World Wildlife Fund: Northern Great Plains Program - Global ...

How do we go from restoring local habitats to restoring large ecosystemsand landscapes?

WWF’s Global Ecoregional Assessment (Olson and Dinerstein 1998)Published in 1998, WWF’s “Global 200” is a blueprint for WWF to identify theareas of abundant and representative biodiversity around the world that mustbe saved in the next 50 years.

WWF’s 19 Priority PlacesWWF further refined our focus to 19 places of the highest priority based on thediversity and abundance of life they support, the destructive challenges theyface, and our ability to impact them within the next decade.

Temperate Grasslands of the World

Biome TypeProtected Area Coverage by Biome (Green and Paine 1997, WWF analysis)AlbertaPercent ProtectionManitoba0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18%Mixed island systemsSubtropical/temperate rainforests/woodlandsMixed mountain systemsTropicalMThumid forestsTundra communitiesTropicalgrasslands/savannasTropical dryforests/woodlandsUNK120551530NDCold-winter desertsTemperate needle-leafforests/woodlandsWarm deserts/semidesertsEvergreen sclerophyllousforestsTemperate broad-leafforestsLake systemsWYSDNETemperate grasslands6

7Global Native Habitat LossAlbertaManitobaMTUNK120551530NDSDWYNE

8WWF’s Northern Great Plains ProgramAlbertaThe Northern Great Plains EcoregionManitoba• N.A. largest grassland ecoregion• 279,000 sq. MT mi. spanning 5 statesand 2 provincesUNK120551530ND• Mixed-grass prairie and shrubsteppeSDWYNE

WWF’s Northern Great Plains ProgramAlbertaOcean of Grass (WWF 2004): AnEcoregional AssessmentManitoba11 priority landscapes based on:MT• High biodiversity value• No. of endemic species• T&E species restoration potential• Biodiversity widely distributed• Large-scale restoration potentialWY• Low road density• Untilled land• Low or declining human population• High proportion of public land• Sufficiently large and intactlandscapes (1 million + acres)UNK120551530NDSDNE9

10# of species endemic to N. American Grasslands (after Mengel 1970)AlbertaManitobaMTEndemismNDSDWYNE

Percentage changeUS State of the Birds 2009 – 1 index of grassland healthYear23 spp. w/ data of 46 grassland breeding bird species (48%are of conservation concern)

WWF’s Northern Great Plains Program• 39 endemic N.A. grassland vertebrates• 15% Threatened and Endangered species (CAN/US)• 74% Species of Concern (CAN/US)• 17% Vulnerable/Imperiled globally

13Our Vision for the Northern Great PlainsAlbertaSaskatchewanManitobaOur vision: A healthy and well-managed landscape that conserves allnative species through a combination of:MTND• Conservation areas• Sustainable farming andranching practicesSDWY• Thriving communities thatare integrated into thelandscape

14Key Conservation AreasAlbertaSaskatchewanManitoba(1) Montana Glaciated PlainsMT(2) Transboundary ND Region(3) Conata BasinSDWYNE

Our Work in the Montana Glaciated PlainsAlbertaSaskatchewanManitobaCurrent Projects:MTWY• American Prairie Reserve• CCPI• Pronghorn StudiesND• Greater Sage Grouse Studies• Cougar Study• Bison Reintroduction• BFF Habitat Restoration• Long-billed Curlew SD Study• Swift Fox Feasibility Study• Riparian Restoration• Upland Vegetation Restoration• Wind Energy Site Suitability• Grazing Allotment Auction• Climate Change AdaptationNE

The Montana Glaciated Plains - Large-scale Restoration PotentialAlbertaManitobaAmerican Prairie ReserveCurrently: 121,000 acresProposed scale: 2.5 million acresMTUNK120551530NDSDBison restorationCurrently: 220 bisonProposed population: at least 10,000,largest bison herd in existenceWYNE16

Farm Bill – Cooperative Conservation Partnership InitiativeRestoring Ranch Lands for Priority Birds and Pronghorn inEastern MontanaPrivate lands within 1.5 million acre landscapePartners: NRCS, EDF, RSA, TNC, WWFApprox. $700,000 secured over five year to implementconservation practices18 miles of fence removed, 9 milesmodified or replaced for pronghorn,24 miles of fence flagged for sagegrouse near leksEscape ramps installed at 26 livestockwatering facilitiesRange inventories of 6 ranches (47,000acres) considering grazingprescriptions for sage-grouse othergrassland birds.17

Our Work in the Transboundary RegionAlbertaSaskatchewanManitobaCurrent Projects:MT• Pronghorn Studies• Migration• Habitat useND• Greater Sage Grouse Studies• ID critical winter habitat• ID migratory paths using genetics andsatellite telemetrySDWY• Grasslands National Park (224,000acres)• Prairie dog habitat evaluation• Black-footed ferret NE reintroduced• Bison reintroduction (190 bison on45,000 acres)18

19Connectivity – Pronghorn and Sage-grouseAlbertaManitobaMTUNK120551530NDSDWYNE

20Our Work in the Conata Basin of South DakotaAlbertaSaskatchewanManitobaCurrent Projects:MT• WWF/TNC land acquisition toexpand functional habitat forbison on Badlands National ParkNDand prairie dog habitat on USForest Service grazingallotmentsSD• Protection of ferret habitatWY• Abating prairie dog poisoning• Plague mitigation• Conservation planningNE

Metrics characterizing the local to the ecoregionalExample: Prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets• Est. max. likely distribution ofprairie dogs at all scales• Viable BFF pop. consists of aneffective breeding populationof 130 individuals• Each pop. requires 20,000 to30,000 acres of p. dogcomplexes• BFF conservation targets 15pop’s (USFWS)• Locally: patch contribution tocomplex• Landscape: acres to supportrequired complexes• Ecoregion: Total habitat for

Climate change adaptationConserving the stage and understanding the set changes• Conserving the stage (Andersonand Ferree 2010): large landscapeconservation• Understanding the set changes:Climate-change impacts onsagebrush habitat and West Nilevirus transmission risk andconservation implications forgreater sage-grouse (Schrag et al.2010; GeoJournal)• Highest future suitability forsagebrush core habitat (2030)

Thank you23