Webinars and Presentations
Using a structured decision making process for strategic conservation of imperiled aquatic species in the Upper Tennessee River Basin
Development of strategic conservation of imperiled species faces several large challenges, including uncertainty in species response to management actions, budgetary constraints that limit options, and issues with scaling expected conservation benefits from local to landscape levels and from single to multiple species. We used a structured decision making process and a multi-scale approach to identify a cost-effective conservation strategy for the imperiled aquatic species in the Upper Tennessee River Basin (UTRB), which face a variety of threats. The UTRB, which encompasses a landscape of 22,360 square miles primarily in Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, harbors one of the most globally diverse assemblages of freshwater fishes and mussels occurring at temperate latitudes. In developing the strategy, we sought to identify which management actions to emphasize to best achieve recovery of imperiled aquatic species, given costs and uncertainty in management effectiveness. The strategy was developed for conservation implementation over a 20-year period, with periodic review and revision. In this presentation, we describe the ecological significance of the UTRB, the planning process, and the resulting strategy. A strategic emphasis on population management emerged as the optimal approach for achieving conservation of imperiled aquatic species in the UTRB, which aligns well with the goals of existing plans for conserving and recovering imperiled fishes and mussels in the UTRB. The structured planning process and resulting conservation strategy dovetail with the landscape approach to conservation embodied in the USFWS’s strategic habitat conservation approach and network of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. The recorded webinar is also available for viewing at the following link: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/science/seminars/July2015.html.
UTRB Imperiled Species Conservation Strategy [Presentation]
Imperiled Aquatic Species Conservation Strategy for the Upper Tennessee River Basin presentation of slide pdf.
UTRB Imperiled Aquatic Species Conservation Strategy [2015 presentation]
pdf copy of the UTRB Imperiled Aquatic Species Conservation Strategy briefing slides for team discussion on proposal to use UTRB strategy as the foundation upon which to pursue a landscape conservation design (LCD) project within the AppLCC. (2 slides/page). Note the slides with the (H) indicate those that are Hidden and not actually presented. (These are provided as background resources to the speaker.)
UTRB Imperiled Aquatic Species Conservation Strategy [Slides]
The full set of Power Point briefing slides on the Conservation Strategy - prepared as a resource to the Development Team's use in outreach and briefings. (ver_2015-01-13_jb). Note hidden slides appear with the (H) on the slide.
UTRB Imperiled Aquatic Species Conservation Strategy Presentaion - Schulz 2015
Powerpoint presentation of an overiew of the Imperiled Aquatic Species Strategy for the Upper Tennessee River Basin presented by Cindy Schulz on January 30, 2015.
