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Biodiversity Information for Decision-Makers: A Conservation Partnership in New York

The New York Natural Heritage Program (NYNHP) tracks over 12,500 locations of rare and endangered species and significant natural communities in New York in a complex tabular and spatial database format. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is responsible for approximately 15,000 miles of highways in the state, of which about 8,300 miles intersect with NYNHP rare species and natural community locations. NYNHP has for years provided NYSDOT with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) digital spatial data of its precise locations. However, knowing these locations is of limited benefit if the data users don’t know exactly what kind of habitat is used by that species or how DOT activities could impact it. It had become apparent to both partners that many NYSDOT staff, including those making decisions that could potentially result in on-the-ground impacts to biodiversity, had little awareness of the NYNHP dataset, nor how to interpret and apply the data to their daily operations. To address this gap in understanding, NYSDOT funded a 5-year project entitled Biodiversity Information for Decision-Makers (BIDM). The overall objective of this project was to provide NYSDOT with powerful new conservation tools that would assist their staff in both project site-level planning and planning in a broader context. These new tools should help staff make better decisions about how to design and modify activities that might affect rare species and natural communities. This objective was achieved through three primary procedures: 1) Improved mapping of selected Heritage locations; 2) Modeling the landscape surrounding known Heritage locations (Important Areas); and 3) Creating online fact sheets of NYNHP’s listed species and communities (Conservation Guides). Over 400 Natural Heritage locations were screen-digitized to increase the precision of their spatial representation, and these locations were an essential input for the next procedure, Important Area modeling. Important Areas (IAs) are the areas around known observed locations that have conservation importance, and are modeled by enlarging or buffering the observation locations based on natural history requirements of a species, species guild, or natural community. For example, while a turtle might have only been observed in a specific wetland, the IA would also include upland habitat that the turtle needs for breeding and for dispersing between wetlands. Forty-seven (47) IA models (automated in Python script tools in ArcGIS) have been developed in New York State through this project. GIS datasets of Natural Heritage locations and of IAs, along with documentation and training in applying them, have been provided to NYSDOT staff having direct responsibility for potential ecological impacts on the ground. NYNHP has also posted on its public website online “Conservation Guides” for over 200 rare species and natural communities. These guides provide concise, easily accessible information about habitat, why the species and ecosystems are rare, threats to their viability, management considerations, and other information that NYSDOT planners and managers can use to make informed decisions regarding land use, natural resources, and transportation infrastructure. The guides offer insight that translates a catalogue of NYNHP locations into a conservation tool understandable to anyone.

  • Summary URL:
  • Supplemental Notes:
    • Abstract used with permission from the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation, organized by the Center for Transportation and the Environment, Institute for Transportation Research and Education, North Carolina State University.
  • Corporate Authors:

    North Carolina State University, Raleigh

    Center for Transportation and the Environment
    Raleigh, NC  United States  27695-8601
  • Authors:
    • Schmid, John J
  • Conference:
  • Publication Date: 2013

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 14p
  • Monograph Title: Proceedings of the 2013 International Conference on Ecology and Transportation (ICOET 2013)

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01557947
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Mar 27 2015 10:30AM