Arkansas Mississippi Alluvial Valley Conservation Delivery Network Decision Priortization Tool 2012

The Arkansas MAV Conservation Delivery Network serves to link the fundamental planning and design functions of the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture partnership with the delivery programs of conservation partners by establishing a forum for cooperative coordination, leveraging, and targeting of their actions on-the-ground. The Delivery Priority Tool for the AR-MAV CDN is an model overlay that stacks (or combines) Ducks Unlimited's Wetland Restoration Suitability Model for the MAV, the Forest Breeding-bird Reforestation Decision Support Model for the MAV created by the LMV Joint Venture, and Ducks Unlimited's Easement Protection Priority Model for the MAV. The Tool then takes the upper tier(priority values 6 through 10) of these overlapping priorities within and establishes those as the CDN's conservation targets. This includes analysis for batture lands as well. Each model was designed to identify priority opportunities to protect and/or restore wetland habitat and functions to the landscape of the MAV of Arkansas. While some of the models do utilize similar data and there is partial overlap in application, each model was designed for unique purposes and has distinct output products. Further, the methods and design of the models are fully documented and some have been rigorously peer-reviewed, making their use in identifying and defining conservation delivery goals more supportable and justifiable. Model inputs were normalized to account for restoration and protection priorities equitably. HUC-12 watersheds were incorporated into the process to improve and facilitate the delineation of priority area boundaries. These are areas of greatest concentration or overlap of conservation priorities resulting from the unified model output and indicate areas of potential project activities. The Tool then takes the upper tier of these overlapping priorities within and establishes those as the CDN's conservation targets. By combining these existing, spatially-specific conservation planning models, the CDN was able to take advantage of quality science and decision-support capabilities developed both individually and collectively by CDN partners. This approach allows the CDN to zero in on the highest priority areas identified by the various decision support systems and facilitate the targeting of the CDN’s actions to have the greatest impact for wetland conservation. The Tool and the resultant Priority Areas will not only place critical decision support information into the hands of conservation professionals most aptly capable of putting this information to good use, but also places the broader CDN partnership in the position of being uniquely positioned to set conservation priorities and respond to grant-funding opportunities.

More information, including operating guidelines, and prioritization tool development background and mapbook are availabale at: http://www.lmvjv.org/pages/CDNs/AR-MAV_CDN.htm