Marxan Training Home

The Appalachian LCC and Virginia Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service jointly hosted a two-day Marxan learning session delivered by the Pacific Marine Analysis and Research Association (PacMARA) at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Attendees came from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and Clemson University.

Marxan is the most widely used conservation planning tool throughout the world. It serves as a decision support tool to assist planners in designing a network of terrestrial, aquatic, and marine conservation areas. Using Marxan, planners are able to identify a suite of sites that include a suite of biodiversity features which can be conserved at a minimal cost.

The Appalachian LCC is dedicated to building the technical capacity for landscape level planning.  By providing this valuable training, the Appalachian LCC is helping to build the capacity to implement emerging science and decision support tools on a regional scale. Utilizing Marxan, the Appalachian LCC and its partners will be able to identify the most effective network of conservation areas throughout the region. This facilitates strategic habitat conservation by ensuring that resources are used in the most efficient manner possible to conserve landscapes capable of supporting self-sustaining populations of fish and wildlife.

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