The Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative, along with partners at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and the University of Central Oklahoma, have developed a framework for the conservation of grassland and shrubland habitats throughout central Texas.

The new conservation framework provides guidance and direction to both natural resource managers and private landowners regarding how and where they can best manage land to create and conserve these habitats for the benefit of several species of interest. The overall goal of the framework is to contribute to the conservation of priority species while allowing for compatibility with rural land uses to increase the efficacy of conservation on private lands.

The project focused on the black-capped vireo, an endangered migratory songbird, using this species as a cornerstone for management. However, it also included two more avian species of conservation priority (Bell's vireo and painted bunting) and three game species (northern bobwhite, white-tailed deer and Rio Grande wild turkey) that are of interest to the public for their recreational as well as aesthetic value. The project reviewed the literature on conservation and management of these species and their habitats and found that the best management practices for one species often are the best practices for several of the priority species. Emphasizing the compatibility with ranching and other rural land uses, the project hopes to communicate the importance of a more ecosystem-based approach to managing land, rather than focusing management on just one species or land use.

Through a report and a website, the project provides information that will allow individuals to tailor management recommendations to the set of species they are most interested in. On the website, a habitat management chart helps users determine how management should occur, allowing a user to compare management recommendations among the species of interest and outlining where the best management practices are the same for multiple species or where they differ. Recommendations include those for livestock management, brush management, cowbird removal, and game and exotic harvest. Each management recommendation provides a link to further information about the specific habitat goals.

The website also provides a web-based mapping tool with which a user can get information on where management will be most effective. This interactive decision support tool provides layers that can help users spatially visualize data applicable to the management of the five focal species. Layers include county boundaries, locations of protected and managed lands, water sources, and climate, as well the potential for threats, such as projected impervious surfaces, negative land use change, and areas with wind energy potential. Additionally, for the black-capped vireo, the project ranked the vireo recovery regions so that the best and worst current vireo status, the most and fewest current threats to vireo habitat, and the best and worst opportunities for conservation can be visually displayed in the map. This mapping tool allows users to weigh the pros and cons of focusing management within different regions. And finally, the website provides links to additional resources, such as contact information for natural resource professionals in an area and links to relevant reports and other literature.

The Wildlife Management Institute (WMI), in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is providing support to the Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) network. This section of the Outdoor News Bulletin provides readers with regular updates on LCC efforts involving WMI. This month's Landscapes article was written by Tiffany McFarland and Todd Snelgrave of Texas A&M University.

Painted Bunting - Creative Commons - Andrew Morffew