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This indicator measures the amount of natural landcover in the estimated floodplain of rivers and streams within each catchment. It assesses the stream channel and its surrounding riparian buffer, measuring the percent of unaltered habitat like forests, wetlands, or open water (rather than agriculture or development). This indicator originates from the 2019 National Land Cover Database and applies to the Environmental Protection Agency’s estimated floodplain, which spatially defines areas estimated to be inundated by a 100-year flood, also known as the 1% annual chance flood.Reason for SelectionHabitat near rivers and streams is strongly linked to water quality and instream flow (Naiman 1997), is easy to monitor...
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The Southeast Blueprint 2022 Development Process is a final report that explains in detail how this version of the Blueprint was created. It combines the metadata available on the Blueprint page of the SECAS Atlas for the indicators, combined Zonation results, hubs and corridors, and final Blueprint priorities. It is intended to serve as a comprehensive guide to the Southeast Blueprint data sources and methodology that could enable an interested reader to reproduce the Blueprint independently.
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The Blueprint uses a least-cost path connectivity analysis to identify connections between priority areas. A program called Linkage Mapper defines corridors that link hubs across the shortest distance possible, while also routing through as much Blueprint priority as possible. Inland corridors connect large patches of highest priority Blueprint areas and/or protected lands. Marine and estuarine corridors connect large estuaries and/or large patches of highest priority Blueprint areas, within broad marine mammal movement areas.INLAND HUBS & CORRIDORSINLAND RESISTANCE RASTERThis is the resistance raster or cost surface used in the Linkage Mapper-based connectivity analysis for the inland portion of the Base Blueprint...
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Together in partnership with Mississippi State University (MSU) and locally based social scientists, U.S. Fish and WildlifeService (FWS) Southeast Region social scientists will identify and implement methods and tools within the social sciencesto address the most pressing priorities of the region, including enhancing public perception of decisions related tohabitat conservation and threatened, endangered, and at-risk species, effectively engaging historically underservedprivate landowners, and addressing climate change adaptation across the region, particularly in underserved urbancommunities. Social scientists within relevant organizations, institutions, and communities will be engaged as needed todevelop specific...
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This indicator measures the average percent of non-impervious cover within each catchment. It originates from the 2019 National Land Cover Database percent developed impervious layer. Reason for Selection Impervious cover is easy to monitor and model, and is widely used and understood by diverse partners. It is also strongly linked to water quality, estuary condition, eutrophication, and freshwater inflow. The 90% permeable surface threshold (i.e., 10% impervious) is a well-documented signal of major, negative changes to aquatic ecosystems (Schueler et al. 2009). The 95% permeable surface threshold (i.e., 5% impervious) has been documented to impact Piedmont fish [tricolor shiner (Cyprinella trichroistia), bronze...
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This indicator prioritizes areas for reforestation within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) based on benefits to three species of forest breeding birds that depend on large interior cores of bottomland hardwood habitat (Swainson’s warbler, cerulean warbler, swallow-tailed kite). The model considers the core size, number of cores, and percent of local forest cover that would result from reforestation, as well as risk of conversion to agriculture based on flooding frequency. The highest scores represent drier areas where reforestation would create new forest patches containing interior cores at least 2,000 ha (~5,000 ac). It originates from the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture’s MAV forest breeding bird...
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This indicator represents the condition and location of playas, which are round, shallow depressions found primarily in the western Great Plains that serve as temporary wetlands by collecting water from rainfall and runoff. It defines a healthy playa as one that is not farmed, hydrologically modified, within a wind farm, or impacted by sediment accumulation due to agriculture. It also considers the increased benefits to wildlife provided by clusters of nearby playas, compared to more sparsely distributed playas. This indicator originates from the Playa Lakes Joint Venture’s probable playas dataset.Reason for SelectionThe unique wet-dry cycle that characterizes this important wetland ecosystem makes playas a biodiversity...
This indicator measures the condition of migratory fish habitat along the Atlantic coast within each catchment, using metrics of water quality, aquatic connectivity, habitat fragmentation, flow alteration, and more. Areas of excellent fish habitat are already in good condition and face few threats; restoration opportunity areas are doing well in some respects, but restoration projects could significantly improve them; degraded areas of opportunity face many challenges, and restoration projects are unlikely to increase available fish habitat unless particularly large in scope and scale. This indicator originates from the Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership’s fish habitat conservation area mapping and prioritization...
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This indicator represents important habitat for island-dependent species across the Southeast. The highest scores go to island critical habitat for six threatened and endangered animal and plant species: piping plover, loggerhead sea turtle, Cape Sable thoroughwort, Florida semaphore cactus, silver rice rat, and Bartram’s hairstreak butterfly. This indicator originates from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service critical habitat data and island boundaries from the U.S. Geological Survey and Esri.Reason for SelectionIslands provide important habitat for many species, including birds, sea turtles, mammals, insects, and plants. Their relative isolation from disturbance and mainland predators can make them important breeding...
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This layer depicts the extent of the inputs used in Southeast Conservation Blueprint 2022. It can serve as a resource for determining which of the Blueprint inputs covers a particular area of interest, providing a roadmap for where to look for more detailed information.Across 15 states of the Southeast, the Blueprint identifies priority areas based on a suite of natural and cultural resource indicators representing terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. A connectivity analysis identifies corridors that link coastal and inland areas and span climate gradients. This portion of the Southeast Blueprint is referred to as the “Base Blueprint”. To provide more complete coverage of the SECAS geography, the Southeast...
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In recognition of the need for landscape-scale planning to address the conservation challenges of the Midwestern United States, the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies passed a resolution endorsing the Midwest Landscape Initiative, a collaborative that identifies shared conservation priorities and develops solutions for healthy, functioning ecosystems in the Midwest (MAFWA 2019). To address these goals the Midwest Landscape Initiative identified an opportunity to create a regional terrestrial habitat system that could provide consistent and structured description of natural and cultural habitats across the region. The regional habitat data aids partners by providing a common lexicon through which conservation...
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This indicator measures the condition of estuarine fish habitat along the Atlantic coast using metrics of water quality, marsh edges, seagrass and oyster reefs, fragmentation, human development, and more. Areas of excellent fish habitat are already in good condition and face few threats; restoration opportunity areas are doing well in some respects, but restoration projects could significantly improve them; degraded areas of opportunity face many challenges, and restoration projects are unlikely to increase available fish habitat unless particularly large in scope and scale. This indicator originates from the Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership’s fish habitat conservation area mapping and prioritization project.Reason...
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This indicator is an index of habitat suitability for four shorebird species (American oystercatcher, Wilson’s plover, least tern, piping plover) in the South Atlantic, based on observed abundance. It originates from data collected by waterbird biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife agencies in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.Reason for SelectionThe relative use of beach habitat by shorebird species for nesting, foraging, and breeding is an indicator of beach health and quality. Shorebird populations are highly responsive to threats like sea-level rise, changes in freshwater inflow, shoreline alteration and loss, human disturbances, and contaminants. In particular,...
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This .zip folder contains the primary spatial data, documentation, and code associated with Southeast Conservation Blueprint 2022.
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This layer depicts the subregions used to run Zonation in Base Blueprint 2022. We break down the Base Blueprint geography into subregions to reduce processing time and help with balancing weights across indicators in such a large and varied region.Input Data EPA Level IV Ecoregions shapefile with state boundaries (EPA L4), accessed 12-8-2021 HUC4 Watershed Boundary Dataset, accessed 12-8-2021 Marine Ecoregions Level III from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation North American Environmental Atlas, accessed 12-8-2021 2021 Census TIGER/Lines State boundary, accessed 12-8-2021 South Atlantic Blueprint 2021 Extent (used to limit the marine area)Mapping StepsFor more details on the mapping steps, code used to...
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The Southeast Conservation Blueprint is the primary product of the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS). It is a living, spatial plan to achieve the SECAS vision of a connected network of lands and waters across the Southeast and Caribbean. The Blueprint is regularly updated to incorporate new data, partner input, and information about on-the-ground conditions.
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This indicator measures the percent of perennial forbs and perennial grass to evaluate grassland condition across the Great Plains. Grasslands in this area with a high percentage of perennials are less likely to be impacted by woody encroachment, less susceptible to non-native annual grasses, and more likely to support important plants, birds, and pollinators. This indicator originates from Rangeland Analysis Platform vegetation cover data. Reason for Selection The extensive grasslands of the Great Plains once stretched from Canada to Mexico, with a plant community dominated by native perennials and forbs. However, conversion to agriculture and other land uses have significantly reduced their extent, while overgrazing...
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This indicator depicts an area’s capacity to maintain species diversity and ecosystem function in the face of climate change. It measures two factors that influence resilience. The first, landscape diversity, reflects the number of microhabitats and climatic gradients created by topography, elevation, and hydrology. The second, local connectedness, reflects the degree of habitat fragmentation and strength of barriers to species movement. Highly resilient sites contain many different habitat niches that support biodiversity, and allow species to move freely through the landscape to find suitable microclimates as the climate changes. This indicator originates from The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Land data. Reason...
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This indicator identifies areas with existing pine trees that, if managed for open condition, could support a population of three umbrella bird species (brown-headed nuthatch, Bachman’s sparrow, red-cockaded woodpecker). It evaluates potential habitat based on each species’ habitat needs and population dynamics, prioritizing opportunities to restore and manage habitat to benefit open pine birds. Final scores reflect both the selectiveness of the species and whether an area meets the habitat requirements through one large patch, or clusters of smaller patches in sufficiently close proximity for breeding pairs to disperse. This indicator updates the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture’s open pine decision support...
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This mapping project is a collaboration among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and staff from the Arkansas Game and Fish and Natural Heritage Commissions. It provides general information on the potential environmental risk to species of concern and sensitive habitats from proposed wind energy projects in Arkansas. The purpose of the map is to assist wind energy developers with appropriate siting of proposed wind energy projects as described in the Service’s 2012 Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines (Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines FWS.gov), particularly during Tiers 1 (Preliminary Site Evaluation) and 2 (Site Characterization) of the decision framework. The map provides general guidance and should not...
map background search result map search result map Southeast Blueprint 2022 Data Download Southeast Blueprint 2022 Development Process Resilient Terrestrial Sites Base Blueprint Subregions Great Plains Perennial Grasslands Mississippi Alluvial Valley Forest Birds - Reforestation Playas West Costal Plain & Ouachitas Open Pine Birds Atlantic Migratory Fish Habitat Natural Landcover in Floodplains Permeable Surface Atlantic Estuarine Fish Habitat Islands South Atlantic Beach Birds Base Blueprint Hubs & Corridors Southeast Blueprint 2022 Input Areas Wildlife and Habitat Risk Map for Wind Energy Projects in Arkansas Integrating Social Science into U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Regional Priority Efforts Southeast Conservation Blueprint 2023 Midwest Terrestrial Habitat System Wildlife and Habitat Risk Map for Wind Energy Projects in Arkansas Integrating Social Science into U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Regional Priority Efforts Midwest Terrestrial Habitat System Resilient Terrestrial Sites Base Blueprint Subregions Great Plains Perennial Grasslands Mississippi Alluvial Valley Forest Birds - Reforestation Playas West Costal Plain & Ouachitas Open Pine Birds Atlantic Migratory Fish Habitat Natural Landcover in Floodplains Permeable Surface Atlantic Estuarine Fish Habitat Islands South Atlantic Beach Birds Base Blueprint Hubs & Corridors Southeast Blueprint 2022 Data Download Southeast Blueprint 2022 Development Process Southeast Blueprint 2022 Input Areas Southeast Conservation Blueprint 2023