Pacific Northwest Coast Ecoregional Assessment: Prioritization of Terrestrial and Freshwater Portfolio, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Feb 28, 2012
Uploaded by Pierre Iachetti
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Description:
The Pacific Northwest Coast ecoregion of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia is ahighly diverse ecological region having a land area of 71,600 sq km (27,700 square miles). The ecoregion also includes an additional 15,030 sq km (5,802 square miles) of coastal waters. The ecoregion’s rare combination of physical characteristics – coastal mountains, glaciers, marine shoreline and estuaries, extensive rivers, rolling coastal plains, and extreme rainfall – has created a region rich in endemic plant communities and sensitive habitats. The dominant vegetation of the ecoregion is coastal coniferous forest. However, the environmental and floristic diversity, combined with a long history of prehistoric and historic disturbances, has created over 400 natural vegetation communities and complexly interwoven terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

The ecoregion contains over 66,000 km (41,250 miles) of streams and rivers. These watercourses mostly drain directly into the Pacific Ocean with the few exceptions draining into Hood Canal and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This ecoregion is known for its highly productive nearshore marine ecosystems and includes some of the best salmon habitat in the Pacific Northwest.

The purpose of the Pacific Northwest Coast ecoregional conservation assessment was to identify an efficient suite of conservation sites that will contribute toward the long-term survival of all viable native plant and animal species and natural communities in the ecoregion.We were guided by the portfolio design procedures outlined in The Nature Conservancy’s“Designing a Geography of Hope” (TNC 2000).
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The Nature Conservancy 
The Nature Conservancy of Canada
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
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 Pacific Northwest Coast Ecoregional Assessment Final Report

Vander Schaaf, D., G. Wilhere, Z. Ferdaña, K. Popper, M. Schindel, P. Skidmore, D. Rolph,P. Iachetti, G. Kittel, R. Crawford, D. Pickering, and J. Christy. 2006. Pacific Northwest Coast Ecoregion Assessment. Prepared by The Nature Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy of Canada, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Nature Conservancy, Portland, Oregon.
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Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
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conservation, pacific northwest, marxan
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About the Uploader

Pierre Iachetti
Research Scientist with University of Victoria, Energy Systems & Sustainable Cities Group, Civil Engineering Department

Pierre Iachetti has spent his 20-year professional career working with communities, academia, governments, and not-for-profits on conserving biodiversity, adapting to and mitigating climate change, and using economic and markets tools to drive social change. Pierre is focused on social innovation...