Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative. Marine and Estuarine Priority Resources and Conservation Targets

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1 Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative Marine and Estuarine Priority Resources and Conservation Targets

2 Why are we here today? Workshop Goals: Develop a list of potential conservation targets for Priority Resources Develop potential metrics for conservation targets Begin prioritization of potential conservation targets review criteria

3 The Landscape Conservation Cooperatives 22 individual, self-directed partnerships North American continent, Pacific Islands and the Caribbean Applied conservation science partnerships: Federal agencies Regional organizations State agencies Tribes NGOs Private stakeholders Universities Other entities

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5 State Partners Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida Department of Transportation, Southwest Florida Water Management District, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Federal Partners National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Department of Defense Tribal Partners Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida Universities University of Florida Institute for Food and Agricultural Science and Center for Landscape Conservation and Ecology, Florida State University Florida Natural Areas Inventory Conservation Organizations Florida Farm Bureau Federation, Florida Forestry Association, The Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Refuge Association, Florida Wildlife Corridor, The Land Trust, Native Plant Society Private Landowner Representation Plum Creek, The Florida Land Council, Family Lands Remembered

6 Landscape Conservation Cooperatives The LCCs are designed to: 1) inform resource management decisions in an integrated fashion across landscapes at a broader scale than any individual partner s responsibility, 2) consider landscape - scale stressors, including climate change, habitat fragmentation, invasive species, and water scarcity, and 3) facilitate landscape-level planning, design, and implementation of conservation strategies for fish and wildlife species.

7 Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative (PFLCC) An applied conservation science partnership among local, state, and federal agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, universities, and other stakeholders to benefit fish and wildlife and associated habitats. Mission: The mission of the PFLCC is to foster landscape scale conservation to sustain natural and cultural resources for future generations.

8 PFLCC Science Plan: Ecological Planning Conservation Design Conservation Delivery Research and Monitoring Data Sharing and Coordination Identifying priority resources and establishing conservation targets is an essential part of the Ecological Planning component

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11 PFLCC partner mission synthesis Key components Connectivity Landscape sustainability, resiliency Mosaic of public, private lands Working landscapes Functional, sustainable ecosystems Maintenance of current conservation lands Restoration of natural hydrology Freshwater quantity, quality Coastal system resiliency, sustainability Public support for conservation Conservation ethic Ecosystem services Water supply

12 Priority resources are the set of biological, ecological, and cultural features and ecological processes collaboratively identified as most important, and are the focus of the PFLCC s planning. Priority resources should represent the most significant resources for the focus geography, embody the key components, and reflect the mission, vision, common interests, and values of the focus geography partners.

13 Development of Priority Resources PFLCC Technical Team by recommendation of PFLCC Steering Committee members USFWS, FWC State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) serve as starting point to define priority resources (PFLCC Steering Committee) Habitats in SWAP should be selected to best represent key components Additional priority resources beyond SWAP may be necessary and should be included to completely represent key components

14 PFLCC Priority Resources DRAFT list developed by Technical Team and approved by PFLCC Steering Committee Identified 12 priority resources: 9 habitat based 3 additional PRs, non-habitat based High Pine and Scrub Coastal Uplands Pine Flatwoods and Dry Prairie Freshwater Forested Wetlands Hardwood Forested Uplands Freshwater Non-Forested Wetland Freshwater Aquatic Estuarine Marine Cultural Working Lands and Socio-economic Landscape Connectivity

15 Conservation targets (indicators) are the measurable expressions of desired resource conditions. More specifically, conservation targets are the quantifiable biological, chemical, physical, or cultural attributes of a landscape that are important or valued to stakeholders identified during the biological planning process. Conservation targets consist of three elements: the measurable attribute: quantifiable characteristic that informs about landscape conditions the metric: unit of measure the target: numerical endpoint of measurable attribute

16 Primary Criteria for Conservation Target Selection

17 Examples of Conservation Targets Priority Resource Measurable Attribute Metric Priority Resource: Estuarine Target Mangrove Extent Hectares (ha) Maintain 230,704 ha Coastal Uplands Pine Flatwoods and Dry Prairie Amount of altered beach Bird habitat suitability Linear miles Index of habitat suitability Reduce amount of altered beach by 25% by 2030 Achieve and maintain high status on 80% of pine flatwoods

18 Other Ongoing Projects Marine/Estuarine Gulf Indicators NatureServe Gulf-wide Habitat only Statewide Ecosystem Assessment of Coastal and Aquatic Resources (SEACAR) FL DEP Coastal Management Program Coastal Aquatic Preserves Survey/Monitoring Projects Seagrass Integrated Mapping and Monitoring (SIMM) Coastal Habitat Integrated Mapping and Monitoring Program (CHIMMP) Oyster Integrated Mapping and Monitoring Program (OIMMP)

19 Alignment with other indicator Projects Similarities/Collaboration Shared resource classes Seagrass, Coral, Mangrove, Saltmarsh Shared Indicators/Targets (where possible) Sharing Data Collaborative processes Differences PFLCC Inclusion of endpoints (goals) PFLCC not just marine & include cultural resources/working lands PFLCC Oysters not a resource (yet?) (SEACAR and Nature Serve) NatureServe focusing on habitat, includes Ecosystem Services PFLCC - all coastal waters, Gulf and Atlantic, 200 m bathymetric line NatureServe just Gulf to EEZ SEACAR focus on Florida Coastal Aquatic Preserves

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23 Workshop Sessions Date and Time Tuesday 1:00 5:00 pm Wednesday 8:00 am -12:00 pm Wednesday 1:00 5:00 pm Thursday 8:00 am 12:00 pm Thursday 1:00 5:00 pm Priority Resource Session Salt Marsh Mangrove Seagrass Coral System-wide

24 Process Workshop Process Step 1. Brainstorm conservation targets Step 2. Identify potential metrics/refine targets Step 3. Prioritize conservation targets Other Activities Generate list of conservation target team members Review maps of Priority resources add comments/edits

25 Questions?? Staff: Todd Hopkins Coordinator, Beth Stys Science Coordinator, Steve Traxler Science Coordinator, Sarah Friedl Marine/Estuarine Project Lead, Cherie Keller GIS Coordinator, Caroline Gorga FWC Legacy Initiative, Web page Conservation Planning Atlas Guidance document