Browsing by Author "Mason, Sara"
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Item Open Access A Menu of State Actions to Promote Forest Carbon Sequestration and Storage(2022-05-27) Lohman, Adam; Mason, Sara; Olander, LydiaAcross the U.S., states are developing policies and programs to help promote forest-based natural climate solutions. This effort is bolstered by a growth in forest carbon programs that aim to make entry into the voluntary carbon offset market accessible to all landowners. Here we present a “menu” of policy and program options (that we call action items) derived from existing state programs and policies that decision makers can leverage to promote forest carbon solutions.Item Open Access Assessing the Effects of Management Activities on Biodiversity and Carbon Storage on Public and Private Lands and Waters in the United States(2023-04-13) Warnell, Katie; Mason, Sara; Karasik, Rachel; Olander, Lydia; Posner, Stephen; Alonso-Rodríguez, Aura; Aristizábal, Natalia; Bloomfield, Laura; Estifanos, Tafesse; Gourevitch, Jesse; Littlefield, Caitlin; Mazurowski, Jason; Menice, Katarina; Moore, Maya; Nicholson, Charlie; Sands, Bryony; Spencer, Leslie; Treuer, Tim; Ricketts, Taylor; Hartley, ChrisNatural and working lands (NWLs) provide many benefits to people, including storing greenhouse gases (GHGs), supporting biodiversity, and generating other ecosystem services. Management of NWLs can influence their condition and function and therefore the benefits they provide. This project surveys the synthesis literature to assess how different management actions on various types of NWLs affect biodiversity and GHG outcomes. This information can help to determine how to best manage these lands to contribute to both biodiversity and climate solutions in the United States. These results are a starting point to assess how different forms of management on various types of NWLs contribute to or detract from biodiversity and GHG outcomes. Though this study’s scope was limited to an exploration of biodiversity and GHG benefits provided by NWLs, this process could be adapted to examine the effects of management on other important ecosystem services, as well as how management affects equitable distribution of those services. Additional quantitative synthesis is also needed to compare the magnitude of different management activities’ impacts on biodiversity and carbon and to better understand how the intensity of certain activities influences these outcomes. This report is a collaboration between the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability and the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont. This research was supported by the US Department of Agriculture, Office of Environmental Markets, under a cooperative agreement. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or US Government determination or policy. For related work, please see Tracking the Benefits of Natural & Working Lands in the United States: Dataset Evaluation and Readiness Assessment.Item Open Access Bigger Change Faster(2019-09) Mason, Sara; Olander, Lydia; Goldstein, Joshua; Tallis, Heather; Linou, Natalia; Snall, Roy; Huikuri, Suvi; Kreis, Katherine; Ringler, Claudia; Jacobs, Christine; Kelso, Megan; Zobrist, StephanieToday’s greatest sustainable development challenges can only be solved if we work together more effectively across the global development, health, and environmental communities. This report, co-authored by the Bridge Collaborative and UNDP, highlights three global challenges that require cross-sector solutions, and actions that can be taken now to drive bigger change faster for people and the world we share. A workbook drawn from this report, Delivering Bigger Change Faster: A Workbook on Strengthening Proposals for Projects With Cross-sector Impacts, Version 2.0 was published in June 2021.Item Open Access Building Ecosystem Services Conceptual Models(2018-09-05) Olander, Lydia; Mason, Sara; Warnell, Katie; Tallis, HeatherFunders and developers of infrastructure projects and businesses and managers overseeing critical natural resources are becoming increasingly aware of and interested in ecosystem services. Although methods for incorporating ecosystem services into decisions have been established through academic research, practical guidance for how to do so in the quick, simple, transparent, and low-cost, feasible ways often required for widespread implementation are just now under development. One tool that can support widespread implementation is the use of ecosystem services conceptual models, which can underpin both simple and complex methods while helping to improve consistency and credibility. These conceptual models link changes caused by an external stressor or intervention through the ecological system to socio-economic and human well-being outcomes. Ecosystem services conceptual models can be developed for any given site and intervention or created as reference models for a general type of intervention across sites. This report facilitates development and use of evidence-based ecosystem services conceptual models in federal decision making by presenting a “how-to” guide and illustrative examples.Item Open Access Compensatory Mitigation on Federal Lands(2020-02-06) Doyle, Martin; Olander, Lydia; Sharon, Ori; Mason, Sara; BenDor, ToddAs compensatory wetland and stream mitigation expands, particularly in the western United States, the availability and prominence of federal lands will become increasingly relevant in affecting the execution of mitigation. Moreover, as land management agencies face constrained economic conditions there will be growing interest in alternative forms of revenue and sources of money for restoration. Thus, it is realistic to expect the question of compensatory mitigation on federal lands to become increasingly relevant across land management and regulatory agencies. This raises the question: if federal land management agencies are going to create policies to formalize mitigation on their lands, what major considerations do they need to take into account, and what alternatives need to be acknowledged? This report represents an examination of compensatory mitigation of aquatic resources (i.e., streams and wetlands) on U.S. federal lands through an examination of case studies and a review of the legal landscape in which such mitigation takes place. While the authors neither promote nor discourage mitigation on federal lands at this time, we do present a series of considerations and recommendations that should be taken into account as federal agencies begin formalizing policies regarding compensatory mitigation on their lands. While our review of existing federal lands mitigation projects was not comprehensive, it draws on learnings from significant cases that were highlighted by individuals deeply involved in these processes—federal agency members, nonprofit employees, and private mitigation bankers. Some of the issues identified with compensatory mitigation on federal lands drawn from case studies presented here may represent outliers, but are nevertheless important to emphasize so that, as policies for these processes are institutionalized, such issues can be addressed accordingly.Item Open Access Developing Key Performance Indicators for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Planning(2022-08-17) Boltz, Frederick; Losos, Liz; Karasik, Rachel; Mason, SaraThis document from the Resilience Roadmap project recommends a common approach to developing key performance indicators (KPIs) for climate change adaptation and resilience planning, drawing upon current science and tools referenced throughout. The work is particularly aimed to support climate adaptation and resilience planning by US federal agencies and thus presents principally US national-level data and online resources. The approach is broadly applicable across agencies, sectors, and systems and can also be applied by state or local planners and adaptation/resilience practitioners. The KPI development approach includes: 1. Setting the scope and goals of climate adaptation and resilience planning, following a stepwise process. 2. Developing KPIs to track performance and guide adaptive management, following a core set of ten process and five outcome indicators. This methods brief includes contributions from Beth Gibbons, Lara Hansen, Jesse Keenan, Susanne Moser, Mark Rupp, Josh Sawislak, Laurie Schoeman, and Forbes Tompkins.Item Open Access Ecosystem Services Conceptual Model Application: Bureau of Land Management Solar Energy Development(2018-09-05) Warnell, Katie; Olander, Lydia; Mason, SaraInterest in using ecosystem services to integrate considerations of people and the environment continues to grow in federal agencies. One method that can help agencies incorporate ecosystem services into decision making is the use of ecosystem services conceptual models, which link changes in biophysical systems caused by an intervention to human well-being outcomes. Evidence-based ecosystem services conceptual models can provide efficiency and consistency in application, transitioning ecosystem services from an interesting concept to an actionable approach for natural resource management. Despite the potential usefulness of these models, there are few examples available to build from and little published detail on how to implement them. This report provides an example of an ecosystem services conceptual model for solar energy development on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The Bureau of Land Management wants to facilitate solar energy development on suitable land in the southwestern United States while minimizing negative impacts on social, cultural, and ecological systems. With agency staff, researchers at Duke's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Solutions developed a model that captures the potential outcomes of the installation and operation of solar energy facilities on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. An accompanying evidence library provides a summary of the currently available evidence for each relationship in the model and an assessment of the strength of that evidence. The ecosystem services conceptual models could improve and help to streamline environmental assessments and help the Bureau of Land Management achieve its socio-economic strategy.Item Open Access Ecosystem Services Conceptual Model Application: NOAA and NERRS Salt Marsh Habitat Restoration(2018-09-05) Mason, Sara; Olander, Lydia; Warnell, KatieInterest in using ecosystem services to integrate considerations of people and the environment continues to grow in federal agencies. One method that can help agencies incorporate ecosystem services into decision making is the use of ecosystem services conceptual models, which link changes in biophysical systems caused by an intervention to socio-economic and human well-being outcomes. Evidence-based ecosystem services conceptual models can provide efficiency and consistency in application, transitioning ecosystem services from an interesting concept to an actionable approach for natural resource management. Despite the potential usefulness of these models, there are few examples available to build from and little published detail on how to implement them. This report provides an illustrative ecosystem services conceptual model for salt marsh restoration at National Estuarine Research Reserve System sites. The National Estuarine Research Reserve System, which is closely associated with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, wants to protect and restore coastal ecosystems while reinforcing local social and cultural systems. Developed by staff at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, the ecosystem services conceptual model captures the potential outcomes of a salt marsh habitat restoration. An accompanying evidence library provides a summary of the currently available evidence for each relationship in the model and an assessment of the strength of that evidence.Item Open Access Ecosystem Services Conceptual Model Application: Testing General Model Adaptability(2018-09-05) Mason, Sara; Olander, LydiaThis case study, a companion to Ecosystem Services Conceptual Model Application: NOAA and NERRS Salt Marsh Habitat Restoration summarizes initial efforts to apply a general salt marsh ecosystem services conceptual model to specific sites. The case study proposes that developing a set of reference ecosystem services conceptual models for a constrained set of common management interventions would increase the efficiency and consistency of incorporation of ecosystem services in decision-making contexts. The case study discusses efforts to test whether a generalized model can be adapted to specific sites. It describes three cases: a retrospective case, a prospective case, and a quantitative case. Integrated in these studies is a discussion of the considerations that arise and revisions that should be made to a general model applied to a particular site.Item Open Access Evidence Library for Oyster Reef Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico(2020-04-28) Warnell, Katie; Karasik, Rachel; Mason, Sara; Zhao, Alicia; Sharma, Shubhi; Sandoval, ClaudiaBillions of dollars will be spent on large-scale restoration of Gulf ecosystems over the coming decades, but there is no shared platform to guide assessment and reporting of restoration progress and effectiveness for the broad set of environmental, social, and economic goals shared by the many institutions working in the Gulf. The GEMS (Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Service Logic Models and Socio-economic Indicators) project aims to advance standardized metrics of restoration success by developing ecosystem service logic models (ESLMs) with stakeholders from the five Gulf states, relevant federal agencies, and technical experts. ESLMs trace the effects of restoration strategies as they influence ecological and social systems to create outcomes that are important to people. This report presents a general ESLM for oyster reef restoration, representing all of the outcomes from oyster reef restoration that are significant, tightly tied to oyster reef restoration, and important to the local community, and an evidence library summarizing the scientific evidence supporting each of the relationships shown in the ESLM.Item Open Access GEMS Phase I Report: Oyster Reef Restoration(2020-02-03) Olander, Lydia; Shepard, Christine; Tallis, Heather; Yoskowitz, David; Coffey, Kara; Hale, Chris; Karasik, Rachel; Mason, Sara; Warnell, Katie; Williams, Lauren; Wowk, KatyaBillions of dollars will be spent on large-scale restoration of Gulf ecosystems over the coming decades, but there is no shared platform to guide assessment and reporting of restoration progress and effectiveness for the broad set of environmental, social, and economic goals shared by the many institutions working in the Gulf. The diversity of these goals—including habitat restoration, water quality improvement, marine resource protection, community resilience, and economic revitalization—means that a variety of metrics are needed to fully evaluate the effectiveness of restoration projects. A set of common models and metrics relevant across projects, programs, and locations can facilitate effective project planning and evaluation. While there are existing efforts to collate and standardize ecological and biophysical metrics for Gulf restoration projects (GOMA Monitoring Community of Practice; NRDA Monitoring and Adaptive Management Manual), there is no current effort to do the same for the social, economic, and human well-being outcomes of restoration. This project aims to do that. The GEMS (Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Service Logic Models and Socio-Economic Indicators) project aims to advance standardized metrics of restoration success by developing ecosystem service logic models (ESLMs) with stakeholders from the five Gulf states, relevant federal agencies, and technical experts. ESLMs trace the effects of restoration strategies as they influence ecological and social systems to create outcomes that are important to people. The use of logic models is recommended by the National Academies of Science as best practice for monitoring plan design; these models can provide a practical and transferable approach for measuring success at different scales. The GEMS team will develop ESLMs and metrics for a wide range of coastal restoration approaches over the course of the project. This report presents the results of the first phase of the GEMS project, which focused on oyster reef restoration. The Phase II report of the GEMS project identifies metrics available to monitor the social and economic outcomes of a wide variety of coastal projects funded in the Gulf, using ESLMs to illustrate how these projects’ impacts cascade through the biophysical system to result in social and economic outcomes.Item Open Access GEMS Phase II Report: Coastal Restoration(2021-07-16) Olander, Lydia; Shepard, Christine; Tallis, Heather; Yoskowitz, David; Coffey, Kara; Hale, Chris; Karasik, Rachel; Mason, Sara; Warnell, KatieBillions of dollars will be spent on large-scale restoration of Gulf ecosystems over the coming decades, but there is currently no shared platform to guide assessment and reporting of restoration progress and effectiveness for the broad set of environmental, social, and economic goals shared by the many institutions working in the Gulf. This report, a product of the Bridge Collaborative — Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, The Harte Research Institute, and The Nature Conservancy, with support from the National Academies' Gulf Research Program — is a part of a project to advance standardized metrics of restoration success by developing ecosystem service logic models (ESLMs) with stakeholders from the five Gulf states, relevant federal agencies, and technical experts. ESLMs trace the effects of restoration strategies as they influence ecological and social systems to create outcomes that are important to people. The use of logic models is recommended by the National Academies of Science as a best practice for monitoring plan design; these models can provide a practical and transferable approach for measuring success at different scales. Numerous strategies for coastal restoration exist, and there are many places along the Gulf coast where restoration can be implemented. ESLMs are a great tool to compare across restoration strategies and locations to match likely restoration outcomes with stakeholder goals. In addition, evidence that accompanies these models can be used to clarify uncertainties that need to be considered and to identify critical research gaps. This Phase II report of the GEMS project identifies metrics available to monitor the social and economic outcomes of a wide variety of coastal projects funded in the Gulf, using ESLMs to illustrate how these projects’ impacts cascade through the biophysical system to result in social and economic outcomes. Phase II expands the focus to assess socioeconomic metrics for 16 coastal project types, including habitat restoration, recreational enhancement, and water quality improvement projects. This report follows the Phase I report, which focused on understanding the various types of oyster reef restoration occurring in the Gulf and how those projects contribute to social and economic well-being.Item Open Access Life Cycle Assessment and Carbon Offset Potential for Cultured Milk Protein(2021-03-18) Bhandari, Pradnya; Mason, Sara; Olander, LydiaCultured milk proteins are proteins manufactured in a lab through fermentation rather than from traditional animal farming methods. These proteins are identical to those found in milk (casein and whey), but are created using bacteria or fungi instead of any part of an animal. As humanity faces the problem of feeding an exponentially growing population, cultured proteins have emerged as one potential way to generate consumable protein without the harmful environmental impacts of expanding agricultural production. This paper focused on answering two primary questions: (1) How does the environmental footprint of cultured milk protein compare to that of traditional milk protein (derived from cows)? (2) If there is a significant difference in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions between production of cultured and traditional milk protein, would developing carbon credits for cultured protein production be profitable for cultured protein producers? By comparing a generic cultured milk protein life cycle assessment (LCA) to published LCAs on traditional milk protein, we attempted to estimate the difference in environmental impact and assess whether the GHG emission differential might warrant carbon credit creation for cultured protein projects.Item Open Access The Cost to Comply: Habitat Conservation Plans under the Endangered Species Act(2023-04-28) Plasynski, Julia; Keleske, ErinThe Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 authorizes U.S. federal government agencies to save endangered species “whatever the cost,” leaving little flexibility for economic development. Section 10 was introduced as a controversial attempt to strike a balance between these competing interests – non-federal stakeholders can develop Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) to minimize the impacts of their development and receive an Incidental Take Permit. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has been investigating the often-unreported costs associated with these HCPs to better understand the relationship between species conservation and renewable energy production. Our project explores new avenues for EPRI’s research by reviewing available data sources and interviewing EPRI’s expansive membership of energy industry professionals. We outline next steps including a survey to estimate pre-implementation costs and a streamlined methodology for future cost analysis.Item Open Access Tracking the Benefits of Natural & Working Lands in the United States: Dataset Evaluation and Readiness Assessment(2022-03-16) Warnell, Katie; Mason, Sara; Olander, LydiaNatural and working lands (NWL) in the United States provide many benefits, including food, climate mitigation, recreational opportunities, jobs, and many more. There is currently no coordinated approach in the United States to track how provision of these benefits is changing over time. This project begins to fill this gap by identifying datasets that can be used to track the status and trends of NWL benefits (i.e., ecosystem services), assessing their readiness for use in the near-term, and highlighting data gaps and limitations that need to be addressed for a national assessment.Item Open Access Wildlife in the Southern Blue Ridge Ecoregion: Assessing Management Impacts and Establishing Regional Monitoring Efforts(2016-04-28) Wojcik, Meredith; Mason, Sara; Sowers, Mark; Le, MarkusThe Southern Blue Ridge Mountains are biologically important, harboring many rare and endangered species and high levels of biodiversity. A history of fire suppression in the region has led to loss of biodiversity through the decline of fire-reliant ecosystems. Forest managers have accelerated the reintroduction of fire into the Southern Blue Ridge, but could benefit from more evidence-based information about the effects that fires, and other related management activities, could have on the region’s wildlife. By performing a systematic review and meta-analysis of relevant literature we summarize the impacts that various management activities have on the abundance and diversity of wildlife taxa in this region. Using our analysis we also provide suggestions for collaborative regional wildlife monitoring, highlighting species and taxa that are most sensitive to management.Item Open Access Workshop Guide: Using Facilitation Techniques to Integrate Ecosystem Services into Coastal Management Decisions(2019-02-18) Mason, Sara; Karasik, Rachel; Olander, LydiaEstuarine systems are areas of immense ecological importance and provide numerous social, economic, and environmental benefits. The strong link between healthy habitats and these benefits requires incorporating the concerns of both nature and people into coastal management. An ecosystem services approach to coastal management and stewardship is defined by consideration of those benefits that flow from nature to people. As coastal managers increasingly attempt to fully characterize and communicate how natural systems affect the people who live near, work in, depend on, and care about the habitats they manage, ecosystem services considerations are progressively more important to address. Incorporating ecosystem services into management aims to result in an intact and resilient ecosystem that takes multiple beneficiary groups’ needs into consideration. This guide is targeted at coastal resource managers and practitioners who are actively thinking about how to more deliberately incorporate ecosystem services into their coastal decision-making processes.