SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 1
(415) 454-8868 SAN RAFAEL SAN DIEGO DENVER FORT BRAGG
National Military Fish and Wildlife Association
Optimizing Off-Site Land Protection: Achieving Mitigation while Reducing Encroachment
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 2
Partnerships through Mitigation
• Multiple ways to work together – Mitigation and Conservation Banks
– Single-user Banks
– Permittee Responsible Mitigation
– Recovery Crediting
– Mitigation Planning
• Shared costs and risks, creative financing, external due diligence and manpower
• Cost effective to pool mitigation at banks
– Ecosystem and multi-species approach
– Multiple credit types under multiple regulatory programs
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 3
Challenges
• Most permitting and construction timelines do not allow for optimal mitigation
MILCON appropriations 5 years,
O&M 1 year
2 to 7 years for bank approval
Credits released overtime
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 4
Guidance
• Watershed approach – 2008 Compensatory Mitigation Rule
– Continuation of functions over
time in changing landscape
– Important species
– Habitat loss and conversion trends
– Sources of watershed impairment
– Current development trends
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 5
Guidance
• 2003 USFWS guidance on Conservation Banking
– Recovery Plans
– Reduce habitat loss and fragmentation
– Conserve population
– Surrounding land-use
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 6
Guidance
DoD Instruction 4715.03
• Readiness, sustainability, cost-
effectiveness
• Integration with recovery goals
• Multiple species/ ecosystems
• Watershed-based approach
• Off-site banking through sound conservation planning
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 7
Site Optimization Model
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 8
Suitability Analysis
What is a suitability analysis?
– Combines datasets to
identify the best locations for an activity
– Allows for preference to be given to particular site conditions
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 9
Suitability Analysis
• Datasets are selected based on the objectives
• Each dataset is ranked based on optimal conditions for purpose(s) and converted to raster
• Each raster is weighted based on importance
• ArcGIS Spatial Analyst Weighted Overlay or Weighted Sum
• Single raster output identifying priority areas and parcels
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 10
Location of Study Area
To demonstrate how the tool works, this is a hypothetical study area of a 25 mile buffer around an imaginary military installation south of Sacramento.
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 11
Model Builder
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 12
Model Builder
Included Data Layers: Species occurrence Historical Impacts Existing mitigation supply
Housing Density Critical Habitat Land Cover
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 13
Species Occurrence
cnddb_1
Value
0
5
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 14
Existing mitigation supply is relevant when considering where to site additional mitigation projects. A service area is the geographic area in which a bank is approved to provide mitigation credits. This graphic shows the various service areas overlapping our study area. Again, we took a very simple approach here and simply looked at the number of available service areas and ranked the areas underrepresented by banks as a higher value. Typically, banks will have separate service areas per resource or credit type which you would want to tease out. Also, the banks may be a different stages of development and the available credits can vary dramatically. This shows you thought he type of analysis that can be done to look at what banks already service the installation.
Approved Banks
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 15
Approved Banks
Legend
Study Area
Name
Burdell Ranch Mitigation Bank Service Area
Clay Station Bank Service Area
Elsie Gridley Overall Service Area
North Suisun Mitigation Bank Service Area
Van Vleck Mitigation Bank Service Area
Cosumnes Mitigaton Bank Service Area
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 16
Mitigation Supply
Legend
bank_supply_1
Value
1
2
3
4
5
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 17
Historical Wetland Impacts
Legend
orms_1
Value
0
1
2
3
5
For private bank sponsors, the decision of whether to invest in a commercial bank is largely based on analysis of supply and demand. The Corps permit tracking database allows us to calculate where acres of impacts have been the highest by sub-watershed.
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 18
Historical Wetland Impacts
Legend
orms_1
Value
0
1
2
3
5
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 19
Housing Density
Legend
housing
Value
1
2
3
4
5
Housing density is a measure of encroachment. In this example, we looked only at the housing density for 2030 but we could have looked at trends in changing density. To further address encroachment other datasets for consideration are:
• Population growth • Future land use maps • Zoning • Access to amenities
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 20
Housing Density
Legend
housing
Value
1
2
3
4
5
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 21
Critical Habitat
cnddb_1
Value
0
5
Our study area contained designated critical habitat for Delta Smelt, vernal pool fairy shrimp, California tiger salamander, and california red-legged frog. These species were given priority.
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 22
Critical Habitat
cnddb_1
Value
0
5
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 23
Calveg
Legend
calveg_1
Value
1
2
3
4
5
5
Finally, Calveg provided data on land cover and vegetation and we ranked it based on the best opportunities for wetland restoration, though we could have ranked it for differing habitat requirements.
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 24
Calveg
Legend
calveg_1
Value
1
2
3
4
5
5
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 25
Overall Site Suitability
Legend
ValueHigh : 37
Low : 2
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 26
Optimal Parcels
Parcels over 100 acres
High : 37
Low : 2
The output is a catalogue of parcels over 100 acres with a ranking for each input and an overall cumulative score. The score tells us which parcels provide the greatest value for achieving mitigation and encroachment goals. We can also filter the output by ownership to target particular classes.
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 27
Optimal Parcels
Parcels over 100 acres
High : 37
Low : 2
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 28
Tejon Ranch
Photo credit: TejonRanch.com
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 29
Tejon Ranch
Photo credit: TejonRanch.com
Tejon ranch is the largest contiguous private land holding at 270,000 acres. Our work at Tejon Ranch demonstrates how this model can be applied at different scales and in real life. This is an example of where suitability modeling was used to plan development and conservation on the Tejon Ranch.
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 30
The Trust for Public Land and Tejon Ranch reached an agreement to acquire 100,000 acres. WRA conducted a conservation planning study to identify most ecologically significant lands. That data was then viewed together with compatible public trails and recreational lands.
A Vision for the Future
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 31
Conservation Priorities
• Watershed Integrity
• Biodiversity
• Landscape Connectivity
• Special Status Plants
• Special Status Animals
• Regionally Underrepresented Habitats
Photo credit: Dean Heuber
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 32
Conservation Priorities
The study was conducted as a stepwise process that identified the conservation priorities and goals. The model was vetted through a science advisory panel to determine weighting and ranking and analysis.
The model was verified and a report was provided.
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 33
Example: Tejon Ranch
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 34
Cons
• Limited by data availability and quality
• Ranking is subjective
• Site selection is often opportunistic
• Still have to ground truth
• Adaptable to many uses
• Allows you to analyze and visualize multiple datasets at once
• Provides a quantifiable and defensible decision making tool
• Fulfills regulatory requirements for siting
• Facilitates advanced planning
• Optimizes conditions for multiple goals
Pros
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 35
Opportunity
• Share information encroachment priorities
– ABUB Zones
– Key encroachment challenges
– Key landowners
• Increase collaboration
– Site mitigation to achieve dual purposes
• Perform advanced planning based on anticipated mitigation and encroachment needs
– Encourage mitigation development in those areas
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 36
Questions?
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868
Contact Us
SAN RAFAEL • SAN DIEGO • DENVER • FORT BRAGG www.wra-ca.com (415) 454-8868 37