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Stream Classification System for the Appalachian LCC
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Funded Projects
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Final Report: A Stream Classification for the Appalachian LCC
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A classification system and map was developed for stream and river systems in the Appalachian LCC region, encompassing parts of 17 states. The product is intended to complement state-based stream classifications by unifying them into a single consistent system that represents the region’s natural flowing aquatic habitats. The results can be used to understand ecological flow relationships and inform conservation planning for aquatic biodiversity in the region.
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Stream Classification System for the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative
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Literature Review of Freshwater Classification Frameworks
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Identifying aquatic ecosystems requires a classification of stream and lake features into recognizable categories. Although a number of nationally recognized terrestrial community classifications exist, currently there is no national or international standard for classifying aquatic communities or ecosystems. Despite the lack of a national aquatic community classification, aquatic ecosystem classifications and frameworks have been developed at a variety of spatial scales to reflect the distribution of aquatic biological communities. This report reviews these freshwater classification frameworks, providing detailed analysis and application examples of taxonomic, environmental, and hydrologic classifications in use within the Appalachian region.
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Stream Classification System for the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative
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Environmental Flows from Water Withdrawals in the Marcellus Shale Region
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The Appalachian LCC collaborated with Cornell University to study the environmental impacts of water withdrawals in the Central Appalachian region. The rivers and streams of the Central Appalachians are home to more than 200 species of fish and other aquatic life. They also provide a reliable source of drinking water, recreational opportunities and associated economic benefits to people living in large cities and surrounding communities. This research looks at how the region’s surface freshwater supply – and the health of natural systems delivering this resource – have been impacted and may be altered in the coming years under increasing water withdrawals. It focuses on the Marcellus Shale region in the Central Appalachians, including portions of NY, PA, OH, MD, WV and VA.
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Species and Habitat Vulnerability Assessments of Appalachian Species and Habitats
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Future climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies will be dependent on the best available projections of how the regional climate will change and the impacts those changes will have on the region’s natural and cultural resources. Understanding the vulnerability of various species and habitats to climate change within the Appalachian LCC is of critical importance for making effective conservation decisions. The AppLCC funded a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment research project that addresses several factors: 1) how the Cooperative should acquire information about the climate vulnerability of Appalachian species and habitats to develop vulnerability assessments for a suite of key species and habitats to share with partners; 2) compilation of known vulnerability assessments of species and habitats, and 3) new climate change vulnerability assessments of selected species and habitats in the AppLCC region.
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Alternatives for Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Report to the Appalachian LCC
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How should the Appalachian LCC acquire information about the vulnerability of Appalachian species and habitats to climate change to share with its partners? This report summarizes the findings and recommendations of a seven-member Expert Panel that sought to answer this question identified as a major research priority. The Panel addressed three aspects of the question: the selection of species and habitats to assess, approaches to vulnerability assessment, and the availability of downscaled climate data.
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Species and Habitat Vulnerability Assessments of Appalachian Species and Habitats
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Data Needs Assessment
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The Data Needs Assessment research project was undertaken to review the variety of resources on conservation planning to provide packages of products, data, and identified data gaps to improve conservation planning in the Appalachian LCC. A suite of core conservation planning products and data from principal investigators at Clemson University are now available to the Cooperative.
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Appalachian LCC Data Needs Assessment Final Report
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This project was undertaken to evaluate existing datasets for the Appalachian LCC region, package relevant datasets, review of some of the most commonly used conservation planning tools, provide interpretive text and graphics for datasets and tools, and identify data gaps that could improve conservation planning in the Appalachian LCC. Additionally, we reviewed and analyzed State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAP) from 15 states that intersect with the LCC, and corresponded with the SWAP coordinators to get their input on summaries and information on the upcoming 2015 revisions.
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Data Needs Assessment
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Appalachain Landscape Conservation Cooperative GIS Datasets
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The Appalachain Landscape Conservation Cooperative Datasets are located in a folder named “AppLCC_USGS_ConicEA_Projection” and each theme has its own folder. Most folders have a layer file for displaying the raster datasets, however if there is more than one raster in the folder, it may be necessary to point the layer to the desired raster each time it is loaded. Also there are a few layer files and one geodataset (NWI) that will only work in ArcGIS 10.x. The layer file with the same name as the raster dataset should work in both ArcGIS 9.x and 10.x. In each case we attempted to download the latest (Spring 2013) revision of the dataset that completely covered the Appalachain LCC.
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Data Needs Assessment
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An Analysis of State Wildlife Action Plans in the Appalachian LCC
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In this synthesis, we describe how the information contained in the individual State Wildlife Action Plans and conservation plans by other agencies can be linked together towards identifying opportunities to integrate state and local scale efforts into regional conservation framework for the AppLCC. Specifically, our aim was to quantify the objectivity and efforts across the 15 partner states. We are particularly interested in the commonalities of methodology and results across plans. Throughout the document, we integrate our previous efforts in this data needs assessment to figure out ways that state efforts can be upscaled to meet regional planning goals.
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Data Needs Assessment
