Evaluating and ranking pressures threatening the recovery of the Puget Sound Ecosystem

Presentation Abstract

The Puget Sound Partnership (PSP) and its partner agencies established ecosystem restoration goals to achieve recovery of the Puget Sound ecosystem by 2020. In support of effective ecosystem recovery planning, the PSP’s Biennial Science Work Plan highlights the need for a clear and comprehensive understanding of the relative potential impacts of the various sources of stress (pressures) on ecosystem and human well-being components, which are described using a system of assessment endpoints. To address this need, members of the PSP Science Panel have led the development of a multi-scaled ecosystem pressures assessment approach that builds on a conceptual model of intrinsic ecosystem vulnerability. This conceptual model describes the vulnerability of ecosystem endpoints to individual stressors, within marine & nearshore, terrestrial, and freshwater aquatic ecosystem domains, at the scale of watersheds and marine sub-basins. This presentation will describe: 1) the basis for the ecosystem vulnerability approach, 2) the process used for choosing and defining assessment endpoints and stressors, 3) the structure of the underlying sub-models for intrinsic vulnerability, stressor intensity and distribution, and endpoint distribution, and 4) the expert elicitation process used to parameterize these models. The pressures assessment was designed to support the Partnership’s complicated ecosystem recovery planning processes, which includes integrated basin-scale planning as well as multiple local watershed-scale planning processes. While this presentation focuses on the underpinnings of, and the processes used within, the approach, its workshop-driven implementation and the assessment results and interpretation will be discussed in a separate talk.

Session Title

Session S-02F: Presssure and Risk Assessment Tools

Conference Track

Planning Assessment & Communication

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)

Document Type

Event

Start Date

30-4-2014 1:30 PM

End Date

30-4-2014 3:00 PM

Location

Room 602-603

Genre/Form

conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Environmental protection--Washington (State)--Puget Sound

Subjects – Names (LCNAF)

Puget Sound Partnership

Geographic Coverage

Puget Sound (Wash.); Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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Apr 30th, 1:30 PM Apr 30th, 3:00 PM

Evaluating and ranking pressures threatening the recovery of the Puget Sound Ecosystem

Room 602-603

The Puget Sound Partnership (PSP) and its partner agencies established ecosystem restoration goals to achieve recovery of the Puget Sound ecosystem by 2020. In support of effective ecosystem recovery planning, the PSP’s Biennial Science Work Plan highlights the need for a clear and comprehensive understanding of the relative potential impacts of the various sources of stress (pressures) on ecosystem and human well-being components, which are described using a system of assessment endpoints. To address this need, members of the PSP Science Panel have led the development of a multi-scaled ecosystem pressures assessment approach that builds on a conceptual model of intrinsic ecosystem vulnerability. This conceptual model describes the vulnerability of ecosystem endpoints to individual stressors, within marine & nearshore, terrestrial, and freshwater aquatic ecosystem domains, at the scale of watersheds and marine sub-basins. This presentation will describe: 1) the basis for the ecosystem vulnerability approach, 2) the process used for choosing and defining assessment endpoints and stressors, 3) the structure of the underlying sub-models for intrinsic vulnerability, stressor intensity and distribution, and endpoint distribution, and 4) the expert elicitation process used to parameterize these models. The pressures assessment was designed to support the Partnership’s complicated ecosystem recovery planning processes, which includes integrated basin-scale planning as well as multiple local watershed-scale planning processes. While this presentation focuses on the underpinnings of, and the processes used within, the approach, its workshop-driven implementation and the assessment results and interpretation will be discussed in a separate talk.