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USGS2016

Resource management and operations in southwest South Dakota: Climate change scenario planning workshop summary January 20-21, 2016, Rapid City, SD

The Scaling Climate Change Adaptation in the Northern Great Plains through Regional Climate Summaries and Local Qualitative-Quantitative Scenario Planning Workshops project synthesizes climate data into 3-5 distinct but plausible climate summaries for the northern Great Plains region; crafts quantitative summaries of these climate futures for two focal areas; and applies these local summaries by developing climate-resource-management scenarios through participatory workshops and, where possible, simulation models. The two focal areas are central North Dakota and southwest South Dakota (Figure 1). The primary objective of this project is to help resource managers and scientists in a focal area use scenario planning to make management and planning decisions based on assessments of critical future uncertainties. This report summarizes project work for public and tribal lands in the southwest South Dakota grasslands focal area, with an emphasis on Badlands National Park and Buffalo Gap National Grassland. The report explains scenario planning as an adaptation tool in general, then describes how it was applied to the focal area in three phases. Priority resource management and climate uncertainties were identified in the orientation phase. Local climate summaries for relevant, divergent, and challenging climate scenarios were developed in the second phase. In the final phase, a two-day scenario planning workshop held January 20-21, 2016 in Rapid City, South Dakota, featured scenario development and implications, testing management decisions, and methods for operationalizing scenario planning outcomes.

Natural Resource Report↗

USGS2019

Age, succesion planning & wildlife values of Upper Midwest landowners

It is well known that farmers are getting older; in the United States the average age of farmers is 58.3 years old and the rate of increase in age is accelerating. The average farmer age increased 10 years from 47.6 years old to 57.1 in a four year period (2003-2007). It is not necessarily a problem that farmers are getting older because farmers often retire later than workers in other parts of the labor force. The concern is that aging farmers are not being replaced by younger farmers since start-up costs have become insurmountable for many beginning farmers. Consequently, the age distribution of farmers has become highly skewed towards the older end of the spectrum. All the projections call for a massive transfer of land in the next decade which can have significant consequences as well as opportunities for wildlife management. For example, paid conservation programs may be especially attractive to older farmers who do not want to quit farming “cold turkey” by providing income for enrolling some land in these programs as well as reduce their work load. Our surveys of landowners in North Dakota, South Dakota and western Minnesota included questions asking landowners about their future plans for their land when they are no longer able to run their farm/ranch. About 54% of the landowners do not have any plans to change the size of their operations in the next 10 years, about 7% plan to decrease their operations and 31% plan to increase (8% undecided). These findings were strongly related to landowner age and current size of their farm/ranch. Most landowners (55%) have a strong desire to pass their farm/ranch operations on to family members and most (63%) were interested in conservation programs that would allow family members to continue with current farming/ranching operations. Most landowners’ future plans were not related to landowners’ land use and wildlife values, but for a small subset of landowners, land use and wildlife values were related to their succession plans.

Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota↗

USGS2025

Integrating sea level rise scenarios into Everglades restoration planning

One of the largest and most expensive restoration efforts in the world is occurring in the Everglades, a sub-tropical freshwater wetland system located in southern Florida. This unique ecosystem supports several endangered species, provides flood control for Florida’s large urban population, and provides water for both agriculture and drinking supply within the state. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), authorized by Congress in 2000, guides federal, state, and local efforts to build the infrastructure necessary to bring more water into the Everglades and restore its ecological integrity, while balancing other water-related needs such as water supply and flood protection in the human environment. The Everglades encompasses the southern coast of Florida and restoration efforts are likely to be impacted by climate-induced sea level rise. However, currently, many project planning studies do not formally incorporate the potential impacts of sea level rise when evaluating restoration plan outcomes. Resource managers and project planners require methods and tools to confidently incorporate scenarios of sea level rise into their evaluations. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and partners from the University of Florida worked with project planners from multiple agencies to identify restoration questions for consideration when addressing sea level rise. In addition, our project team sought to understand the types of sea level rise decision-support tools that would be of interest, and then worked with Everglades restoration managers and project planners to develop those tools. The tools developed by this project can be used by project planners to inform their decision-making abilities when considering multiple restoration plans across the Everglades landscape. Specifically, the novel ways to visualize output information from ecological models that came of this project can help project planners compare alternative restoration plans that include potential sea level rise impacts. This effort demonstrates how incorporating sea level rise scenarios into Everglades restoration project planning can help managers decide whether projects will maintain or improve ecological integrity and evaluate water availability for wildlife and humans.

Final Report↗

USGS2015

Application of science-based restoration planning to a desert river system

Persistence of many desert river species is threatened by a suite of impacts linked to water infrastructure projects that provide human water security where water is scarce. Many desert rivers have undergone regime shifts from spatially and temporally dynamic ecosystems to more stable systems dominated by homogenous physical habitat. Restoration of desert river systems could aid in biodiversity conservation, but poses formidable challenges due to multiple threats and the infeasibility of recovery to pre-development conditions. The challenges faced in restoring desert rivers can be addressed by incorporating scientific recommendations into restoration planning efforts at multiple stages, as demonstrated here through an example restoration project. In particular, use of a watershed-scale planning process can identify data gaps and irreversible constraints, which aid in developing achievable restoration goals and objectives. Site-prioritization focuses limited the resources for restoration on areas with the greatest potential to improve populations of target organisms. Investment in research to understand causes of degradation, coupled with adoption of a guiding vision is critical for identifying feasible restoration actions that can enhance river processes. Setting monitoring as a project goal, developing hypotheses for expected outcomes, and implementing restoration as an experimental design will facilitate adaptive management and learning from project implementation. Involvement of scientists and managers during all planning stages is critical for developing process-based restoration actions and an implementation plan to maximize learning. The planning process developed here provides a roadmap for use of scientific recommendations in future efforts to recover dynamic processes in imperiled riverine ecosystems.

San Rafael River watershed↗

USGS2009

Application of models to conservation planning for terrestrial birds in North America

Partners in Flight (PIF), a public–private coalition for the conservation of land birds, has developed one of four international bird conservation plans recognized under the auspices of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI). Partners in Flight prioritized species most in need of conservation attention and set range-wide population goals for 448 species of terrestrial birds. Partnerships are now tasked with developing spatially explicit estimates of the distribution, and abundance of priority species across large ecoregions and identifying habitat acreages needed to support populations at prescribed levels. The PIF Five Elements process of conservation design identifies five steps needed to implement all bird conservation at the ecoregional scale. Habitat assessment and landscape characterization describe the current amounts of different habitat types and summarize patch characteristics, and landscape configurations that define the ability of a landscape to sustain healthy bird populations and are a valuable first step to describing the planning area before pursuing more complex species-specific models. Spatially linked database models, landscape-scale habitat suitability models, and statistical models are viable alternatives for predicting habitat suitability or bird abundance across large planning areas to help assess conservation opportunities, design landscapes to meet population objectives, and monitor change in habitat suitability or bird numbers over time. Bird conservation in the United States is a good example of the use of models in large-scale wildlife conservation planning because of its geographic extent, focus on multiple species, involvement of multiple partners, and use of simple to complex models. We provide some background on the recent development of bird conservation initiatives in the United States and the approaches used for regional conservation assessment and planning. We focus on approaches being used for landscape characterization and assessment, and bird population response modeling.

Book chapter↗

USGS2014

A visualization tool to support decision making in environmental and biological planning

Large-scale ecosystem management involves consideration of many factors for informed decision making. The EverVIEW Data Viewer is a cross-platform desktop decision support tool to help decision makers compare simulation model outputs from competing plans for restoring Florida's Greater Everglades. The integration of NetCDF metadata conventions into EverVIEW allows end-users from multiple institutions within and beyond the Everglades restoration community to share information and tools. Our development process incorporates continuous interaction with targeted end-users for increased likelihood of adoption. One of EverVIEW's signature features is side-by-side map panels, which can be used to simultaneously compare species or habitat impacts from alternative restoration plans. Other features include examination of potential restoration plan impacts across multiple geographic or tabular displays, and animation through time. As a result of an iterative, standards-driven approach, EverVIEW is relevant to large-scale planning beyond Florida, and is used in multiple biological planning efforts in the United States.

Environmental Modelling and Software↗

USGS2022

Multi-hazard risk analysis for the U.S. Department of the Interior: An integration of expert elicitation, planning priorities, and geospatial analysis

An integral part of disaster risk management is identifying and prioritizing hazards and their potential impacts in a meaningful way to support risk-reduction planning. There has been considerable use and subsequent criticism of threat prioritization efforts that simply compare likelihoods and consequences of plausible threats. This article summarizes a new mixed-methods and scalable approach for prioritizing risks in a multi-hazard, multi-objective, and multi-criteria organizational context. This approach integrates (1) hazard characterizations using subject-matter-expert (SME) elicitation, (2) expressed preferences in planning priorities provided by emergency managers, and (3) quantitative estimates of asset exposure to hazards using geospatial data and geographic-information-systems (GIS) software. We demonstrate this approach with a case study designed to support multi-hazard mitigation and response planning done by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of Emergency Management, which required a national understanding of the risks posed by 75 natural, technological, and adversarial hazards to DOI managed and administered lands, facilities, people, revenues, and resources. Results demonstrate that hazard priorities vary depending on the asset, scale, and risk-management context, thereby making the case that “one-size-fits-all” hazard rankings have limited utility or relevance to real-world, risk mitigation and response planning. Our results suggest that recognizing the risk-management context provides greater transparency, flexibility, and relevance in comparing threats than traditional likelihood-threat matrices or the use of hazard SMEs to decide for planners which hazard scenarios are emphasized in risk planning.

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction↗

USGS2006

A system to evaluate the scientific quality of biological and restoration objectives using National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plans as a case study

It is widely accepted that plans for restoration projects should contain specific, measurable, and science-based objectives to guide restoration efforts. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is in the process of developing Comprehensive Conservation Plans (CCPs) for more than 500 units in the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS). These plans contain objectives for biological and ecosystem restoration efforts on the refuges. Based on USFWS policy, a system was developed to evaluate the scientific quality of such objectives based on three critical factors: (1) Is the objective specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented, and time-fixed? (2) What is the extent of the rationale that explains the assumptions, logic, and reasoning for the objective? (3) How well was available science used in the development of the objective? The evaluation system scores each factor on a scale of 1 (poor) to 4 (excellent) according to detailed criteria. The biological and restoration objectives from CCPs published as of September 2004 (60 total) were evaluated. The overall average score for all biological and restoration objectives was 1.73. Average scores for each factor were: Factor 1-1.97; Factor 2-1.86; Factor 3-1.38. The overall scores increased from 1997 to 2004. Future restoration efforts may benefit by using this evaluation system during the process of plan development, to ensure that biological and restoration objectives are of the highest scientific quality possible prior to the implementation of restoration plans, and to allow for improved monitoring and adaptive management.

Journal for Nature Conservation↗

USGS1995

Using known populations of pronghorn to evaluate sampling plans and estimators

Although sampling plans and estimators of abundance have good theoretical properties, their performance in real situations is rarely assessed because true population sizes are unknown. We evaluated widely used sampling plans and estimators of population size on 3 known clustered distributions of pronghorn ( Antilocapra americana ). Our criteria were accuracy of the estimate, coverage of 95% confidence intervals, and cost. Sampling plans were combinations of sampling intensities (16, 33, and 50%), sample selection (simple random sampling without replacement, systematic sampling, and probability proportional to size sampling with replacement), and stratification. We paired sampling plans with suitable estimators (simple, ratio, and probability proportional to size). We used area of the sampling unit as the auxiliary variable for the ratio and probability proportional to size estimators. All estimators were nearly unbiased, but precision was generally low (overall mean coefficient of variation [CV] = 29). Coverage of 95% confidence intervals was only 89% because of the highly skewed distribution of the pronghorn counts and small sample sizes, especially with stratification. Stratification combined with accurate estimates of optimal stratum sample sizes increased precision, reducing the mean CV from 33 without stratification to 25 with stratification; costs increased 23%. Precise results ( x̄ CV = 13) but poor confidence interval coverage (83%) were obtained with simple and ratio estimators when the allocation scheme included all sampling units in the stratum containing most pronghorn. Although areas of the sampling units varied, ratio estimators and probability proportional to size sampling did not increase precision, possibly because of the clumped distribution of pronghorn. Managers should be cautious in using sampling plans and estimators to estimate abundance of aggregated populations.

North Dakota↗

USGS2022

Hydrologic data for water-management plans—A resource for Tribal Governments in Oklahoma

Introduction The major streams in Oklahoma, and the alluvial aquifers associated with those major streams, are important resources for the 39 federally recognized Tribes in Oklahoma. Many Tribal Governments are interested in developing water-management plans (hereinafter referred to as “water plans”) to preserve water resources for the future. This report provides a general overview of the types of information and data needed to prepare comprehensive water plans. To assist Tribes in the development of water plans, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, has outlined the steps necessary for creation of such plans.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2024

North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center regional science plan—2023–28

The U.S. Geological Survey North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (NC CASC), established in 2012, is part of a national network supporting climate-informed decisions that benefit wildlife and habitats. The NC CASC provides climate science for the U.S. Department of the Interior, State agencies, and Tribal nations to support effective resource management. Collaborating with the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Center network, the NC CASC addresses multiregion challenges through a partnership involving the U.S. Geological Survey and additional regional partners. Input is collected from an Advisory Committee of State, Federal, and Tribal Government representatives. The center hosts Tribal Climate Resilience Liaisons, which are funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Branch of Tribal Climate Resilience and aligned with a Tribal Engagement Strategy. Positioned at the meeting point of scientists and managers and guided by core values, the NC CASC studies diverse ecosystems affected by climate change and empowers resource managers with actionable data and innovative science. This report outlines the 5-year Science Plan (hereafter “the Plan”) for the NC CASC. The center uses stakeholder engagement and coproduction of knowledge for effective collaboration, including engagement of Advisory Committee members and other management partners in the development of the Plan. The Plan provides a high-level overview of the NC CASC, covering the center’s geographical scope, key collaborators, stakeholders, and the strategic framework guiding the application of climate science to make informed management decisions. The Plan also summarizes management challenges and scientific objectives related to the impact of climate change on habitat, ecological drought, wildlife disease, invasives and encroachment, fire, and phenology.

Colorado, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska,↗

USGS2008

Enhancing The National Map Through Tactical Planning and Performance Monitoring

Tactical planning and performance monitoring are initial steps toward improving 'the way The National Map works' and supporting the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science Strategy. This Tactical Performance Planning Summary for The National Map combines information from The National Map 2.0 Tactical Plan and The National Map Performance Milestone Matrix. The National Map 2.0 Tactical Plan is primarily a working document to guide The National Map program's execution, production, and metrics monitoring for fiscal years (FY) 2008 and 2009. The Tactical Plan addresses data, products, and services, as well as supporting and enabling activities. The National Map's 2-year goal for FY 2008 and FY 2009 is to provide a range of geospatial products and services that further the National Spatial Data Infrastructure and underpin USGS science. To do this, the National Geospatial Program will develop a renewed understanding during FY 2008 of key customer needs and requirements, develop the infrastructure to support The National Map business model, modernize its business processes, and reengineer its workforce. Priorities for The National Map will be adjusted if necessary to respond to changes to the project that may impact resources, constrain timeframes, or change customer needs. The supporting and enabling activities that make it possible to produce the products and services of The National Map will include partnership activities, improved compatibility of systems, outreach, and integration of data themes.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2007

Quality-Assurance Plan for Water-Quality Activities in the U.S. Geological Survey Washington Water Science Center

In accordance with guidelines set forth by the Office of Water Quality in the Water Resources Discipline of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), this quality-assurance plan has been created for use by the USGS Washington Water Science Center (WAWSC) in conducting water-quality activities. The plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the personnel of the WAWSC for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of water-quality data. The policies and procedures that are documented in this quality-assurance plan for water-quality activities are meant to complement the WAWSC's quality-assurance plans for surface-water and ground-water activities and to supplement the WAWSC quality-assurance plan.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2014

Quality-assurance and data management plan for groundwater activities by the U.S. Geological Survey in Kansas, 2014

As the Nation’s principle earth-science information agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is depended on to collect data of the highest quality. This document is a quality-assurance plan for groundwater activities (GWQAP) of the Kansas Water Science Center. The purpose of this GWQAP is to establish a minimum set of guidelines and practices to be used by the Kansas Water Science Center to ensure quality in groundwater activities. Included within these practices are the assignment of responsibilities for implementing quality-assurance activities in the Kansas Water Science Center and establishment of review procedures needed to ensure the technical quality and reliability of the groundwater products. In addition, this GWQAP is intended to complement quality-assurance plans for surface-water and water-quality activities and similar plans for the Kansas Water Science Center and general project activities throughout the USGS. This document provides the framework for collecting, analyzing, and reporting groundwater data that are quality assured and quality controlled. This GWQAP presents policies directing the collection, processing, analysis, storage, review, and publication of groundwater data. In addition, policies related to organizational responsibilities, training, project planning, and safety are presented. These policies and practices pertain to all groundwater activities conducted by the Kansas Water Science Center, including data-collection programs, interpretive and research projects. This report also includes the data management plan that describes the progression of data management from data collection to archiving and publication.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2018

Quality-assurance plan for groundwater activities, U.S. Geological Survey Dakota Water Science Center

As the Nation’s principal earth-science information agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is depended upon to collect accurate data and produce factual and impartial interpretive reports. Methods for data collection and analysis that were developed by the USGS have become standard techniques used by numerous Federal, State, and local agencies and by private enterprises. The USGS has implemented a program designed to ensure that all scientific work done by or for USGS Water Science Centers is done in accordance with a quality-assurance plan. The implementation of a groundwater quality-assurance plan will enhance groundwater data collected by the USGS. This report is a quality-assurance plan for groundwater activities conducted by the USGS Dakota Water Science Center and is meant to complement qualityassurance plans for surface-water and water-quality activities and similar plans for the Dakota Water Science Center and general project activities throughout the USGS.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1992

Guidelines for preparing a quality assurance plan for district offices of the U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey has a policy that requires each District office to prepare a Quality Assurance Plan. This plan is a combination of a District's management principles and quality assurance processes. The guidelines presented in this report provide a framework or expanded outline that a District can use to prepare a plan. Parti- cular emphasis is given to a District's: (1) quality assurance policies; (2) organization and staff responsibilities; and (3) program and project planning. The guidelines address the 'how', 'what', and 'who' questions that need to be answered when a District Quality Assurance Plan is prepared.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1998

A workbook for preparing a district quality- assurance plan for water-quality activities

APPEARS TO BE A REPORT ON HOW TO WRITE REPORTS --THE 'ABSTRACT' THAT FOLLOWS IS JUST THE GENERIC ABSTRACT TO BE USED FOR WATER USE REPORTS: In accordance with guidelines set forth by the Office of Water Quality in the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, a quality-assurance plan has been created for use by the [State name] District in conducting water-quality activities. This quality-assurance plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the [State name] District for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of water-quality data. The policies and procedures that are documented in this quality-assurance plan for water-quality activities are meant to complement the District quality-assurance plans for surface-water and ground-water activities and to supplement the [State name] District quality-assurance plan.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2024

Desert Tortoise translocation plan for the U.S. Department of the Army National Training Center and Fort Irwin Western Training Area

The U.S. Department of the Army proposes to commence military activity at the Fort Irwin National Training Center within the Western Training Area (WTA) and to translocate Mojave Desert tortoises ( Gopherus agassizii ; hereafter tortoise) that will be affected to the Western Training Area Translocation Site (WTATS). This desert tortoise translocation plan provides a timeline of activities, actions for which permits may be required, and guidelines for assessing the short-term and long-term success of this desert tortoise translocation. Importantly, the monitoring projects described are designed to document the ultimate effects of the Army's translocation action (not just inform future translocations elsewhere). Results from the translocation, corresponding monitoring, and research projects will inform future translocations throughout the Mojave Desert for expanding human development. The plan has three main objectives: (1) provide guidelines to achieve a safe, humane, and successful translocation of tortoises from the WTA, with minimal effect to resident desert tortoises at sites where translocated animals are released (recipient sites); (2) study translocated, resident, and reference animals (tortoises living near translocation areas but whose home ranges do not overlap those of translocated or resident tortoises) to learn as much as possible about the ecology, conservation, and management of the desert tortoise; and (3) define best management practices for successful translocation and provide metrics to evaluate success over multiple time scales, which we identify for the short- and long-term. The procedures to plan, implement, monitor, and study translocation of tortoises were written using terms and conditions outlined in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion 2021 that described effects of the expansion of the military base boundary, as well as recommendations provided in the Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan (and 5-year review). We provide guidance on appropriate translocation timing and procedures, as well as on how tortoise ecology and habitat can best be studied to further knowledge on tortoise translocation. The plan provides analysis for landscape tortoise density and abundance estimates, suitable sites for translocation of tortoises, and short- and long-term metrics that are addressed and measured by specific monitoring and research projects that can be used to assess the success of translocation activities.

California↗