| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
This report synthesizes work done by Round River Conservation Studies (RRCS) to develop a Conservation Areas Design (CAD) for the Territory of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation (TRTFN). The CAD presented in this document is a work in progress, as additional field studies, analysis procedures and peer-review will continue over the next two years. The CAD includes analyses across approximately 4 million ha in northwest British Columbia, Canada. The TRTFN CAD provides a conservation science foundation for TRTFN land planning efforts, and was motivated partly by the lack of any similar assessments for this region in NW British Columbia. The Territory is approximately 95% wilderness, and presently supports low human population numbers, limited industrial developments and vast, relatively unaltered ecosystems. The remoteness of the region has been fundamental to the maintenance of healthy, viable ecosystems supporting northern biodiversity, including large mammal predator-prey systems, wild-run salmon/grizzly bear systems, and natural disturbance regimes. The Territory includes the entirety of the British Columbia portions of the Taku, Whiting, Atlin, and Tagish River watersheds, as well as the portions of Swift, Jennings, and Teslin Lake drainages. The remoteness of the region translates into a scarcity of regional scientific data. The lack of these data was compensated for by using the traditional and indigenous ecological knowledge (TIEK) of the TRTFN in the development of the CAD. By combining the TRTFN TIEK with other sources of data, with our own field investigations and with the analyses methods and theoretical understandings of conservation biology, a CAD was produced that represents a powerful combination of these forms of ecological knowledge. We used a combination of methods, including the development of habitat models for multiple focal species, coarse-filter ecological community classification and representation analyses, regional connectivity analyses, and spatial optimization procedures. We selected five terrestrial focal species: grizzly bear, moose, woodland caribou, thinhorn sheep and mountain goat, and developed habitat suitability models for each. Additionally, six species of freshwater salmonids were utilized: the five anadromous species (sockeye, Chinook, chum, coho, pink) and steelhead. We predicted the occurrence and distribution of 201 ecological communities through the development of an ecological landscape unit model that uses biogeoclimatic classification (BEC), vegetative cover, forest age class, and topographic variables to predict unique ecological communities. Special elements included 120 fish and wildlife occurrences compiled by the Conservation Data Centre, by TRTFN Natural Resources Dept. and RRCS from a variety of data sources, including field surveys. Due to the scarcity of data, we used special element analyses only in a limited extent to check the representation of these elements in the potential CAD scenarios. Using a simulated annealing algorithm, 26 different site selection scenarios were produced. Each scenario incorporated a different level of representation for focal species habitats, ecological communities and anthropogenic habitat impacts. These scenarios provided an index of conservation value across the Territory, which we translated into a conservation density surface. A kernel density estimator was utilized to identify high value areas, and to provide information about the relative amount of conservation values within potential core areas. We assessed regional connectivity patterns through predictions of potential movement paths or movement corridors for grizzly bear across the Territory. Over 2500 least-cost paths were used to provide a connectivity surface identifying high value linkage habitats. The resulting connectivity areas identified linkages across the Territory, with most core areas having multiple connectivity areas linking them to multiple adjacent core areas. The core and connectivity areas create a suite of habitats providing for the conservation of biodiversity and ecological processes across the Territory, and form the basis for the recommended CAD. The combination of the core and connectivity areas represents approximately 55% of the Territory. Focal species seasonal and annual predicted habitats are well represented, with representation levels ranging from 44% to 76%. Nearly all (99.2%) of the rivers and streams sustaining salmon are within the recommended CAD, as are 100% of the stream reaches identified to support spawning. In addition, the CAD re p resents 30% of the distribution of all but 3 ecological communities. In addition to the core and connectivity areas, we recommend the establishment of special management areas that have known critical values for sensitive species or habitats. The landscapes and habitats falling outside of the recommended CAD and special management areas remain critical to the overall integrity and resiliency of the ecological processes and biodiversity of the Territory. Therefore, all the lands within the Territory must be carefully managed to ensure the maintenance of ecological values. Continued advancement of the TRTFN CAD will help ensure proper management for the long-term viability and robustness of the ecological systems of the Territory. We make several recommendations for the advancement and improvement of the TRTFN CAD. These include increasing the baseline data and information sources and, most importantly, establishing a long-term ecological and environmental monitoring regime. |
