ENYs Delaware Basin Program: An Evolution of Measures

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ENYs Delaware Basin Program An Evolution of
Measures
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• 01/12/2008

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A History of Measures ENY Delaware River Basin
Program

• Measures
• Background
• Creating The Foundation
• Using Data Making Choices
• Example Project-Scale Measures
• Measures Future Adapting

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The History of Developing a Measures Program
Underlying Premise

• Baseline
• Relationships
• Goals
• Informed strategic choices
• Milestones or measures of progress

Over a decade ago, ENY started with the premise
that understanding the environmental context, or
baseline, which our targets currently occurred,
the relationships of our targets to this context,
and meaningful conservation goals was inherently
necessary to strategically and efficiently do
conservation work in the Delaware River Basin.
The Background
This motivation arose from the fact that staff
repeatedly asked a few key questions in terms of
targets, threats and conservation action

• Where are we now? Where do we need to get to?
• How do we best get there?
• How will we know if we are making progress?
• How will we know when we are done?

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The History of Developing a Measures Program
This required
A baseline of key environmental conditions,
ecological processes and our conservation targets
Baseline
A better understanding of real world threats and
how they specifically impacted conservation
targets and the relationships between threats and
environmental conditions.
Threats
A better understanding of the requirements of our
conservation targets and their relationships with
environmental conditions.
Targets
A clear understanding about what benchmarks and
goals were meaningful in terms of abating threats
and restoring viability for our conservation
targets.
Goals
Informed Strategies
A clearer picture of what activities and actions
would be most effective in dealing with threats
and reaching ecological goals.
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The History of Developing a Measures Program
How Did We Begin Answering These Key Questions?
A baseline of key environmental conditions,
ecological processes and our conservation targets
Baseline

• In 1997, we chose to start with the Neversink
  River Programs freshwater mussel target based on
  this target including
• 2 globally rare species
• A lack of understanding about ecological
  requirements
• A lack of local information for conservation
  decisions.
• ENY staff felt that these factors made this
  target a high priority for developing a more
  rigorous approach to conservation.

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The History of Developing a Measures Program
An intensive yearlong project, in partnership
with Senior Scientists at the U.S. Geological
Survey, provided data from the field.
Viability Assessment Thresholds
Field data literature reviews
Ecological Models
This information allowed ENY scientists to
develop models and hypotheses about (1) existing
environmental conditions (2) status of
freshwater mussel populations (3) ecological
requirements and (4) critical processes and
relationships
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The History of Developing a Measures Program
A baseline of key environmental conditions,
ecological processes and our conservation targets
Baseline
Some things became clear, such as the
relationship of the Cuddebackville Dam on the
size and condition of the population of federally
endangered dwarf wedgemussels in the Neversink
River.
Threats
Targets
Key Environmental Variables
Status of Target
Relationship to a threat
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The History of Developing a Measures Program
A baseline of key environmental conditions,
ecological processes and our conservation targets
Baseline
In 1998, this new information about the status,
threats and conservation goals for freshwater
mussels in the Neversink River led to the launch
of a strategy to remove the Cuddebackville Dam.
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The History of Developing a Measures Program
As the relationships between target, baseline
condition and threats became clear, ENY
scientists began to have a better idea of what
goals were meaningful and what strategies might
prove effective in reaching those goals
In 1999, ENY launched a 5-year ecosystem
assessment initiative with the U.S.G.S. to
define of the status of all aquatic targets,
their key ecological requirements, and threats.
This represented the establishment of a
comprehensive baseline and the beginning of
status monitoring for the Neversink River
Programs aquatic conservation targets and
associated threats.
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The History of Developing a Measures Program
Aquatic Terrestrial Ecological Systems
American Shad
American Eel
Sea Lamprey
Alewife
Delaware Basin Diadromous Fish
Freshwater Mussels Larval Host Fish
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Using Data Making Choices
GIS modeling and statistical analysis were used
to augment data from the field and from
scientific literature.
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Using Data Making Choices
Collectively, this work began to paint a robust
picture of the target species, communities and
ecosystems, the processes which drive and, in
some cases, connect them as well as the severity
and mechanics of the threats across the landscape
facing this biodiversity.
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Using Data Making Choices
Floodplain Restoration
Dam removal
New information enabled ENY scientists to
develop new conceptual models, benchmarks and
indicators as well as measurable goals.
ESWM
This work informed the choice conservation
strategies, measurable objectives and measures of
progress.
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Using Data Making Choices
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Using Data Making Choices
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Using Data Making Choices
This framework of information, continually
updated, modified and revised with information
from TNC monitoring efforts as well as that of a
wide variety of partners, has set the
conservation agenda and been the basis of
measures of success and progress of ENYs work on
the Neversink and Delaware Rivers since the late
1990s.
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Example Project-Scale Measures (Cuddebackville
Dam)
Despite having larger scale measures of
conservation success, it was necessary to
continually assess the impacts and progress
towards restoration of the biotic and abiotic
conditions in the Neversink River around the dam
post-dam removal. This would enable adaptive
management of the post-removal recovery/restoratio
n efforts.
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Examples Project-Scale MeasuresCuddebackville
Dam Removal
Understanding how the individual requirements of
targets complimented or conflicted with each
other also informed how conservation strategies
were developed.
Setting goals based on the life history needs of
targets made certain conservation strategies
clear choices.
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Examples Project-Scale MeasuresCuddebackville
Dam Removal
Pre-Removal Monitoring

• Topographic surveys
• Sediment contaminant analyses
• Sediment quantity and transport
• Hydraulic conditions
• Channel geomorphology
• Habitat
• Fisheries (larval fish sampling shocking)
• Mussels (quadrat and timed surveys)
• Macroinvertebrates (riffle multi-habitat)
• Periphyton (algae)
• Water chemistry

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Examples Project-Scale MeasuresCuddebackville
Dam Removal
With a robust measures framework in place it was
easy to objectively determine that within 2
years after the dam removal all of the
project-scale measures were back to natural
conditions (within an acceptable range of
variation).
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Measures Future Adapting and Moving Forward
Conservation biology circa 1999
New TNC findings and new technology (2007)
A new generation of monitoring indicators,
benchmarks and goals for conservation.
New research and findings from partners and
others.
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Measures Future Adapting and Moving Forward
Individual River Basin Objective 750,000 or
more American Shad making the spawning run in
the Delaware River for 7 out of 10 years by 2020
and1.5 million by 2040 Ecoregional
Objective 75 of shad spawning rivers in each
FW ecoregion meeting numeric goals by
2020. Rangewide Objective All FW ecoregions
meeting their goals by 2020
New research enables ENY to not only refine its
conservation goals but to put them in an
appropriate context . This enables us to develop
new strategies with colleagues and partners at a
scale and efficiency far more meaningful than
just a few years ago.