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USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

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Page 1: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts

Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D.USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network

SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, ALNovember 2012

Page 2: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

Southeast Region – Refuge System

National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) in the Southeast Region

129 Refuges4 million+ acres

Page 3: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act

(NWRSIA) of 1997• Provide for the conservation of fish, wildlife, plants and their

habitats;

• Ensure the biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health;

• Plan for the continued growth of the System;

• Assist in the maintenance of adequate water quantity and quality;

• Acquire water rights;

• Monitor the status and trends of fish, wildlife, and plants in EACH refuge

The Genesis

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Page 4: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

What is the I&M Network?A nationally coordinated program of inventory and monitoring on the NWRS to generate information critical to ensuring the System’s ongoing contributions to the conservation of the nation’s fish, wildlife and plant resources in the face of climate change and other environmental stressors

The I&M program will document the status, assess the condition of, and detect changes in the Refuge’s System’s diverse fish, wildlife and plant communities, physical resources including water air and soils, and ecological processes in order to support scientific-based conservation planning and management at multiple spatial scales

Plan & evaluate the effectiveness of conservation strategies in close cooperation with Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs)

Integration of I&M data to advance conservation at multiple landscape scales

Collaboration with other Service programs, state, federal and conservation partners

Page 5: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

What is the I&M Network? Goal: Provide field stations with the foundational ecological information on which to base planning and management decisions.

Goal: Provide innovative, relevant, and timely water resources information, assessments, and guidance to refuge staff, regional and national management, and partners to inform refuge management decisions and help meet refuge legal requirements.

Goal: Design, develop and maintain and integrated data management system that supports I&M efforts and promotes data sharing and collaboration with internal and external partners.

Goal: Ensure that I&M database modules are efficiently utilized by all stations and they contain accurate, relevant, complete and current data that are accessible to others and inform NWRS management decisions.

Goal: Establish and implement a coordinated field based assessment with standard metrics of invasive plant infestations across the Refuge System that incorporates early detection, identification and treatment of high-threat species, and local adaptive management monitoring for established invasive species.

Page 6: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

What is the I&M Network

South Atlantic LCCRegional coordinator and data manager co-located with NPS4 ecologist positions co-located on refugesGulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks LCCDeputy chief and assistant data manager co-located w/refuges/LCC offices4 biologist/ecologist positions

Zone structure – Atlantic & Gulf

Page 7: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

What We Are Currently Doing

Identifying priority water needs: Water Resource Inventory and Assessments on NWRS and Hatcheries

Inventory and monitor fish communities including aquatic invasive species using tools like eDNA on Savannah and Loxahatchee NWRs

Evaluate vulnerability of refuge lands to drought-related issues

Page 8: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

Fish Community Assessment

OBJECTIVES:• Survey and Population

Assessment• Monitoring using eDNA

OVERALL PROJECT GOAL:• Develop standard data

collection techniques to inventory & monitor aquatic invasive species within National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) waters– Coordination of effort– Standardization of data

Page 9: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

Initial Sampling Sites/Effort

• Stratified random design• Seasonal (Aug., Nov., Feb., May)

• Multiple habitats

• August 201211 km Little Back River 3 km Union Creek 3 km Pool 12/13 4 km diversion canal

Page 10: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

Aquatic Invasive Species

• Red-bellied pacu• Lionfish• Nile tilapia • Mozambique tilapia• Blue tilapia• Asian carp• Invertebrates• parasites

Page 11: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

Multiple Agency Benefit

• Gulf and South Atlantic Regional Panel on Aquatic Invasive Species

• National Aquatic Species Task Force• Region 4 AIS Program• Savannah NWR• Southeast Aquatic

Resource Partnership• South Atlantic LCC

Page 12: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

• Savannah NWR / Coastal Refuge Complex

• Warm Springs Fish Technology Center

• Welaka NFH

• Regional Aquatic Invasive Species Program

• Inventory & Monitoring

• Regional Office – Fisheries & Refuges

Partnerships

Page 13: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

What We Are Currently Doing

Transparent Prioritization Process

Water Resource Inventory & Assessments

Cape Romain NWR, SCCahaba River NWR, ALCache River NWR, AR

Okefenokee NWR, GALower Suwannee NWR, FLErwin National Fish Hatchery, TN

White River NWR, AR

Page 14: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012
Page 15: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

Specific Needs for Partnering

Transparent Prioritization Process

Shared DataStandardized Protocols

Creative Ways to Work Together

PLEASE CONTACT ME!Theresa Thom

(843) 784-6262 (office)(706) 201-1846 (cell)

[email protected]

Page 17: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

What is the I&M Network? Goal: Provide information on the status and monitoring of species classified under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the Refuge System.

Goal: Provide summaries of vegetation resources on Refuge lands and ensure each refuge has the capacity to efficiently acquire vegetative covers datasets that meet their specific needs.

Goal: Ensure each refuge has the capacity to utilize core abiotic base data layers in order to inform management decisions on Refuge lands.

Goal: Ensure bird inventory and monitoring surveys on refuge lands are scientifically credible, evaluate refuge contributions to local, regional, landscape, flyway,and continental scale bird population objectives, and are coordinated across the landscape with other Service programs and our partners. The data will be used to assess the size, distribution, and status of bird populations and to gauge the success of management and conservation efforts.

Page 18: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

What is the I&M Network? Goal: Where needed, to conduct baseline inventories of vertebrates, vascular plants, and a subset of invertebrates on all refuge lands.

Goal: Ensure that phenological monitoring conducted on refuge land is scientifically credible and will be used to inform climate related management questions at multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Goal: To support the implementation of adaptive management at multiple spatial scales.

Goal: To assess the baseline quality of wilderness character on all designated wilderness within the Refuge System and then monitor trends in wilderness character over time using a nationally consistent approach.

Goal: Ensure that surrogate species monitoring surveys on refuge lands are scientifically credible, evaluate refuge contributions to local, regional, and landscape scale population and habitat objectives, and are coordinated across the landscape with other Service programs and our partners. The data will be used to assess the size, distribution, and status of the selected populations and to gauge the success of management and conservation efforts.

Page 19: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

What is the I&M Network? Goal: Generate fire history atlases for high priority refuges and ensure fire effects monitoring data can be utilized to assess the success of refuge management objectives.

Goal: To provide coastal refuges with the information necessary to evaluate potential impacts of sea level rise to coastal habitats and wildlife.

Goal: To summarize in one place key materials (documents, permits, reviews, plans, etc.) useful for refuge planning and vulnerability assessments. Examples include abiotic resources such as topographic maps, aerial photography, water resources inventories and assessments, HGM reports, as well as biotic resources such as a catalogue of inventories, veg maps, vulnerability assessments, banding, salvage, and endangered species permits, and hunting, fishing, trapping plans, CCPs, HMPs, IMPs, Wilderness Character Measures, and reports from Wildlife and Habitat Reviews.

Page 20: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

What is the I&M Network? Goal: Provide baseline inventory data needed to assist with the assessment of the effects of unforeseen disasters and integrate refuge monitoring data with existing marine networks.

Goal: That all field station periodically generate a standardized refuge condition assessment report that aligns with other land management status updates.

Goal: Develop a nationally coordinated monitoring effort that incorporates wildlife health surveillance, includes training Refuge employees how minimize the potential for disease transmission to other sites, and prevent the transmission of zoonotic agents; identification (or development) of a baseline database used to detect changes in disease expression; and identifying high risk areas likely to experience changes in pathogen and/or vector populations.

Page 21: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

What is the I&M Network? Goal: Implement a coordinated air quality biomonitoring (AQB) effort on refuge lands to provide assistance in prioritizing management of limited Service resources; enhance legal and policy-making decisions in light of climate change issues; and complement existing monitoring efforts underway by Branch of Air Quality (BAQ).

Goal: Develop a nationally coordinated monitoring effort that incorporates wildlife health surveillance, includes training Refuge employees how minimize the potential for disease transmission to other sites, and prevent the transmission of zoonotic agents; identification (or development) of a baseline database used to detect changes in disease expression; and identifying high risk areas likely to experience changes in pathogen and/or vector populations.

Page 22: USFWS Inventory & Monitoring Efforts Theresa A. Thom, Ph.D. USFWS Inventory and Monitoring Network SWPBA – Lake Guntersville, AL November 2012

What We Are Currently Doing

Monitoring marsh elevation and relative sea-level rise

Working with partners to ensure monitoring compatibility and data integration – NPS, USGS, TNC, NOAA, Refuges, South Atlantic LCC

Currently, 20 sites with three RSET stations installed on 18 coastal refuges

Refuge managers can use data locally to answer critical questions and adjust management; SALCC will use data to run and validate landscape scale models