A Decision Support System for Identifying and Ranking Critical Habitat Parcels on and in the Vicinity of Department of Defense Installations

• Main Authors: Walters, Jeffrey R, Baldassaro, Paige, Convery, Ken M, McGregor, Ross, Crowler, Larry B, Priddy, Jeffery A, Kessler, Dylan C, Tweddale, Scott A
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biology; BIRDS; DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS; DTM(DIGITAL TERRAIN MODEL); Ecology; ENDANGERED SPECIES; Environmental Health and Safety; GAP(GAP ANALYSIS PROGRAM); GEORGIA; GIS(GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM); HABITATS; LIDAR(LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING); Logistics, Military Facilities and Supplies; MILITARY FACILITIES; NORTH CAROLINA; RCW(RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER); TERRAIN MODELS

Our objective was to develop a user-friendly GIS-based spatially-explicit decision support system (DSS) from red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) (RCW) habitat and population information that will help Department of Defense personnel identify and prioritize habitat parcels on and in the vicinity of DOD installations in the Southeastern United States. We accomplished this by linking a previously existing spatially-explicit, individual-based, RCW population model to the landscape through habitat suitability requirements, in a user-friendly form that operates as a toolbar within ESRI ArcMap. The DSS provides two options for classifying habitat as suitable or unsuitable for RCWs, land cover and habitat quality index, and three options for the amount of suitable habitat required per territory. Testing of the DSS included both model validation and model verification. Validation exercises indicated that the model simulates population dynamics well, but is conservative in its habitat requirements, that is, RCW groups can sometimes persist on fewer acres of suitable habitat than required in the model. We performed two additional modeling exercises to demonstrate the utility of the DSS, the first an assessment of the potential of private lands being considered for purchase to contribute to the RCW population at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, the second an assessment of the impact of new range construction on the RCW population at Fort Benning. The DSS allows users to project the impact of any change in land use or management within their existing land base, or additions to or subtractions from that land base, on their RCW population. Prepared in cooperation with Virginia Tech, Duke Univ, and the Univ of Missouri.