A decision support framework to assess and prioritize recovery actions for salmon in the Puget Sound
Presentation Abstract
Protecting functioning habitats and restoring degraded habitats are critical actions for salmon and Puget Sound recovery. Restoration alone cannot keep up with habitat loss and water quality degradation from development and the pressures of anticipated population growth and future climate. We need a framework for prioritizing diverse projects and programs that takes into account the complexity of the science, competing stakeholder goals, treaty obligations, and the need for regulatory harmonization. As part of the Tulalip Tribes Harmonization project, we present a decision support framework based on three core principles. First the framework must assess ecosystem conditions across diverse indicators and co-benefits. Second, the framework must simulate the effects of diverse actions and trends - including regulatory, restoration, and future pressures on ecosystems. Finally, the framework must be flexible and open as the expertise to build, maintain, sustain, and evolve indicator models will always be spread across a wide swath of scientists, stakeholders, managers and regulators, resulting in many independent systems that should be leveraged by the framework, not recreated. The framework is built on the Ecosystem Management Decision Support system (EMDS) developed by the USDA Forest Service over 25 years ago. We describe the architecture of the framework and report on a concept project that used it to evaluate designs for a transportation project in Snohomish county. This will illustrate both the workflow paradigm of framework and how it can work with an external, specialized indicator modeling system, the Ecosystem Diagnosis and Treatment (EDT) system. The habitat model was used to estimate the value of habitat and key population indicators for Chinook salmon in response to multiple project designs. Finally, we lay out the iterative (in scale, indicators, modeling and action types) plan for development of the framework over the next decade, emphasizing use cases and challenges.
Session Title
Modeling Change in the Transboundary Salish Sea
Keywords
Harmonization, Spatial Decision Support, Permits, Impacts Analysis
Conference Track
SSE15: Data and Information Management
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE15-546
Start Date
5-4-2018 2:00 PM
End Date
5-4-2018 2:15 PM
Type of Presentation
Oral
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)
Fishes--Habitat--Statistical methods; Fish habitat--Washington (State)--Puget Sound; Restoration monitoring (Ecology)--Washington (State)--Puget Sound; Salmon--Habitat--Conservation
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Puget Sound (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
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
A decision support framework to assess and prioritize recovery actions for salmon in the Puget Sound
Protecting functioning habitats and restoring degraded habitats are critical actions for salmon and Puget Sound recovery. Restoration alone cannot keep up with habitat loss and water quality degradation from development and the pressures of anticipated population growth and future climate. We need a framework for prioritizing diverse projects and programs that takes into account the complexity of the science, competing stakeholder goals, treaty obligations, and the need for regulatory harmonization. As part of the Tulalip Tribes Harmonization project, we present a decision support framework based on three core principles. First the framework must assess ecosystem conditions across diverse indicators and co-benefits. Second, the framework must simulate the effects of diverse actions and trends - including regulatory, restoration, and future pressures on ecosystems. Finally, the framework must be flexible and open as the expertise to build, maintain, sustain, and evolve indicator models will always be spread across a wide swath of scientists, stakeholders, managers and regulators, resulting in many independent systems that should be leveraged by the framework, not recreated. The framework is built on the Ecosystem Management Decision Support system (EMDS) developed by the USDA Forest Service over 25 years ago. We describe the architecture of the framework and report on a concept project that used it to evaluate designs for a transportation project in Snohomish county. This will illustrate both the workflow paradigm of framework and how it can work with an external, specialized indicator modeling system, the Ecosystem Diagnosis and Treatment (EDT) system. The habitat model was used to estimate the value of habitat and key population indicators for Chinook salmon in response to multiple project designs. Finally, we lay out the iterative (in scale, indicators, modeling and action types) plan for development of the framework over the next decade, emphasizing use cases and challenges.
