Strategic Habitat Conservation -- Southeast Region

Peninsular Florida LCC Workshop

September 25 & 26, 2012

Agenda and Presentations

Click hyperlinked presentation titles to download the presentation in PDF.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

7:30 Registration and coffee
First floor conference room

8:00 Welcome, key points about objectives of these two days, what it is and what it isn’t
Laura Brandt, Wildlife Biologist, Science Applications, USFWS

8:15 The Vision – Where is FWS Headed with This and Why
Cindy Dohner, Regional Director Southeast Region,USFWS

8:30 A Conservation Conversation
Cindy Dohner
Nick Wiley, Executive Director, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

9:00 Evolving to Meet the Challenges –Landscape-scale Conservation and the Role of Selecting Species
Larry Williams, Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office, USFWS

9:30 Break

10:00 Working Example: Are We Getting as Much as We Can Out of our Current Conservation Management Efforts?
Panel Discussion Led by:
Elizabeth Souheaver, Refuge Supervisor, USFWS
Sylvia Pelizza, Project Leader, Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, USFWS

Panel:
Jon Wallace, Prescribed Fire Specialist,Arthur R.
Marshal Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, USFWS
Paul Ebersbach, Chief, Environmental Flight, Avon
Park Air Force Range, Department of Defense State of Florida Representative
Pete Kubiak, Chief, Division of Fire Management, Southeast Region, USFWS

11:00 Concepts Behind Selecting Species
for Landscape-scale Conservation
Jack Arnold, Deputy Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, USFWS

11:45 Lunch On-Site (Pre-register for box lunch $10.00 or
bring your own)

12:30 Insights and Consternations:
Open Forum for Views from all Participants
John Galvez, Project Leader, Peninsular Florida Fisheries Office, USFWS

1:00 - 5:00 Draft Technical Guidance on Selecting Species for Design of Landscape-scale Conservation
Laura Brandt – Moderator

1:00 Providing Feedback on the Draft Technical Guidance
Stacy Shelton, Public Affairs Specialist, USFWS

1:15 Steps 1-3: Objectives, Scale, and Determining Which Species

Step 1: Develop and clearly specify management or conservation objectives for the surrogate species approach.

Step 2: Identify geographic scale.

Step 3: Determine which species to consider in the identified landscape.
Roxanna Hinzman, Acting Chief of Staff, Regional Director’s Office, USFWS

2:15 Break

2:45 Steps 4 - 7: Criteria for Establishing Surrogates, Which Species Require Special Attention, and Population Objectives

Step 4: Decide which criteria to use in determining surrogate species.

Step 5: Establish surrogate species.

Step 6: Identify species requiring special attention.

Step 7: Identify population objectives.
Cindy Fury, Leader, Florida/Caribbean Migratory Bird Field Office, USFWS
Dawn Jennings, Deputy Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Ecological Services Office, USFWS

3:45 Steps 8 - 10: Addressing Logic and Consistency, Knowledge Gaps and Uncertainties, and the Critical Need to State Assumptions Clearly to Drive Monitoring and Research Needs

Step 8: Test for logic and consistency.

Step 9: Identify Knowledge gaps and uncertainties.

Step 10: Monitor the effectiveness of the approach
Sylvia Pelizza
Bob Ford, Deputy Assistant Regional Director, Science Applications, USFWS

4:45 Summary of Day 1 and
Introduction to Objectives for Day 2
Laura Brandt

5:00 Adjourn

Wednesday, September 26

8:00 Introduction to Morning Session on Existing Efforts to Select Species and Set Conservation Targets
Laura Brandt

8:30 State of Florida
Beth Stys, Research Administrator,
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

9:00 U.S. Forest Service
Carl Petrick, Natural Resources Staff Officer,
U.S. Forest Service

9:30 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4
Jack Arnold

10:00 Break

10:30 Break-out Groups for Discussion
What are similarities and differences in approaches?
Strengths/weaknesses?
What can we learn for improving the Service’s Draft Technical Guidance on Selecting Species for Design of Landscape-scale Conservation?

11:30 Report Back and Panel Discussion

12:15 Lunch On-Site (Pre-register for box lunch $10.00 or bring your own)

1:00 Any Key Points from Lunch Discussions and Introduction to Afternoon Session
Dave Hankla, Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Ecological Services Office, USFWS

1:30 Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative
Tim Breault, Coordinator, Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative
Peninsular Florida Steering Committee Members

2:30 Break

3:00 Next Steps and Continuing the Conversation and Engagement
Cindy Dohner
Nick Wiley

3:45 Closing Thoughts: Questions, Comments, Feedback from Participants/Evaluation Summary
Laura Brandt

4:00 Adjourn

In Your Words: Videos Featuring Thoughts from Attendees

Charlie Pelizza, project leader for the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge Complex, previews what he’ll tell his staff about surrogate species.

Eric Sutton, director of the Division of Habitat and Species Conservation for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, talks about his expectations going into the workshop, and his parting thoughts at the end.

Kevin Godsea, project leader for the Southwest Florida Gulf Coast Refuge Complex, says the workshop helped him understand the reasons behind the surrogate species effort.

Steve Traxler, interim science coordinator for the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative and a senior biologist in the Ecological Services Office in Vero Beach, FL, talks about the value of the datasets already available in Florida, and the links between surrogate species, Strategic Habitat Conservation and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives.

Thomas Eason, deputy director of the Division of Habitat and Species Conservation for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, uses index funds on the stock market as an analogy to explain surrogate species.