A path toward greater habitat model use in rare and invasive plant management

Abstract

Habitat models can help inform and target decisions for a variety of public land uses, including conserving rare plants and managing invasive plants. However, models are not always used in cases where they could be most helpful. We aimed to identify specific actions that could foster greater use of habitat models in public lands management through expert elicitation workshops with modelers and model users. We focused on management of rare and invasive plants on public lands, where habitat models can help managers balance conservation goals and actions with other potential land uses. We used surveys to inform workshops and the research world café method to facilitate conversations. Workshops focused on identifying broad solutions and specific actions for overcoming challenges related to using habitat models. The most frequently expressed ideas fell into three categories: improving technology transfer, building and maintaining connections between habitat modelers and model users, and developing a central repository for habitat models. Workshop participants identified more than 100 specific feasible and important actions that they could apply in their work. Analysis of all specific actions revealed 10 steps that science developers and users can apply to enhance model use in conservation of public lands.