Landscape Conservation Design: Initial Products and Expert Consultations for the Appalachian Mountains and Western River Basins
The Appalachian LCD/Blueprint is unique in the power of the modeling efforts that generated the initial Phase I products. The research team at Clemson University used super-computing technology to identify connected and focal landscapes, critical corridors, and key areas that most likely offer resiliency and represent ecologically significant habitats for species and natural resources. Combined, these identified lands and waters cover many critical ecological processes and patterns across the LCC geography.
This LCD/Blueprint is now being refined through a series of consultations with technical teams, while aquatic integrity and ecosystem services information are further integrated into the modeling effort. The successful conservation design product from these interactive discussions will provide public land managers, NGOs, and private landowners the ability to incorporate landscape data into their own local land-use decisions.
