A Decision Framework for Choosing Models in Large-Scale Wildlife Conservation Planning

This chapter presents a decision framework that represents the range of options for planning wildlife conservation. The reserve selection is aimed at selecting a geographic area that best addresses conservation objectives, while the goal of land management planning is typically to select land management practices that best meet conservation objectives for a defined geographic area. The decision regarding single species versus multiple species is primarily a function of project objectives. Many conservation needs can be met through coarse filter approaches that focus on ecosystem representation and diversity. Coarse filters can be used where ecosystems or other high-level ecological units are the focus of conservation efforts, or where the focus is on species conservation and ecosystems are surrogates that address the needs of single or multiple species. An alternative to the coarse filter/fine filter dichotomy is a multiscale approach that takes a stepwise approximation approach working from broad scales to successively finer scales. This species-based approach begins at the broadest scale in the problem with simple distribution data and then increases resolution by examining habitat gradients and occurrence information, then productivity and survival.