ESA/SER Joint Meeting (August 5 -- August 10, 2007)

Friday, August 10, 2007

Exhibit Halls 1 and 2, San Jose McEnery Convention Center

Kathryn A. Thomas, Southwest Biological Science Center, US Geological Survey, Tucson, AZ, Ron Hiebert, Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit, National Park Service, Flagstaff, AZ, Diane L. Larson, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, US Geological Survey, St. Paul, MN, Nicole Tancreto, Colorado Plateau Research Station, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, Dustin Haines, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN and Talise Dow, Center for Environmental Sciences and Education, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ

The Restoration Rapid Assessment Tool (RRAT) is a decision support tool that allows resource managers to systematically evaluate the restoration potential of disturbed habitats. Developed initially for the National Park Service, RRAT can be used to compare and prioritize potential restoration sites. RRAT works by combining environmental data, field collected for a set of ecological indicators, with a knowledge base previously developed from the input of restoration experts and scientific literature. RRAT is a stand-alone application based on the Esysx Corvid expert shell. The user provides information to the application on each habitat, as requested, and RRAT provides analytic output in graphic and text format. The prototype of RRAT has been field tested at a number of National Parks in the United States. The beta version of RRAT, available in the fall, will be field tested in additional National Parks.

PS 72-33 - The restoration rapid assessment tool