Ecological Inventory and Monitoring Detail
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Introduction
The Maine Natural Areas Program (MNAP), in cooperation with the
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and
Wildlife (MDIFW), has completed coarse filter natural resource assessments in a number of
"biophysical regions" throughout the state of Maine. These assessments aim to identify new
locations of rare plants, rare animals, and exemplary natural communities through a
three stage process: 1) landscape analysis, 2) landowner identification, and 3)
field inventory. The landscape analysis process helps us identify sites with the greatest
potential for supporting rare plants, rare animals, and exemplary natural communities.
Landowner information is collected for each of the sites selected through landscape analysis
and permission is requested to do surveys. Only after landowner permission has been obtained
are field surveys conducted. After surveys are completed, landowners are provided with
the results along with management suggestions when appropriate. Results from inventory
efforts are added to MNAP's Biotics database where they are used to help landowners
and other conservation organizations in an effort to bring about improved management a
nd/or protection of significant natural areas. The information is also used to
determine the relative degree of rarity of species and habitat types throughout the state.
What are we looking for?
- Animals considered rare or imperiled by MDIFW;
- Plants and/or natural communities considered rare or imperiled by MNAP; and
- Outstanding examples of common natural communities and ecosystems.
How are the assessments conducted?
Landscape analysis "Landscape Analysis" is the process by which MNAP
identifies areas likely to support rare natural communities, outstanding examples of
common communities, and/or habitat for rare plants. Areas identified by MNAP typically
range from 50 to 500 acres, and are assigned priorities for subsequent field verification.
These methods are consistent with those developed by state natural heritage programs
throughout North America. These methods have been successfully modified for Maine's
landscape, and they have been recently used to identify hundreds of priority sites
throughout Maine. The following information sources are used in landscape analysis:
- USGS Topographic Maps: Traditionally hard copy
maps served as a baseline for initial mapping of areas.
As MNAP has integrated Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into
its daily operations, scanned USGS maps have been used to a greater extent.
Topographic maps also indicate obvious landscape features that are correlated
with certain community types, such as floodplain forests, mountain summits, ravines
(for 'cove forests'), and large wetland complexes. This data can be visually
derived from paper or scanned maps or produced from GIS analysis of digital data.
- Digital Elevation Data: GIS analysis of digital topographic
information can help in the identification of areas that meet distinct topographic criteria.
Analysis of this type of data serves as an efficient and systematic way to identify
areas with certain slope, aspect, and elevation characteristics. It can also be used to
derive general moisture characteristics across a study area. This digital information
is available state-wide at a coarse 90m resolution from the Maine Office of GIS.
It is also available for most USGS quads at a more detailed 30m resolution from USGS.
- Digital Land Use/Land Cover Data: GIS analysis of digital land use
and land cover data can help to identify unfragmented, undisturbed areas that should
receive more focus through aerial photograph analysis. When used in conjunction with
other digital data such as elevation and soils data (where available), digital land
cover data becomes a powerful tool for modeling the possible location for specific
community types.
- Digital Roads Data: This can be an important set of
data used to determine fragmentation and development threats to an area. It is
used in conjunction with digital land cover data to identify high quality, unfragmented
or roadless areas for further analysis. Both 1:24,000 and 1:100,000 roads layers are
available for the entire state from the Maine Office of GIS.
- Aerial photographs: Depending on the scale and time of year of
photography, air photos may be instrumental in identifying certain forest or wetland types.
For large areas (several hundred thousand to millions of acres), MNAP staff use
National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP) infrared photos available from the
US Geologic Survey. These photos, at a scale of 1:40,000, also provide useful
information on the surrounding landscape (i.e., fragmentation, cutting history,
development, etc.). Photos are available for most of Maine from 1996 and 1997.
- National Wetlands Inventory maps: These maps can be useful
at delineating different wetland types within a larger wetland complex. Since
NWI mapping was conducted using 1:58,000 air photos, use of 1:40,000 NAPP photos
may yield just as much or more information. NWI hard copy maps are available
from the Maine Geological Survey (MGS), and digital maps for most of Maine are
available on CD from the Maine Office of GIS.
- Geology Maps: Bedrock and Surficial Geology maps of
Maine are available from the Maine Geological Survey. Small scale maps are available for the
entire state, and larger scale quad maps are available for a number of quads.
Bedrock maps are particularly useful at identifying areas of circumneutral bedrock
(somewhat uncommon in Maine), and surficial geology maps can pinpoint areas of
outwash plains, glacial marine soils, and other noteworthy features.
- Soil surveys: Natural Resource Conservation Service hard copy
soil maps are available for most of Maine. For smaller areas these maps can be
helpful at identifying certain natural community types (e.g., oak-hickory forests),
but at the larger scale MNAP typically operates, soil maps are only moderately helpful.
This may change if and when soil maps become available in digital format.
- MNAP files: Existing MNAP Element Occurrence Records (EOR's),
negative survey forms, and 'leads' provide useful information if an area has
been previously surveyed. The value of MNAP information depends heavily on
the date and precision of the record.
- US Forest Service Inventory and Analysis Data: These
data, now available on the internet, are from ~3,000 permanent forest survey
plots scattered around the state. They can yield insights on large volume/mature
forests as well as uncommon forest types (e.g., pitch pine, jack pine, white oak).
- Miscellaneous Reports: Depending on the area of interest,
natural resource studies may be available from a wide variety of sources, including
land trusts, town comprehensive plans, regional planning commissions, etc.
- Information from Land Managers: Many owners of larger tracts
hold valuable natural resource information, such as timber cruise results,
management plans, soil and timber productivity maps, and land use history information.
Land use history can yield valuable insights into whether land was selectively
harvested or clear cut, pastured or cropped, or burned. Such history can be an
important determinant of the successional trend of the forest.
- Knowledgeable Individuals: Contacts with local natural
resource professionals, such as foresters, wildlife biologists, or wetland scientists,
may yield worthwhile leads. Other knowledgeable sources may include local naturalists,
members of land trusts, or hunters and anglers.
- Air Surveys: Once preliminary sites have been identified, a
flight is instrumental in verifying that the assumptions made using information above
are correct. For instance, is an area identified as a pitch pine woodland using air
photos actually a pitch pine woodland, or is it a white pine-grey birch barren? Our
preferred flight time is shortly after leaf-out but before the field season begins.
Landowner contact - It is the policy of the Maine Natural Areas Program to
acquire permission from landowners before accessing lands to conduct inventory surveys.
Prior to conducting field work, landownership of priority survey areas is documented
through research at town halls and landowners are contacted by mail. MNAP maintains a
database to track contact with landowners. Once permission is received for a given
site a survey is conducted and for all areas visited landowners are notified in writing
of the results of the survey. When appropriate, landowners are encouraged to preserve
rare and sensitive habitats and are provided with management suggestions.
Field surveys - Field surveys are conducted to assess habitats identified
through landscape analysis. Field surveys are typically conducted by a crew of two
people and take from a few hours to a full day depending on the size and composition of
the site. Field surveys are almost always carried out during the growing season when
plant species are readily identifiable.
Data processing - Field surveys generate data on the status, composition,
and disturbance history of areas that are surveyed. Collected information includes
details on population size, reproductive status, and habitat composition of rare plants
occurrences; and species composition, ages of trees, types of disturbances, and size of
natural community occurrences. This information is used to assign an overall quality
ranking for each occurrence which is used to determine conservation value. All of the
data is processed into the Biotics database at MNAP.
Who conducts Ecoregional inventories?
- MNAP ecologists and botanists
- IF&W biologists
- Contracted ecologists, botanists, and zoologists
How much of the state has been inventoried?
To date, landscape analysis has been conducted for all regions of the state.
Inventories have been completed for all regions except for the Central and Western Mountains, where inventory effort is still on-going. Results of inventory work in the Eastern Lowlands region are still being processed. We
are planning on having Ecoregional inventory of the entire state completed by the end of 2010.
View a map
showing the status of our inventory effort.
What are the results of completed inventories?
Inventory results include documented and mapped occurrences of rare and exemplary
natural communities and ecosystems. Results also include documented and mapped populations
of rare plants. Results of inventories are compiled into reports for individual regions.
Inventory discoveries are evaluated for quality and conservation value by MNAP staff and
recommendations for conservation and land management are presented to landowners whose
lands include documented features.
How are the data used?
The data are used in many ways, including the following:
- to help landowners better manage for significant natural features on their lands,
- to identify state and local conservation priorities,
- to perform environmental reviews of both conservation and development projects,
- to inform the comprehensive planning process in towns
(see BWH section),
- to determine relative rarity of species and habitat types throughout the state
- to develop and augment the state's natural community classification.
Are there plans for more ecoregional inventories?
We will continue to inventory remaining regions of the state until the entire state
has been inventoried. The initial screening and inventory is anticipated to be
completed by 2010.
