Researchers awarded new federal funds for wetlands studies
Two Natural Resources Conservation researchers working on wetlands monitoring and assessment projects around the state have received a new round of funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA is providing $300,000 for a research and extension project led by Kevin McGarigal and Scott Jackson of the department of natural resources conservation. They are using computer software called the Conservation Assessment and Prioritization System (CAPS) to create a comprehensive statewide wetlands monitoring and assessment program. The project is a collaborative effort involving the department’s Landscape Ecology Program, UMass Extension and state agencies.
Jackson says the CAPS software is proving to be very versatile. “What began as a tool for setting priorities for land acquisition by conservation organizations and agencies is proving useful for a host of other applications,” he says. “These include the review and permitting of development projects and establishing conditions to maintain the integrity of a wide range of ecosystems. This tool can help establish priorities for conservation and allow communities to direct development to areas where there will be fewer ecological impacts.”
CAPS is a computer software program and a method used to decide the importance of land for conservation based on an assessment of the ecological integrity of its resources and natural qualities, such as forested wetlands, shrub swamps or headwater streams within a particular landscape. CAPS provides an objective and scientifically credible approach for assessing this ecological integrity. It supports decision-making for land acquisition, ecological restoration, project review and permitting that will protect habitat and biodiversity.
The approach has been under development by campus researchers during the past several years. The CAPS project team includes McGarigal, Jackson, Brad Compton, Kasey Rolih, Eduard Ene and graduate student Theresa Portante.
This $300,000 grant allows further development of a new tool called the Site Level Assessment Method (SLAM) to assess wetland conditions and calibrate the CAPS models in freshwater wetlands. It also funds creation of a pilot study to develop a similar system for coastal wetlands.
Of the $300,000 in the grant award, the campus will receive $175,000 for its part of the project. This supplements $260,000 in funding previously received from EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to initiate the project. An additional amount from the grant will go to the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management to collect data in salt marshes for use in investigating stressor-condition relationships and calibrating CAPS.
Photo: Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management
August 7, 2008.
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