The Great Plains LCC is helping to build partner states’ capacity through $347,000 in State Science Partnership grants. “The capacity building nature of these grants is critical,” says GPLCC Coordinator Mike Carter. “I’m very happy our LCC has the vision to support partners. By helping individual partners build their capacity, we are building a stronger LCC.”
At the June 2010 meeting in Denver, the Steering Committee discussed the issue of the partner states’ capacity and how the LCC would help address those needs. In January of this year, six proposals were approved for funding, with five states accepting the grants.
Building Science Capacity in Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
The GPLCC science partnership funding has made possible the hiring of a full-time GIS specialist at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) who will be dedicated to the development of state-of-the-art spatial products—including a five-state Lesser Prairie-Chicken decision support tool, a landcover assessment, regionally compatible GIS layers, spatial tools for species of greatest conservation need, and an update of Oklahoma’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy.
“The addition of this position will be a key component of the Department’s initiatives to work with other states in a regional approach to conserving species of special concern, target critical habitats for conservation and help guide energy development to minimize adverse impacts,” says Mike O’Meilia, ODWC Wildlife Programs and Research Supervisor. “The Department’s new GIS capabilities will greatly enhance our ability to contribute to GPLCC conservation efforts on a wide range of wildlife species and their habitats throughout the LCC.”
Creation of the Nebraska Conservation Science Partnership to Integrate Climate Change Planning and Habitat Management Strategies
The State Science Partnership grant is helping to create The Nebraska Conservation Science Partnership, a cooperative effort among the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, and the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. This partnership will provide capacity to analyze climate data relative to impacts on fish and wildlife within the Great Plains LCC, integrate existing habitat assessments, model species-habitat relations, and evaluate the potential impacts of land use change management activities, initially focusing primarily on wetland habitats. The collaborative effort will result in decision support tools that will allow managers to evaluate weather/climate patterns and both short and long term management responses accordingly.
Development of a Decision Support System for New Mexico Conservation within the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative
With GPLCC funding, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) is developing a geographically referenced document-based Decision Support System (DSS) that will help consolidate existing and new information generated by the Department or other appropriate sources and allow users to rapidly search and access the available discrete information sources related to a location. This information clearinghouse will include research reports, technical guidance consultation, scientific-educational collecting permits, wildlife area management plans, contractor reports, recovery plans, critical habitat designations, and species information. Initially, the NMDGF is focusing on the portion of the Great Plains LCC in southeast New Mexico with special attention to sensitive species including the sand dunes lizard and the Lesser Prairie-Chicken.
Establishing Kansas’ Data Acquisition, Management and Assessment Capacity
The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism (KDWPT) is using the grant to evaluate all existing species occurrence data for resolution limitations and also enhance the data by means of directed surveys for priority species and associated habitats. This endeavor will allow KDWPT to use several analytical spatial distribution models to plan and facilitate responsible energy development, priority conservation program initiatives, and assessment of wildlife habitat impacts as a result of climate change.
Ecological Systems Mapping of Texas High Plains and Southwestern Table Lands
With help from this grant, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is producing a compatible spatial database of the ecological systems in their region. This data will support recovery efforts of several federally listed or tracked species of birds and mammals—including Lesser Prairie-Chicken, Black-tailed prairie dog, and Swift fox—as well as improve the ability of TPWD staff to conduct spatial modeling through a technology transfer from partners.
“We’re really glad to be working with the Great Plains LCC,” ways Duane German, Landscape Ecology Team Leader at TPWD. “The state partnership grant has helped us speed up the database development immensely. When it is completed in February of 2012, the database will allow us to deliver a more ecologically useful vegetation map to our decision makers and partners in a much more timely manner. In addition, the modeling-based layers will allow us to project into the future and will be very valuable in looking at climate variability issues.”