U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grant: Designing Sustainable Landscapes for Wildlife

This Single Source Award is being made in accordance with Department of the Interior Policy 505 DM 2.14 B(4), which allows for award without competition to an applicant who is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based on technical expertise. The University of Massachusetts Amherst completed the first phase of this project and has the unique information and expertise to perform the second phase. This project is designed to support the overall goals of Conservation Design and related work under the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (NALCC), which includes the following:
The objective of phase 2 (this proposal) is to extend the project in the following ways:

1. Extend the geographic scope of the Landscape Change, Assessment and Design (LCAD) model to the extent of the USFWS/NEAFWA Northeast Region (13 states + D.C.).
2. Develop climate-habitat capability models for an additional suite of representative species.
3. Develop the landscape design and decision-support portion of the LCAD model; specifically, to prioritize conservation actions for land protection, management and restoration.
4. Modify the succession model to incorporate spatial variability within ecological systems and multivariate trajectories in vegetation growth in concert with objectives 5-7.
5. Incorporate a sea level rise model into the LCAD model; to be developed by an LCC or Climate Science Center (CSC) cooperator in coordination with the UMass team.
6. Implement the regional connectivity assessment component of the landscape ecological integrity (coarse filter) assessment.

Involvement on the part of the Service is anticipated for the successful completion of the objectives to be funded. In particular, the Service will be responsible for the following: participation in the Scientific Advisory Committee and in larger partner committees to guide project; assistance with coordination of project activities among partner agencies, including programs in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative partnership; assistance with coordination between the projects in this agreement and related projects through the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Atlantic Coast Joint Venture, Regional Gap Analysis and other partnerships; and coordination of Service program and partner involvement in guidance on management needs and development of decision-support tools.