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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Research Needs
SUBMITTING BUREAU: U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
Originating Office: ARW, Regional Office, Region 3
DATE SUBMITTED: March 29, 1995
BIN NUMBER: FWS06CR98
BRD REGION: Central
DESCRIPTION OF NEED: Information will be used to continually improve our efforts in ecosystem management. Focus should be on tall grass prairie, riverine wetlands, bottomland hardwoods, oak savannas, and barrens. Products from BRD should be reports, management guidelines, and evaluation techniques. Areas recommended for this work are Walnut Creek NWR (prairie restoration), Necedah NWR (oak savanna and barrens), Cypress Creek NWR (riverine habitats), and Mark Twain NWR (bottomland hardwoods).
MANAGEMENT PROBLEM WITH NEED: Long term degradation and destruction of several ecosystems have resulted in severely declining populations of many species. Ecosystem restoration is essential to the stabilization of these populations and reduced reliance on the Endangered Species Act. Information is needed on how to restore these systems and how to monitor our progress.
BUREAU CONTACT: Steve Wilds (612)-725-3313
BRD PRIMARY CENTER: NPWRC (NWRC, ECRC)
BRD CENTER CONTACT: Gary Willson (Virginia Burkett, Jim Fairchild)
RESULTS OF BRD-INITIATED COMMUNICATION (FY99): Steve Wilds was contacted to determine if the needs description statement was current and to solicit the names of bureau contacts. The needs statement was revised to include Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR as a recommended site. Discussions were held with representatives from NPWRC, UMSC, CERC, NWRC, as well as Wilson's Creek NB, Neal Smith NWR, Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, and Cypress Creek NWR.
Wetlands Restoration (98 update):
NPWRC has developed a Web page for this ongoing project. The address is www.npwrc.usgs.gov/wetland/.
Wetlands Restoration:
NPWRC has initiated an extensive survey of the outcomes of various restorations in the Prairie Pothole Region including restorations on lands managed by the FWS. The first objective of this survey is to document vegetation responses and to relate outcomes to physical site condition, current and past land use, climate conditions, and age since restoration. A second objective is to characterize land use surrounding restorations to assess whether or not adjacent land uses influence recovery of restored wetlands. A third objective will provide research collaborators conducting intensive studies with information needed to develop a regional perspective. In the first field season of the project, study sites were located and the vegetation sampled.
Prairie Cluster Inventory and Monitoring Program (98 update:)
During the 1996 field season, trials of plant community sampling methods were conducted in three of the Prairie Cluster parks. In 1997, nine plant communities within four parks (Effigy Mounds NM, Pipestone NM, Scotts Bluff NM, and Wilson's Creek NB) were monitored. A total of 220 ten m2 plots were established and sampled twice during the growing season.
Preliminary results indicate that species richness and diversity were highest in the goat prairies at Effigy Mounds NM, and in the limestone glads and oak woodland at Wilson's Creek NB. The goat prairies and limestone glades have high richness and diversity even though they have been reduced in size by woody plant invasion following fire suppression. Species richness may be higher in these naturally fragmented communities because of small-scale heterogeneity and the position of some plots in transition areas between prairie and adjacent savanna and woodland.
An examination of the relative cover of native and exotic plants indicates that three of the remnant communities (limestone glades at Wilson's Creek NB, Sioux quartzite prairie at Pipestone NM, and degraded mixed grass prairie at Scotts Bluff NM) are threatened by exotic species invasion. Exotic cover in these communities ranges from 20% in the limestone glades to 33% in the degraded mixed grass prairie. By contrast, the goat prairies at Effigy Mounds NM and the oak woodland at Wilson's Creek NB exhibit low levels of exotic invasion.
The monitoring results also indicate that restored prairie communities are at different stages of completion. The restored tallgrass prairie at Effigy Mounds NM displays relatively high species richness and diversity and low levels of exotic cover. By contrast, the restored tallgrass prairie at Pipestone NM still has 50% cover of exotic species and includes fewer native species. This result suggests that continued work may be necessary to meet restoration goals for the Pipestone restored tallgrass prairie.
Collection of baseline data on the abundance and distribution of breeding grassland birds at tallgrass sites (Wilson's Creek NB, Homestead NM of America, Pipestone NM, and the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve) was initiated in 1998. The purpose of collecting a baseline inventory as part of this pilot study is to identify the breeding grassland bird species at each park, determine the areas of grassland and habitats at the parks, identify accessibility within the parks for future monitoring, and to identify potential study sites outside the small parks for future comparative surveys. Due to restrictions in time (field work began within weeks of the submittal of the pilot study plan), mixed-grass prairie sites were visited during the pilot study, but no surveys were conducted this year.
Both Neal Smith NWR and Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR were contacted to inform managers of the monitoring work being done in the Prairie Cluster Parks and to ask if they would be interested in using protocols being completed for water quality, plant communities, and grassland birds.
Prairie Cluster Inventory and Monitoring Program:
The Missouri Field Station of the NPWRC is cooperating with the National Park Service in the development, testing, and implementation of monitoring protocols for natural resources in a "cluster" of small national parks that are geographically dispersed from western Nebraska to eastern Iowa and from southern Minnesota to southwestern Missouri. Protocols will address three high priority management issues: (1) sustainability of small remnant and restored prairie communities, (2) external land use and watershed impacts to small prairie parks, and (3) impacts of fragmentation on the biological diversity of small prairie parks. Multi-site applicability is a key design criteria for monitoring protocols developed under this cluster project. Monitoring protocols and results will be distributed to a wide range of audiences, including all national parks in the Great Plains, FWS wildlife refuges, state conservation areas, and TNC preserves.
In 1997, the Missouri Field Station and the NPS jointly developed a proposal to begin native and restored plant community monitoring in the Prairie Cluster LTEM parks. The proposal initiates monitoring by (1) establishing plant community baselines in representative areas of each park, (2) making a preliminary assessment of whether or not the sampling design and sampling intensity are sufficient to detect changes over time, and (3) reviewing analytical methods to detect temporal change, (4) developing conceptual models to integrate plant community monitoring with related monitoring components, and (5) documenting the sampling design, analytical techniques, and baseline data in a descriptive monitoring protocol.
Grassland birds are among the most rapidly declining bird species. The Prairie Cluster parks and other small natural areas need information regarding the status of grassland birds and guidance on how to monitor their populations. This project will provide baseline inventories for grassland birds in these parks and develop monitoring protocols for grassland bird communities.
Oak Savanna and Woodland Conference (98 update):
A fourth conference will be held in 1999.
Oak Savanna and Woodland Conference:
In 1995, the BRD of USGS, FWS, EPA, NCRS, and several state and local agencies jointly sponsored the 2nd Midwest Oak Savanna and Woodland Conference. The focus of the conference was on the Midwest Oak Ecosystems Recovery Plan. This major ecosystem recovery planning effort represents three years of successful interstate cooperation among public agencies, non-government organizations, and academic and research institutions to reach a scientifically-based consensus on the needs for oak savannas and woodlands. Restoration efforts among the sponsoring agencies to continue cooperation resulted in the 3rd Midwest Oak Savanna and Woodland Conference which was hosted by the University of Wisconsin in August 1997.
Landscape-scale Prescribed Fire (98 update):
A report on the effects of two prescribed fires on the woodland-savanna-glade complex will be complete in the fall of 1999. A copy of the report will be provided to Necedah NWR.
Landscape-scale Prescribed Fire:
In the spring of 1995, the National Park Service reintroduced landscape-scale prescribed fire to an extensive oak/pine woodland-savanna-glade complex on Turkey Mountain, Buffalo National River, Arkansas. An area was burned again in 1997. Missouri Field Station staff and researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia are monitoring vegetation response to these fires to provide a better understanding of both the presettlement fire regime and the effects of fire suppression on vegetation. The results of the study are useful to resource managers for tailoring prescribed fire to restore community and landscape diversity in degraded woodland/savanna.
Development of a National Interagency Stream Restoration Manual (98 update):
The manual is in press and available on the NRCS Web page.
Development of a National Interagency Stream Restoration Manual:
The Biological Resources Division of the USGS participated in an interagency effort to produce a National Stream Corridor Restoration Manual for use by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, and other federal agencies. David Bornholdt, BRD National Laboratory, Reston, Virginia, served on the the Steering Committee. James Fairchild, Environmental and Contaminants Research Center, Columbia, Missouri, served on the Production Team. The manual consists of nine chapters: (1) Overview of Stream Corridors, (2) Stream Corridor Processes and Characteristics, (3) Disturbance in the Stream Corridor, (4) Getting Organized and Identifying Problems and Opportunities, (5) Developing Goals, Objectives, and Restoration Alternatives, (6) Implement, Monitor, Evaluate, and Adapt, (7) Analysis of Corridor Condition, (8) Restoration Design, and (9) Restoration, Installation, Monitoring, and Management. The manual is currently undergoing peer review and is scheduled for publication in FY98.
Missouri River Environmental Assessment Program (FY98 update):
A program proposal was presented to Congress but was not funded.
Missouri River Environmental Assessment Program:
The Biological Resources Division of the USGS, in a partnership with the Missouri River Natural Resources Committee, developed a draft blueprint of a proposed Missouri Environmental Assessment Program. The program proposes to assess the biological, physical, and chemical responses of the Missouri River System in relation to operation and maintenance activities associated with main-stem dams on the river. The program proposes to establish a system-wide database on Missouri River water quality, habitat, and biota, in order to define baseline conditions on the river. Focused investigations will be conducted to evaluate cause-and-effect relationships between physical conditions and the biota. This information will be used to evaluate the potential to use operations and maintenance activities to protect, enhance, and restore habitats and biota in the river. It is hoped that this program will provide the scientific basis for optimum management of the Missouri River's fish and wildlife resources while avoiding or minimizing conflicts with other river uses. This effort was funded via the USGS Biological Resources Division State Partnership Program. Draft copies of the plan are available by contacting Mark Laustrup at the Environmental and Contaminants Research Center, BRD/USGS, 4200 New Haven Road, Columbia, Missouri 65201.
Bottomland Hardwood Restoration Manual
The NWRC has developed a bottomland hardwood restoration manual and is planning a workshop on bottomland hardwood management for March 1999. Virginia Burkett of NWRC has discussed the restoration manual with managers from Cypress Creek NWR.
DATE SUBMITTED TO REGIONAL OFFICE: 12/11/98
PREPARED BY: Gary Willson, Central Plains/Ozark Plateau Ecology Section, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Columbia, Missouri. Phone: (573) 882-8645; FAX: (573) 884-5133; email: willsongd@missouri.edu
RESULTS OF BRD-INITIATED COMMUNICATION (FY98): Steve Wilds was contacted to determine if the needs description statement was current and to solicit the names of bureau contacts. The needs statement was not revised. Discussions were held with representatives from MESC, MSC, NPWRC, and the National Park Service.
Wetlands Restoration: NPWRC has initiated an extensive survey of the outcomes of various restorations in the Prairie Pothole Region including restorations on lands managed by the FWS. The first objective of this survey is to document vegetation responses and to relate outcomes to physical site condition, current and past land use, climate conditions, and age since restoration. A second objective is to characterize land use surrounding restorations to assess whether or not adjacent land uses influence recovery of restored wetlands. A third objective will provide research collaborators conducting intensive studies with information needed to develop a regional perspective. In the first field season of the project, study sites were located and the vegetation sampled.
Prairie Cluster Inventory and Monitoring Program: The Missouri Field Station of the NPWRC is cooperating with the National Park Service in the development, testing, and implementation of monitoring protocols for natural resources in a "cluster" of small national parks that are geographically dispersed from western Nebraska to eastern Iowa and from southern Minnesota to southwestern Missouri. Protocols will address three high priority management issues: (1) sustainability of small remnant and restored prairie communities, (2) external land use and watershed impacts to small prairie parks, and (3) impacts of fragmentation on the biological diversity of small prairie parks. Multi-site applicability is a key design criteria for monitoring protocols developed under this cluster project. Monitoring protocols and results will be distributed to a wide range of audiences, including all national parks in the Great Plains, FWS wildlife refuges, state conservation areas, and TNC preserves.
In 1997, the Missouri Field Station and the NPS jointly developed a proposal to begin native and restored plant community monitoring in the Prairie Cluster LTEM parks. The proposal initiates monitoring by (1) establishing plant community baselines in representative areas of each park, (2) making a preliminary assessment of whether or not the sampling design and sampling intensity are sufficient to detect changes over time, and (3) reviewing analytical methods to detect temporal change, (4) developing conceptual models to integrate plant community monitoring with related monitoring components, and (5) documenting the sampling design, analytical techniques, and baseline data in a descriptive monitoring protocol.
Grassland birds are among the most rapidly declining bird species. The Prairie Cluster parks and other small natural areas need information regarding the status of grassland birds and guidance on how to monitor their populations. This project will provide baseline inventories for grassland birds in these parks and develop monitoring protocols for grassland bird communities.
Oak Savanna and Woodland Conference: In 1995, the BRD of USGS, FWS, EPA, NCRS, and several state and local agencies jointly sponsored the 2nd Midwest Oak Savanna and Woodland Conference. The focus of the conference was on the Midwest Oak Ecosystems Recovery Plan. This major ecosystem recovery planning effort represents three years of successful interstate cooperation among public agencies, non-government organizations, and academic and research institutions to reach a scientifically-based consensus on the needs for oak savannas and woodlands. Restoration efforts among the sponsoring agencies to continue cooperation resulted in the 3rd Midwest Oak Savanna and Woodland Conference which was hosted by the University of Wisconsin in August 1997.
Landscape-scale Prescribed Fire: In the spring of 1995, the National Park Service reintroduced landscape-scale prescribed fire to an extensive oak/pine woodland-savanna-glade complex on Turkey Mountain, Buffalo National River, Arkansas. An area was burned again in 1997. Missouri Field Station staff and researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia are monitoring vegetation response to these fires to provide a better understanding of both the presettlement fire regime and the effects of fire suppression on vegetation. The results of the study are useful to resource managers for tailoring prescribed fire to restore community and landscape diversity in degraded woodland/savanna.
Development of a National Interagency Stream Restoration Manual: The Biological Resources Division of the USGS participated in an interagency effort to produce a National Stream Corridor Restoration Manual for use by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, and other federal agencies. David Bornholdt, BRD National Laboratory, Reston, Virginia, served on the Steering Committee. James Fairchild, Environmental and Contaminants Research Center, Columbia, Missouri, served on the Production Team. The manual consists of nine chapters: (1) Overview of Stream Corridors, (2) Stream Corridor Processes and Characteristics, (3) Disturbance in the Stream Corridor, (4) Getting Organized and Identifying Problems and Opportunities, (5) Developing Goals, Objectives, and Restoration Alternatives, (6) Implement, Monitor, Evaluate, and Adapt, (7) Analysis of Corridor Condition, (8) Restoration Design, and (9) Restoration, Installation, Monitoring, and Management. The manual is currently undergoing peer review and is scheduled for publication in FY98.
Missouri River Environmental Assessment Program: The Biological Resources Division of the USGS, in a partnership with the Missouri River Natural Resources Committee, developed a draft blueprint of a proposed Missouri Environmental Assessment Program. The program proposes to assess the biological, physical, and chemical responses of the Missouri River System in relation to operation and maintenance activities associated with main-stem dams on the river. The program proposes to establish a system-wide database on Missouri River water quality, habitat, and biota, in order to define baseline conditions on the river. Focused investigations will be conducted to evaluate cause-and-effect relationships between physical conditions and the biota. This information will be used to evaluate the potential to use operations and maintenance activities to protect, enhance, and restore habitats and biota in the river. It is hoped that this program will provide the scientific basis for optimum management of the Missouri River’s fish and wildlife resources while avoiding or minimizing conflicts with other river uses. This effort was funded via the USGS Biological Resources Division State Partnership Program. Draft copies of the plan are available by contacting Mark Laustrup at the Environmental and Contaminants Research Center, BRD/USGS, 4200 New Haven Road, Columbia, Missouri 65201.
DATE SUBMITTED TO CENTRAL REGION OFFICE: Nov. 14, 1997
PREPARED BY: Gary Willson, USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, (573) 882-8645; fax: (573) 884-5133; email: aggwills@muccmail.missouri.edu
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