1. LANDSCAPE DESIGN
FOR WATER, WILDLIFE, AND AGRICULTURE
Michael Schwartz – The Conservation Fund
Jorgen Rose – Indiana University
SWCS Conference – July 2016
Louisville, KY
2. Symposium Overview
1) Intro to Landscape Conservation Cooperatives
2) Background on Mississippi River Basin / Gulf Hypoxia
Initiative
3) Breakdown of MRB/GHI tools and tool
development
• Conservation Practice Sheets
• Conservation Blueprint (The Conservation Fund
4) Overview of ongoing “pilot projects” & next steps
3. What are
Landscape Conservation Cooperatives?
• “Network of Networks”
• 22 Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs)
spread across North America
• Overarching LCC Network
“Landscapes capable of sustaining natural and
cultural resources for current and future generations.”
“Building connections to tackle large-scale and long-
term conservation challenges”
9. MISSISSIPPI / GULF HYPOXIA INITIATIVE
Goal (draft):
Provide tools for targeting conservation
investments (what, how much, &
where) that benefit fish and wildlife in a
resilient, multifunctional landscape
while also addressing agriculture, local
water quality, and Gulf hypoxia.
13. Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs)
1. Plains & Prairie Potholes LCC ‐ Rick Nelson, Max Post van der Burg
2. Upper Midwest & Great Lakes LCC ‐ John Rogner, Brad Potter
3. Eastern Tallgrass Prairie & Big Rivers LCC ‐ Glen Salmon, Gwen White
4. Great Plains LCC – Nicole Athearn, James Broska
5. Gulf Coast Prairie LCC – Bill Bartush, Cynthia Edwards
6. Gulf Coastal Plains & Ozarks LCC – Greg Wathen, Todd Jones‐Farrand
7. Appalachian LCC – Jean Brennan, Mary Davis
GRP Connection – Bob Clevenstine, John Tirpak
7 LCCs & 3 CSCs Multi‐Agency Collaboration
across the Mississippi Basin
Climate Science Centers (CSCs)
North Central CSC ‐ Jeff Morrisette
South Central CSC ‐ Kim Winton, Michael Langston
North East CSC ‐ Mary Ratnaswamy, Michelle Staudinger
21. MISSISSIPPI / GULF HYPOXIA INITIATIVE
Goal (draft):
Provide tools for targeting conservation
investments (WHAT, how much, &
where) that benefit fish and wildlife in a
resilient, multifunctional landscape
while also addressing agriculture, local
water quality, and Gulf hypoxia.
45. Organization ‐ Audience & Role of LCCs (summer 2016)
• Expand the stakeholders involved with refinement and implementation
– production groups, extension, farm advisors.
• Recognize and incorporate the importance of adequate infrastructure
and personnel at a local level
• Present to program leads – NRCS State Tech Comm; state SWAPs; EPA
Section 319 Watershed Management; Soil & Water Conservation
Society symposium; etc.
Strategic Approach
• Integrate models to better parse out the multi‐sector conservation
benefits and related performance metrics.
• Continue research into benefits of emerging practices – emphasizing
soil health, biomass/biofuels, drainage water management, two‐stage
ditches, wetlands.
• Synthesize human dimensions research on adoption of conservation
practices to guide marketing and delivery of conservation design.
Refine Tools – Practices & Blueprint
• Continue development of the spatial targeting tool
• Demonstrate the utility of the tools at various scales in pilots
Next Steps for Refinement & Implementation