Dr. Kelly McManus Chauvin, "A holistic framework for characterizing landscape health in the Santa Cruz Mountains"

Dr. Kelly McManus Chauvin Postdoctoral Scholar Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, Stanford University

Tuesday, May 18, 2021 4:30 PM (PT) ZOOM Meeting

The Santa Cruz Mountains is a hotspot of ecological diversity, with many kinds of rare habitats, special ecosystems, and threatened species.  It is also a hotspot of cultural diversity, supporting a highly heterogeneous tri-county population of ~3 million people.  A network of open spaces, local-, state-, and federally- owned parks, private properties, and working lands have safeguarded tens of thousands of acres. But how can we know if these properties, which are managed by a mosaic of governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private entities, can collectively meet the needs of both the region’s human and natural communities?  To address this question, we created a framework for landscape health assessment that evaluates landscape health across three dimensions encompassing ecosystem integrity, social-ecological services, and stewardship capacity. This framework will enable organizations to understand how landscape health aligns with management goals within and across the region.  The tool is being developed with the members of the Santa Cruz Mountain Stewardship Network, which includes most of the large land stewards across the region.  More broadly, our approach provides a prototype for a systematic way of tracking how well local management practices result in achieving regional landscape priorities over time.

For more information about Santa Cruz Mountain Stewardship Network visit their website: http://scmsn.net/

ZOOM Meeting (Contact Jorge Ramos jorge.ramos @ stanford.edu for the link)