Executive Summary
In 2015 the Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative (Desert LCC) made significant progress toward developing a climate smart Landscape Conservation Design for their geography. They developed a methodology for engaging interested partners in conservation planning, hosted two Landscape Conservation Design workshops (one in the U.S. and one in Mexico), developed an understanding of the highest impact pressures and stressors affecting focal ecosystems (springs, including aquatic and riparian resources, streams, including aquatic and riparian resources, and grasslands and shrublands), conducted outreach across the Desert LCC geography to familiarize partners with the Landscape Conservation Design approach and process, and selected three pilot areas in which to conduct further design work.
Key Outcomes
Conservation Design Workshops
Conservation design workshops were conducted in Tucson, Arizona, August 4‐5, 2015 and in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes (Mexico), October 6‐8, 2015. There were 145 participants from over 45 organizations and agencies including federal and state agencies, local governments, non‐profit conservation organizations, tribes, research organizations and private landowners. During both two‐day workshops, participants engaged in discussions about high impact pressures and stressors that are interacting with or driven by climate change and are affecting specific resources, management goals and objectives and how they relate to climate change considerations, current and potential new climate change adaptation strategies, societal values associated with the focal resources, potential pilot geographies, and opportunities to work collaboratively toward longer
term conservation goals.Workshops developed a wealth of information on springs, streams and grasslands in the Desert LCC
geography.
