Multispecies and Watershed Approaches to Freshwater Fish Conservation

<em>Abstract</em>.—Increasingly, fisheries managers must make important decisions in complex environments where rapidly changing landscape and climate conditions interact with historical impacts to influence resource sustainability. Successful fisheries management in this setting will require that we adapt traditional management approaches to incorporate information on these complex interacting factors—a process referred to as resilient fisheries management. Large-scale species distribution data and predictive models have the potential to enhance the management of freshwater fishes through improved understanding of how past, present, and future natural and anthropogenic factors combine to determine species vulnerability and resiliency. Here we describe a resilient fisheries management framework that provides guidance on how and when these models can be incorporated into traditional approaches to meet specific goals and objectives for resource sustainability. In addition to elucidating complex drivers of distributional patterns and change, species distribution models can inform the prioritization, application, and implementation of management activities such as restoration (e.g., instream habitat and riparian), protection (e.g., areas where additional land use would result in a change in species distribution), and regulations (e.g., harvest restriction) in a way that informs resiliency to land use and climate change. Although considerable progress has been made with respect to applying species distribution models to the management of Brook Trout <em>Salvelinus fontinalis </em>and other aquatic species, there are several areas where a more unified research and management effort could increase the ability of distribution models to inform resilient management. Future efforts should aim to improve (1) data availability, consistency (sampling methodology), and quality (accounting for detection); (2) partnerships among researchers, agencies, and managers; and (3) model accessibility and understanding of limitations and potential benefits to managers (e.g., incorporation into publicly available decision support systems). The information and recommendations provided herein can be used to promote and advance the use of models in resilient fisheries management in the face of continued large-scale land use and climate change.

Sensible Farming on Sensitive and Steep Land - A Catchment Management Approach in Tauranga Harbour

Sedimentation of Tauranga Harbour was identified as the top environment issue in a 2006 environmental report. Research has indicated that 63.7% of the sediment yield from the 98 641 hectares of contributing catchments of the southern harbour was from pasture that covers only 34.7% of the catchment area. Bay of Plenty Regional Council has developed and implemented a catchment management framework to work alongside farmers and the rural community to address the issue. The approach involved firstly gaining accurate data, including modelling sediment movement and accurately "ground-truthing" 2190 km of waterways in 28 subcatchments. It included data analysis for Land Use Capability (LUC), erosion risk, land cover, existing protection status of land, as well as developing an effective communications plan to engage landowners. A perception survey was also undertaken to determine what farmers understood of their environmental responsibility and what the drivers for change were. Council now has a much better understanding of land cover, current land use, the community concerns and their knowledge of issues in Tauranga Harbour. This has enabled a more focused catchment management approach and better use of funds to support riparian protection and land use change. Keywords: Catchment, sedimentation, riparian, erosion

Future Prospects for Private Timber Harvest in Eastern Oregon

Projections of eastern Oregon private sawtimber harvest are developed using a market model linked to a subplot level projection of growth and inventory. The “base” projection envisions nearly a 50% drop in forest industry harvest relative to recent historical levels, while nonindustrial private forestland harvest remains roughly stable. In this scenario the region would lose nearly one-third of its remaining lumber mills and processing capacity within the first 30 years of the projection. Log prices would show little long-term trend. Simulations of two hypothetical public policies show the impacts of changes in public harvest and the private land base. In a case of expanded riparian protection, which reduces the harvestable private land base by about 11%, private harvest falls by roughly 18% between 2003 and 2033. Large harvest reductions are projected on industrial lands because of limited merchantable inventories. A restoration thinning program on public lands that raises public harvest by 40 million board feet per year over 20 years, sustains recent mill numbers for the next 25 years (although total harvest continues to decline). Substitution of public harvest for private harvest would enable continuation of a higher private cut for several years after the thinning program has ended.