Target Lists for Lanai Island Spatial Prioritization of Native Plant Habitat and Hunting Areas, 2021

Leopold, C.R., Fortini, L.B., and Hess, S.C., Lanai Island Spatial Prioritization of Native Plant Habitat and Hunting Areas, 2021: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P93YJCBO.

We used spatial optimization methods to prioritize areas for conservation of native vegetation and protect sufficient habitat for threatened and endangered plant species in climate resilient areas, while preserving the majority of existing hunting areas on the island of Lanai. We used a list of species to include in the optimization generated by plant experts including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service along with species-specific recovery target information. We used climate-defined species ranges developed by Fortini et al. (2016) to identify areas with current and future habitat for each species on the list for recovery action on Lanai. We included maps of current hunting areas to serve as potential hunting areas to protect, and included land-use constraints developed in coordination with Pulama Lanai, the primary land manager for the island of Lanai, to serve as inputs. We also created cost layers to limit over-selection of conservation or hunting areas. We varied native vegetation and hunting targets, and whether locked-in areas were included to evaluate tradeoffs between scenarios (see Hanson et al. 2020 for further details.). Scenarios can be used to inform natural resource managers of optimal sites for conservation of each native plant species, native vegetation, and preserving select hunting areas.

• Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center

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