11
Regional Planning for Wildlife in a Suburbanizing Landscape
Delphi Survey —Part 2
The Triangle region of North Carolina is undergoing rapid development and major shifts in land use that may alter our wildlife communities in undesirable ways. Some wildlife species may be lost in the Triangle unless conservation plans are developed and implemented. I am developing a wildlife conservation plan for the Triangle that focuses on four groups of animals – birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. The ultimate goal of this effort is to create a regional network of habitat suitable for a broad range of wildlife.
As a result of the panel's input, I have modified the proposed approach for this planning effort. The modified approach is a hybrid of landscape- (ecosystem) and species-based approaches. By combining these approaches, two problems can be avoided:
1. Designing landscapes without accounting for the needs of the species they are intended for (e.g., most greenways are too narrow for wildlife).
2. Overlooking important landscape types because a species can live in more than one landscape type (e.g., the red-cockaded woodpecker can live in mature pine forests other than the long-leaf / wiregrass system).
This questionnaire is the second in a three-part Delphi survey. In the first part, 22 respondents nominated umbrella and keystone species on which to focus conservation planning efforts in the Triangle. Indirectly, they also selected threatened landscapes in the region.
Please look through the entire questionnaire before starting so that you can record your responses in the most appropriate place. In this second questionnaire, you will be asked to do four things.
1. Review the Report of Results from Survey 1.
2. Evaluate the landscapes and species proposed for planning efforts.
3. Make general comments on the proposed approach.
4. Mail back your response by 22 October. If you wish to make other arrangements, please e-mail me at , or call at 919.515.7437. Please note that I will be out of town 4-15 October.
Return to (in enclosed, stamped envelope):
George Hess
Forestry Department
North Carolina State University
Raleigh NC 27695-8002
For your information . . . Many respondents commented on the need for a definition of "open space." The definition I use is:
"Land areas that are intentionally left unbuilt as fields and forests while the land around them is developed into buildings and pavement."
— Ahern, Jack. 1991. Planning for an extensive open space system: linking landscape structure and function. Landscape and Urban Planning 21: 131-145.
For the purpose of this planning effort, it is more precise to use the terms "natural area" or "habitat." Habitat is an area with the appropriate combination of resources (food, cover, water) and environmental conditions for the survival and reproduction of a species. The goal statement has been changed accordingly.
The ultimate goal of this effort is to create a regional network of habitat suitable for a broad range of wildlife.
Section I. Evaluation of Candidate Landscapes and Focal Species
Please read the material on pages 3-5 and then respond to the statements and issues on pages 6-12.
Based on the lists of unmet needs and specific threats (see Report of Results from Survey 1), I generated a list of threatened landscape types. For each, I selected a small number of the top-ranked umbrella species as candidate focal species for planning efforts. For each candidate focal species, I analyzed the network of protected species (in the umbrella sense) to ensure that no groups were omitted.
Two major categories of threatened landscape types emerged: extensive forest habitat and early successional habitat.
Extensive forest habitat of all types and seral stages appeared most frequently in the list of unmet needs. Riparian and bottomland forests were the most frequently mentioned. Major threats to forests in this region are closely related: roads, fragmentation, and urban development. Other specific threats associated with this habitat include decreased nest sites and human alteration of hydrology (e.g., draining vernal pools, dam construction, and river straightening).
Early successional habitat, including extensive pastures and grassy fields, open forest habitat, and forest-agriculture mosaic landsacpes defines the habitat for another group of speices. The major specific threats associated with these landscape types are farm management practices (mowing at wrong time, clean farming), urban development, and fire suppression.
Candidate landscapes and focal species appear on the next two pages.
Candidate focal species for extensive forest habitat.
Categories (1)
Extensive forest habitat / Bobcat (large area of habitat undisturbed by people)
Black bear (large area of habitat undisturbed by people)
Eastern box turtle (connectivity between breeding habitat and other resources; often severed by roads)
Gray fox (large tracts to find food an denning, brushy understory; highway mortality)
Tiger, spotted, or marbled salamanders (fish-free, temporary breeding pools; connectivity between breeding habitat and other resources often severed by roads) / ADK
AD
ADR
ADR
ADRP
Extensive forest interior / Ovenbird (large area, moderate understory)
Scarlet tanager (large area)
Wood thrush (large area, thickets) / AP
A
ARP
Riparian and bottomland forest habitat / Beaver (keystone species that creates wetland systems)
Lousiana waterthrush (large areas of habitat)
Red-shouldered hawk (large tracts, wetlands, swamps)
River otter (well-vegetated banks, high quality aquatics systems, and intact aquatic food chain)
Spotted turtle (small streams, swamps, wet pastures; impacted by human-induced changes in hydrology)
Tiger, spotted, or marbled salamanders / K
ARP
AR
ADRP
ADRP
ADRP
Extensive open pine forests
(esp, long-leaf / wiregrass) / Bachman's sparrow (open pinewoods, thick grasses)
Eastern fox squirrel (mature upland pine, fire-dependent systems, open habitat)
Red-cockaded woodpecker (well-connected areas of mature pine forest; endangered species) / ARP
ADRP
ADRPK
Extensive mature pine forests / Eastern fox squirrel (mature upland pine, fire-dependent systems)
Red-cockaded woodpecker / ADRP
ADRPK
Extensive mixed forest / Bobcat
Eastern box turtle / ADK
ADR
Extensive upland forest / Broad-winged hawk (extensive forested uplands)
Tiger, spotted, or marbled salamanders / A
ADRP
Extensive mature hardwood forest / Pileated woodpecker (large area of mature forest; large snags for breeding)
Scarlet tanager (large area mature hardwood) / ARP
A
(1) Threat Categories: A=Area limited; D=Dispersal limited; R=Resource limited; P=process limited; K=Keystone.
Candidate focal species for early successional habitat.
Categories (1)
Extensive pastures and grassy fields / Eastern meadow lark (open, grassy areas)
Grasshopper sparrow (fields of tall grasses)
Loggerhead shrike (agrarian habitat, open fields, scattered trees and hedgerows, woodland margins, thickets) / DP
AR
ARP
Extensive open forest habitat and early successional forest / Northern bobwhite (abandoned fields, thickets, woodland margins)
Prairie warbler (abandonded fields, shrub layer in open pine forest, scattered saplings, cut-over woods)
Red-headed woodpecker (widely-spaced old trees and snags, open understory, especially bottomlands) / DRP
P
ADRP
(1) Threat Categories: A=Area limited; D=Dispersal limited; R=Resource limited; P=process limited; K=Keystone.
Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements about the candidate landscapes and focal species.
Statement 1. A reasonable conservation plan for the Triangle Region should protect the landscape types listed above in an appropriate amount, configuration, and condition to provide habitat for viable populations of the corresponding focal species.
Disagree Strongly / Disagree / Neutral / Agree / AgreeStrongly
Please explain your response here.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(more)
Statement 2. A conservation plan that provided habitat for the candidate landscapes and focal species would also provide habitat for most other species and systems of conservation concern in the Triangle. In other words, it is reasonable to assume that the umbrella concept will work, if it is applied within landscape types in the manner proposed.
Strongly
Please explain your response here.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(more)
The approach developed so far is intended to identify suitable large areas for conservation (coarse filter). Without amendment, it will miss some species and ecosystems of conservation concern. Rare species, species with specialized habitat requirements, specific Natural Heritage sites, and other known areas of high natural resource value will be integrated into the conservation plan through another process (e.g., make sure they are incorporated into the conservation areas identified by the coarse filter).
Statement 3. A conservation network developed using the landscape / focal species approach and this additional information about other areas of high natural resource value would provide habitat for the species and systems of conservation concern in the Triangle.
Disagree Strongly / Disagree / Neutral / Agree / AgreeStrongly
Please explain your response here.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(more)
Please address the following issues.
Issue 1. Are any of the landscape types or focal species inappropriate for conservation planning in the Triangle Region? Please provide a reason for any species you list. An example of a species some people consider inappropriate is cougars along the Front Range in Colorado; the argument is that cougars and people don't mix.
Landscape or Species / Reason
Issue 2. Please note any landscape types or species that have been overlooked. For each species you name, be specific about what landscape type it fits into and what additional habitat requirements it adds. Use additional sheets, if necessary.
Landscape types
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Species / Landscape Type / Additional habitat requirements
Issue 3. Within each of the landscape types, can you think of any species that would serve as a better focal species than those listed. If so, please note the landscape type, species, and your rationale.
Issue 4. Within each of the landscape types, do you see any focal species that could be eliminated because they are redundant of other focal species in that landscape type? If so, please note the landscape type, species, and your rationale.
Section II. Comments
Please add any additional comments or suggestions here.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Section III. Conclusion
Please write your name in the space below, for our records. Individual responses will be kept confidential.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
The third part of the survey will be mailed by 31 December 1999.
Thank you very much for your participation !!