edict. The Unifying Themes of Bird Conservation Implications to the Functioning of Joint Ventures

Goals and Objectives Whereas traditionally… Nature of Planning Management and Research Monitoring and Evaluation Technology M & R will be linked by explicitly stated, testable assumptions as to how populations are responding to changing landscapes and management prescriptions. M & R tend to be disconnected, with management operating on the basis of intuitive, implicit assumptions and research focusing on academic interest. The Unifying Themes of Bird Conservation Implications to the Functioning of Joint Ventures

Goals and Objectives Whereas traditionally… Nature of Planning Management and Research Monitoring and Evaluation Technology Monitoring and evaluation are essential for testing assumptions, evaluating uncertainty, and assessing landscape change and biological response. Programs have tended to view M & E as an arm of “research” to inform harvest regulations; otherwise have been content with tracking accomplishments where administratively required. The Unifying Themes of Bird Conservation Implications to the Functioning of Joint Ventures

Goals and Objectives Whereas traditionally… Nature of Planning Management and Research Monitoring and Evaluation Technology Conservation methods are highly demanding of spatial and relational database technologies, requiring core competencies and skills not traditionally associated with the conservation workforce. The technology focus of conservation organizations has been on administrative applications of the business community at large, e.g. , web-sites, financial management, teleconferencing, etc. The Unifying Themes of Bird Conservation Implications to the Functioning of Joint Ventures

Implications to the Scope of Joint Ventures Topics… Implications to the Functioning of Joint Ventures Implications to Agencies/Organizations Individually The Unifying Themes: An Overview

The Unifying Themes of Bird Conservation Implications to Agencies and Organizations Point: The “unifying themes” reflect a broader and more fundamental shift in the conservation paradigm.

The Conservation Paradigm is shifting…  Science-based advances in conservation theory Catalysts… Wildlife conservation (and natural resource management in general) is being pushed from an opportunistic, ideology- based pursuit of site-scale conservation benefits toward a science-based, strategic pursuit of sustainable landscapes.  Landscape ecology  Ecosystem management  Population ecology  Conservation biology  Adaptive resource management

Principles of Ecosystem Management * Define measurable goals and objectives based on sound models and assumptions as to how the ecosystem is functioning. Manage at the multiple scales at which ecosystems occur. Monitor habitat change and population response. Refine objectives on the basis of what is learned from monitoring and assessment Manage for inter-generational sustainability. * Adapted from the Ecological Society of America 1996

The Conservation Paradigm is shifting…  Technological advances in conservation methodologies  Science-based advances in conservation theory Catalysts…  Remote Sensing  Geospatial Technologies (GIS/GPS)  Relational Database Technologies Wildlife conservation (and natural resource management in general) is being pushed from an opportunistic, ideology- based pursuit of site-scale conservation benefits toward a science-based, strategic pursuit of sustainable landscapes.

The Conservation Paradigm is shifting…  Technological advances in conservation methodologies  Science-based advances in conservation theory  Fiscal accountability Catalysts…  Biological credibility/accountability Wildlife conservation (and natural resource management in general) is being pushed from an opportunistic, ideology- based pursuit of site-scale conservation benefits toward a science-based, strategic pursuit of sustainable landscapes.

The Unifying Themes of Bird Conservation Implications to Agencies and Organizations Point: The “unifying themes” reflect a broader and more fundamental shift in the conservation paradigm. Point: Sustained pursuit of the unifying themes by a Joint Venture will result in its partner agencies and organizations becoming more interdependent.

Developing Spatially Explicit “Landscapes of Conservation Concern”

North American Waterfowl Management Plan Breeding Population Objectives Wintering Population Targets Foraging Habitat Limits Wintering Duck Populations Public Lands Naturally Flooded Lands Private Lands Reinecke et al Reinecke and Loesch million Breeding Ducks

Source Population Objectives Arkansas Illinois Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi Missouri Tennessee Totals State 10K20K100K Cerulean Warbler Kentucky Warbler Summer Tanager Yellow-billed Cuckoo Louisiana Waterthrust Eastern Wood-Pewee Yellow-throated Vireo Yellow-throated Warbler Great Crested Flycatcher Scarlet Tanager White-breasted Nuthatch Swainson’s Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Northern Parula Hooded Warbler Wood Thrush Acadian Flycatcher Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Red-eyed Vireo American Redstart Swallow-tailed Kite Red-shouldered Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Pileated Woodpecker Cooper’s Hawk

The Unifying Themes of Bird Conservation Implications to Agencies and Organizations Point: The “unifying themes” reflect a broader and more fundamental shift in the conservation paradigm. Point: In an operational sense, the unifying themes will require a measure of internal “reengineering.” Point: Sustained pursuit of the unifying themes by a Joint Venture will result in its partner agencies and organizations becoming more interdependent.

Reengineering: A rethinking and subsequent realignment of the processes and procedures associated with a business’ core functions, taken with the aim of maintaining competitiveness in a rapidly changing business environment. Business community drivers… Conservation community drivers… IT “revolution” The “global economy” IT “revolution” Shifting conservation paradigm

Reengineering Demands of a Population-based, Landscape-Oriented Conservation Framework Translating range-wide population targets into spatially-explicit habitat objectives. Assessing the ability of landscapes to support populations of priority species at prescribed levels. Monitoring landscape change and population response at ecoregional scales. Integrating biological objectives into program operations and providing decision support to conservation delivery. Applying the Information Technologies required of conservation at ecoregional scales.

Viewed from the perspective of the “four unifying themes,” Joint Ventures are being… Asked? Expected? Challenged? …to move from a Conservation Delivery Business Model and toward a Conservation Enterprise Business Model.

Seth: From the standpoint of fiscal and functional accountability Scott: From the standpoint of the national and international bird conservation initiatives Rex: From the standpoint of “applied science” – capacity and capability Joint Venture Expectations and Challenges

Build the capacity Towards Landscapes That Sustain Populations Of Priority Species At Prescribed Levels Texas US Forest Service TennesseeKentucky Wildlife Mgt Institute The Nature Conservancy US Geological Survey Ducks UnlimitedMississippiArkansas US Fish & Wildlife Louisiana Oklahoma The Conservation Fund Missouri Delivery Model Biological Planning ImplementationMonitoringEvaluation Applied Research Enterprise Model Joint Venture (HAPET) Office Reengineering Roles Relationships Responsibilities Partner Organization (mgt board/techies) “Other” Partners (NRCS, Universities) “Implement” Goals and Objectives Operating Under a Conservation Business Model