This effort will begin late fiscal year 2016 through a cooperative agreement with the University of Vermont, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics. The goals include: (1) Integrating ecosystem services data and tools into the SECI Dashboard for use in public land management decision-making; (2) Applying ecosystem services mapping and modeling capabilities at the local, regional, and national scales; and (3) Investigate common areas of data requirements between ecosystem services tools and developing research in natural capital accounting frameworks. While the ultimate goal of this effort is to achieve national scale ecosystem service models, the initial phase will focus on the development of case studies conducted at local to regional spatial scales. Additionally, investigation of common areas of data requirements between ecosystem services tools and develop research in natural capital accounting frameworks will be conducted. Lastly, in an effort to integrate the ecosystem service modeling and trend identification efforts, results will be made available to public land managers through the development of an online data, mapping, analysis and information portal as part of the SECI Dashboard.
FY17 Objectives
- Select and identify scope of case study location(s) in coordination with SECI project partners;
- Arrange site visits to explore case study regions and meeting with local partners to identify priority ecosystem services, beneficiary groups, and policy / land management drivers impacting rouse management decisions;
- Assess model and tool applicability to meet the priorities identified by case study collaborators and stakeholders;
- Assess the advantages and disadvantages of the applied tools and procedures to determine which are most suitable for supporting the SECI Dashboard development and expand applications to national scale models.
FY 17 Expected Deliverables
- Draft reports focusing the analytical techniques used, findings in management decision-making context, and documentation of data, models, methods, and results of the investigation;
- Draft documentation of models and methods used in the analysis;
- Presentation at one professional conference.
