Conserved lands in southern San Diego County form the cornerstone of the San Diego Natural Community Conservation Planning (NCCP) network. This region supports the largest expanse of remaining coastal habitats in southern California—coastal sage scrub, maritime succulent scrub, chaparral, riparian woodlands, vernal pools, and grasslands. Intact landscapes are critical to genetic interchange within plant and animal populations and allow dispersal and recolonization of new areas. Large landscapes that span elevational gradients, such as this core area in south San Diego County, also enable populations to shift in response to environmental and land use changes.
State Route 94 (SR-94) cuts through the heart of this core area, potentially impeding wildlife movement across otherwise intact landscapes. New residential development and a casino under construction in Jamul will increase traffic and potentially impact the wildlife value and connectivity of adjacent conserved lands. Proposed road improvements associated with these new land uses provide an opportunity to mitigate the potential barrier effects of SR-94. Scientific literature suggests that strategically-placed wildlife fencing along roads, combined with effective wildlife crossing areas (e.g., undercrossings, overcrossings, bridges) are the most effective means of influencing animal behavior and directing animal movement, thereby reducing roadkill, enhancing connectivity, and improving traffic safety.
The purpose of this document is to provide available background information and connectivity objectives for multiple taxa that use this area and to identify potential infrastructure examples that could improve connectivity across the south county preserves. This document describes land uses, vegetation communities, and existing infrastructure along 12 miles of SR-94 and identifies potential locations, by road segment, where enhancements to existing undercrossings and additional fencing could facilitate wildlife movement across conserved lands. Because there are little wildlife movement data for this area, we outline wildlife movement studies and systematic collection of roadkill data that should begin now to inform and refine the actual design and placement of wildlife fencing and crossing structures. Once implemented, post-construction monitoring should be conducted to ensure that the new infrastructure is functional and cost-effective.
CBI and AECOM worked with the San Diego Management and Monitoring Program (SDMMP) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) – with oversight from the wildlife agencies – to develop preserve management plans that incorporate elements of the Management Strategic Plan for Conserved Lands in western San Diego County, related Strategic Plans for invasive species and wildlife connectivity, and any relevant regional habitat conservation subarea plans. These management plans serve as pilots for the standardized development of resource management plans by other land managers throughout the region. We developed plans for two preserve complexes: (1) the Southwest Otay Mesa preserve complex, which includes lands owned and managed by the City of San Diego, County of San Diego, and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and (2) the Greater Crestridge Ecological Reserve Complex, which includes lands owned and managed by the Endangered Habitats Conservancy (EHC). The latter plan was finalized (including a detailed, 5-year budget) in 2017, updated with additional preserves in 2018, and is being implemented by EHC land managers.
Plan development differs from traditional approaches in that we conducted rapid assessments to identify threats that needed immediate management attention rather than comprehensive biological surveys. We also identified potentially-occurring biological resources, future survey needs, preserve-specific management priorities, SMART goals, objectives, and action items, and opportunities for coordinated management across preserve boundaries.
Funding for this project was through the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), with additional funding from the Endangered Habitats Conservancy to update the Greater Crestridge Ecological Reserve Complex Framework Resource Management Plan.
Working closely with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), CBI conducted an assessment of the risk to the bottomland hardwood/wetland forests of the US Southeast to the growing threat from the wood pellet industry largely to fuel power plants throughout the European Union (EU). The final report released by NRDC was entitled, “In the U.S. Southeast, Natural Forests are Being Felled to Send Fuels Overseas“.
This report details the threats facing Southeastern U.S. Forests, which is widely recognized as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, from the wood pellet industry, which has seen a 150 percent increase in wood pellet exports between 2012-2015. The report explains that 24 million acres of unprotected Southeastern forest lands are at risk and predicts that pellet manufacturing could increase to be twelve times larger than it currently is by 2020. For a one-hour webinar dedicated to this topic, see Bioenergy Threatens Wetland Forests of the US Southeast.
CBI is providing science and technical support to assist the California Energy Commission (CEC) in planning the state’s future energy needs, which includes achieving aggressive renewable energy goals with minimal damage to natural systems. Building off of previous work completed for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), CBI is working to improve access and transparency of scientific data, maps and analysis. As a subset of the work, CBI is supporting the Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative 2.0 (RETI). RETI, according to the CEC, “is an open, transparent, and science-based process that will explore the abundant renewable generation resources in California and throughout the West, consider critical land use and environmental constraints, and identify potential transmission opportunities that could access and integrate renewable energy with the most environmental, economic, and community benefits.”
CBI is developing additional data, models, tools, and technical assistance that align with statewide energy and climate change adaptation planning. This work extends the information and tools previously built for the DRECP planning region to other areas of the state particularly in areas with high renewable energy potential.
Climate change and related impacts such as drought and wildfire are growing concerns throughout the state. In response, CBI is developing additional datasets and visualization applications to put this information into statewide context. CBI will deliver this data and information to the CEC and other California State agencies.
The Santa Barbara County Conservation Blueprint provides a common language and platform for publicly available data to support in depth conversations and informed decisions about the Santa Barbara County landscape. This collaborative project aims to describe the current landscape, natural resources, and community values about land in Santa Barbara County.
CBI is supporting this process for the Santa Barbara County region. The process is led by the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, Cachuma Resource Conservation District, and the Santa Barbara Foundation’s LEAF Initiative to develop a Conservation Gateway for Santa Barbara County. This process is also guided by a 12-member Steering Committee representing agriculture, conservation, resource management, and the natural sciences.
This data gathering and community engagement process led to a Conservation “Blueprint” (including a Data Basin Gateway) that is providing a science based decision-making platform for future conservation in the county, including acquisition, restoration and guidance for other potential land management opportunities. In the long-term, this process is expected to include collective visioning, tool- sharing and collaborative strategies. The effort will strengthen the region’s integrity by building community, sharing information, and facilitating stewardship.
Visit www.sbcblueprint.net to learn more about the Blueprint project and explore the online Atlas.
The Crestridge Ecological Reserve (CER) is owned by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and managed by the Endangered Habitats Conservancy (EHC), while the South Crest Preserve Complex which is owned and managed by EHC. Together these properties comprise approximately 4,000 acres of conserved land in San Diego County, CA. They high value species and habitats, and function as a critical linkage between conserved lands in the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge to the south and the Cleveland National Forest to the north and east.
CBI has provided science support for these lands since 2000, including baseline surveys, vegetation mapping, rare plant monitoring, invasive species mapping and management, habitat restoration, and experimental programs to develop or refine Best Management Practices (BMPs) for adaptive management onsite and in the region. In addition, CBI prepared the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan for Crestridge and is currently preparing the Resource Management Plan for the South Crest Preserve Complex. These activities are documented in reports. Please refer to Data Basin for spatial data:
https://databasin.org/groups/92c7bce8d88d43b3a800dd686195007e/content#expand=22873
https://databasin.org/groups/92c7bce8d88d43b3a800dd686195007e/content#expand=22873%2C22874
https://databasin.org/groups/92c7bce8d88d43b3a800dd686195007e/content#expand=22873%2C28744
https://databasin.org/groups/92c7bce8d88d43b3a800dd686195007e/content#expand=22873%2C28744%2C82726
Southern California NCCPs support edaphic endemic plants that face low genetic diversity due to reduced population sizes, geographic isolation, and loss of pollinators. To enhance the resilience of these species across their ranges, we must manage threats to increase population sizes, identify potentially suitable habitat to connect existing populations, find or restore new populations, and provide opportunities for shifting distributions due to climate change. The Management Strategic Plan for San Diego County requires prioritization and management for edaphic endemic plants, including the five species addressed in this proposal: Acanthomintha ilicifolia, Brodiaea filifolia, Deinandra conjugens, Nolina interrata, and Tetracoccus dioicus. Regional goals include maintaining or expanding existing occurrences or establishing new occurrences to increase resilience to environmental stochasticity, maintaining genetic diversity, and ensuring persistence over the long-term in native plant communities.
This study presents an approach for identifying and describing geographic areas that support edaphic endemic species and their habitat in a design that enhances resilience and provides opportunities for shifting distributions. We developed conceptual models to inform field studies and management, refined soils and vegetation attributes, and assessed regional population structure and threats. We used results to suggest prioritized locations for surveys, management, potential translocation, and additional conservation or acquisition. Project partners (U.S. Geological Survey and San Diego Management and Monitoring Program) modeled suitable habitat for the target species under current and future climate scenarios; we reference models as appropriate.
All target species occur on nutrient poor soils, and each species is associated with a unique suite of physical and chemical soil properties. We provide a range of variables for each species that can inform site selection for management and restoration. Testing soil before enhancing or augmenting small occurrences will allow us to locate suitable sites and eliminate or remediate unsuitable sites with remnant populations before investing management funds.
We used distribution data, habitat suitability models, genetic principles and information to develop regional population structures for each target species. We then identified populations or population groups important for long-term resilience and locations where conservation and management actions would be most beneficial.
Models predict declining habitat in the future for all target species under various climate scenarios, although the amount of predicted habitat remaining varies among species. We recommend conserving future predicted suitable habitat within or beyond San Diego County, and experimentally translocating target species into this habitat as climatic conditions change if monitoring indicates further species declines.
This work contributes to San Diego NCCP subarea plans in progress and other NCCPs. The project area includes the North County MSCP, South County MSCP, and MHCP.
CBI biologists Patricia Gordon-Reedy, Spring Strahm, and Jessie Vinje worked with the San Diego Management and Monitoring Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), and San Diego County land managers on this project. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife funded this work under a Local Assistance Grant.
The U.S. Forest Service, Oregon State University, and Conservation Biology Institute have collaboratively developed the Seedlot Selection Tool to help forest managers match tree seed collections (called seedlots) with planting sites to help ensure the resilience of forests in a changing climate.
The Seedlot Selection Tool (or SST) is a free web-based decision-support tool that can be used to map planting locations based on either current climate data or a range of possible future climates across the conterminous U.S. and Mexico. Users can select a tree species, a climate scenario and relevant climate variables for the species, and other parameters to identify sources of seedlots appropriate for planting on a particular site or planting sites that are appropriate for planting seedlings from a particular seedlot. A valuable planning and educational tool, the SST helps explore possible future conditions, assess risk, and plan potential responses as part of a decision about which seedlot seedlings will be best adapted to a particular planting site in the future.
Seedlot Selection Tool Guidebook for US Forest Service Region 6 Silviculturists
Seedlot Selection Tool Video Tutorial for US Forest Service Region 6 Silviculturists
The SST was spearheaded by Glenn Howe at Oregon State University and Brad St. Clair at the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station and developed by Nikolas Stevenson-Molnar, Brendan Ward, and Dominique Bachelet at CBI. Recently the USDA Climate Hub and USFS Region 6 staff worked with CBI to develop a step-by-step Guidebook and Video Tutorial for the Seedlot Selection Tool for Region 6 Silviculturists. These materials are useful to anyone who wants to learn about the use of this resource.
You may access the SST and detailed instructions at https://seedlotselectiontool.org/sst/.
Please see the USDA Climate Hub Seedlot Selection Tool Web Page for more information about the Guidebook and Tutorial Video.
Support for the SST came from the USFS, OSU, CBI, and the USDA Northwest Climate Hub.
CBI is expanding on previous work with the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative (PFLCC) to further develop the PFLCC Simple Viewer to provide greater functionality and flexibility. In March 2017, CBI worked with PFLCC to incorporate PFLCC’s Blueprint version 1.0 into the viewer, and also created new reporting functionality to export on-screen results to PDF. In July 2017, CBI introduced the ability to aggregate multiple watersheds for display of summary information. This is particularly useful for users whose areas of interest and jurisdictions span multiple watersheds.
CBI is currently working on creating a Conservation Actions Tracker that will be added to the PFLCC Conservation Planning Atlas developed by CBI using Data Basin. This Conservation Actions Tracker will to allow users throughout Florida to enter information about conservation actions on the landscape – such as restoration activities – using an intuitive map-oriented interface. Users will also be able to explore any conservation actions in the system, and discover opportunities for collaboration and shared impact.
CBI is in the process of designing a new interactive application to showcase the PFLCC climate change adaptation guide so that users will be able to use interactive maps and data visualization to gain a greater understanding of climate change adaptations within Florida landscapes.