Browsing by Author "Warnell, Katie"

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Open Access
Assessing the current and future status of aquatic and hydrologic ecosystem services in the French Broad River Basin
(2017-04-28) Thompson, Brenna; Shapiro, Hannah; Warnell, Katie
Ecosystem services are the benefits that people receive from nature, and are an increasingly important component in conservation planning. Many of these ecosystem services are threatened, however, by land use change and development, climate change, and pollution. This project assesses the current state of several water-related ecosystem services in western North Carolina’s French Broad River Basin, which includes the city of Asheville, and compares this to a potential future state given predicted changes in development patterns and climate. We identify where sources of water-related ecosystem services are located within the watershed, how many people they serve, where threats to ecosystem services are located, and how ecosystem services and aquatic biodiversity may be affected by future climate and land use changes. Our findings show that climate change and development will have significant implications for the future provisioning and regulation of ecosystem services and the habitat of aquatic biodiversity in western North Carolina.
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, Chris
Natural 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.
Open Access
Building Ecosystem Services Conceptual Models
(2018-09-05) Olander, Lydia; Mason, Sara; Warnell, Katie; Tallis, Heather
Funders 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.
Open Access
Department of the Interior Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap
(2023-12-11) Warnell, Katie; Mason, Sara; Siegle, Aaron; Merritt, Melissa; Olander, Lydia
This comprehensive resource, created in collaboration with the US Department of the Interior, is a first-of-its-kind reference for implementing nature-based solutions (NBS). Nature-based solutions are actions to protect, sustainably manage, or restore natural or modified ecosystems to address societal challenges—including climate change—in ways that help people and the environment. Examples cited in the Roadmap range from urban stormwater and runoff management to prescribed burns to living shorelines to restoration of various ecosystems. Nature-based solutions require planning and design specific to each site and strategy being employed, but some principles and considerations apply in every case. The first section of the Roadmap offers information on these cross-cutting principles and considerations, including community engagement, application of Indigenous Knowledges, equity and environmental justice, funding sources, and common barriers. The bulk of the nearly 500-page Roadmap is devoted to details 29 individual NBS strategies. Each strategy summary contains these elements: * A list of likely benefits, including climate threat reduction, socioeconomic and ecological benefits * Example projects from throughout the United States * Links to additional tools, training and resources for project planning, implementation and monitoring * Details about site suitability, how the strategy is implemented on the ground, and operations and maintenance needs This living document is part of the Nature-Based Solutions project at the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability. Explore more NBS content, including fact sheets on each of the strategies in the Roadmap.
Open Access
Developing a State-Level Natural and Working Lands Climate Action Plan
(2022-10-13) Warnell, Katie; Olander, Lydia
Natural and working lands—forests, wetlands, coastal, and agricultural lands—provide many benefits, including supporting key economic sectors, enhancing community resilience to hazards such as fires and floods, and contributing to climate mitigation by storing large amounts of carbon. North Carolina recently completed a Natural and Working Lands Climate Action Plan with recommendations for conserving, restoring, and managing these lands to preserve and enhance their benefits. This guide, aimed at other states interested in developing similar action plans, walks through the planning process, helpful resources, and the tracking of plan implementation—using examples from North Carolina’s experience.
Open Access
Ecosystem Services Conceptual Model Application: Bureau of Land Management Solar Energy Development
(2018-09-05) Warnell, Katie; Olander, Lydia; Mason, Sara
Interest 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.
Open Access
Ecosystem Services Conceptual Model Application: NOAA and NERRS Salt Marsh Habitat Restoration
(2018-09-05) Mason, Sara; Olander, Lydia; Warnell, Katie
Interest 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.
Open Access
Evaluation of Publicly Accessible Nature-Based Solutions Databases as Sources for Evidence of Effectiveness
(2024-07-24) Warnell, Katie; Olander, Lydia
Nature-based solutions (NBS) are “actions to protect, sustainably manage, or restore natural or modified ecosystems to address societal challenges, simultaneously providing benefits for people and the environment” (White House Council on Environmental Quality, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, White House Domestic Climate Policy Office 2022). They present opportunities to tackle both the climate and biodiversity crises simultaneously by supporting carbon sequestration by ecosystems, enhancing community resilience to climate hazards, and providing high-quality habitats for diverse species. However, uncertainty around the performance and reliability of NBS continues to be raised by engineers, local decision-makers, grant-makers, and the insurance industry as an obstacle for widespread implementation of NBS at scale. This uncertainty indicates the need for comprehensive and accessible data on NBS projects and outcomes that could be used to develop engineering standards, assess projects’ cost-benefit ratio, and incorporate NBS into insurance premium pricing. This report evaluates the NBS data currently available through publicly available databases relative to the information needs described above. In total, 27 databases with publicly available, structured information on NBS research studies (6 databases) or individual projects (21 databases) were assessed for their utility as well as geographic and topical coverage.
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, Claudia
Billions 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.
Open Access
Financing Nature-Based Solutions via the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
(2023-11-14) Carney, Matthew; Mason, Sara; Olander, Lydia; Warnell, Katie
For the past decade, state and local green banks have successfully accelerated private investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and environmental infrastructure projects in their specific geographies. While green banks have historically focused primarily on clean energy and renewable projects, there is a growing interest in using nature-based solutions, or environmental infrastructure, to meet the climate and community goals shared by many of these mission-oriented financial institutions. The $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) in the Inflation Reduction Act—particularly the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund and $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator—represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage private capital for investments in environmental infrastructure and nature-based solutions, but the groundwork needs to be laid now. This document summarizes the relevant GGRF funds and their applicability for nature-based solutions.
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, Katya
Billions 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.
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, Katie
Billions 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.
Open Access
Mapping Ecosystem Services for the Southeast United States: Conservation and Restoration Priorities for Water Purification
(2020-08-04) Warnell, Katie
This methods brief focuses on water purification by natural land cover, which removes non-point-source pollutants from runoff water before they reach waterways. This analysis maps natural land cover within the likely flowpaths of water from agricultural areas to waterways. Regional priority areas for the restoration of additional natural land cover in the flowpaths and for the conservation of existing natural land cover in the flowpaths are identified based on the amount of agricultural land and the proportion of flowpaths that are made up of purifying natural land cover. Spatial datasets for these priority areas and associated metrics are available on ScienceBase.
Open Access
Mapping Ecosystem Services for the Southeast United States: Conservation and Restoration Priorities for Wild Pollinator Habitat
(2019-09-27) Warnell, Katie
Open Access
Mapping Ecosystem Services for the Southeast United States: Conservation Priorities for Open Space Recreation Access
(2020-03-12) Warnell, Katie
This methods brief focuses on access to recreational open space, which is a key component of mental health and well-being. This analysis maps the supply of publicly accessible open spaces relative to where people live. Regional priority areas for the creation of new open space through conservation are identified based on a metric representing the number of people who would benefit from new recreational open space if it were created in that area. Spatial datasets for these priority areas and associated metrics are available on ScienceBase.
Open Access
Mapping Ecosystem Services for the Southeast United States: Conservation Priorities for Recreational Birding
(2019-10-31) Warnell, Katie
This methods brief focuses on recreational birding, which is a popular activity in the United States. This analysis maps the location of recreational birding activity in the southeastern U.S. Regional priorities for conservation of birding areas are identified based on the total amount of birding activity and the proportion of birding activity that takes place on unprotected land. Spatial datasets for these priority areas and associated metrics are available on ScienceBase.
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, Lydia
Natural 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.
Open Access
USFS Predictive Model Library: Fire and Timber Management
(2020-04-17) Warnell, Katie; Olander, Lydia; Minich, Taylor; Killea, Allison; Fan, Fizzy
The concept of ecosystem services has been formalized into U.S. Forest Service decision-making over the past decade in response to the 2012 Forest Planning Act and Agency regulations and directives, but many practical questions remain about how to do this most effectively. Many USFS decisions use scenarios to assess how different management approaches will meet different objectives and what the trade-offs might be. Often this is done using predictive models developed by the USFS. Some of the models commonly used by the USFS do not yet include many ecosystem services outcomes, but there are other predictive models designed for ecosystem services that might help fill such gaps. This project explores how these non-USFS models could be combined with existing USFS models to provide a fuller analysis of ecosystem services outcomes from different management scenarios. We used an ecosystem service conceptual model as a framework to examine the utility of currently available predictive models for quantifying the effects of fire and timber management on ecosystem services and socioeconomic outcomes.