MODELING OF HABITATS FOR PRIORITY SPECIES IN THE GREAT PLAINS LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION COOPERATIVE

The Department of the Interior is establishing Climate Science Centers and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives to implement a vision of science and management integration that supports a coordinated response to the impacts of climate change on our land, water, and wildlife resources. Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mid-Continent Geographic Science Center are working to satisfy the geographic science needs of the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GPLCC). The geographic area of the GPLCC covers a large part of the Great Plains and encompasses parts of eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. The initial focus is on the development of habitat models for sustainable populations of priority species in the GPLCC, including the lesser prairie chicken. The lesser prairie chicken is a species of interest because its populations are declining and its range is entirely within the GPLCC (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2009). Using published reports and input from biological scientists, rule sets are being developed that characterize the preferred habitat of the lesser prairie chicken and other targeted species. These rule sets are used to create geospatially explicit models to help identify current habitat and candidate areas for restoration. Potential users of this information are: the Farm Services Administration, energy industries, state wildlife agencies, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partners.

References Cited

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2, 2009, Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative Action Plan.