Prioritizing wetlands in Oregon for restoration and rehabilitation

Background/Question/Methods

Understanding the locations and characteristics of wetlands is key to promoting conservation and mitigation that makes sense at the ecosystem scale. Through the efforts of The Wetlands Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, the Institute for Natural Resources, and the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center, wetlands in Oregon are being prioritized for their utility as high priority places to do wetland rehabilitation activities. In 2009 we created a priority wetland layer for the Willamette Valley that subjectively identified priority wetlands in each fourth-field subbasin (HUC4) based on wetland concentration and proximity to existing investments in wetland conservation and restoration. In 2010, we adapted methods developed by the Virginia Natural Heritage Program for the federal Transportation Research Board (TRB) to score all wetlands in each HUC4 according to their conservation status, ecosystem services provided, and both site-specific and landscape-level condition. Using the modified TRB methodology, we have prioritized wetlands in four pilot basins in Oregon, and in 2012 we will complete prioritizations for the entire state.

Results/Conclusions

The results indicate that the best prioritization strategy for wetlands depends strongly on the reasons for prioritizing and the needs of the information users. Reviews of the pilot sites also indicate that prioritizing on a subbasin to statewide level requires that smaller wetlands and the needs of smaller projects may be omitted from the final outcomes. Balancing the needs for local scale projects with wide ranging coverage continues to be challenging.