The threats and anthropogenic influences on conservation are often global in scale (e.g., climate change, invasive species, etc), however, the relevant decisions and actions to conserve natural areas and ecosystem services occur within unique jurisdictions. Thus, the socio-ecological complexity of these problems requires collaboration across large spatial areas and diverse community interests. However, the interoperability of different planning or decision-support products across decision makers, jurisdictions, and objectives can impede integration and collaboration across space and scale. The objective of the Midwest Conservation Blueprint is to provide a comprehensive framework to coordinate voluntary conservation actions and investments across the Midwest region. Here, we develop a basemap of priority lands and waters for conservation across a diverse set of societal and ecological needs of conservation (e.g., water quality, threatened and endangered species, environmental justice, etc). Specifically, we synthesize 25 different datasets in the spatial prioritization software Zonation v5. Each data set corresponds to a targetable, important feature that represents at least one ecological or societal priority on the landscape. Additionally, we identify important areas for connectivity between prioritized, core areas. Priority land and waters are characterized as “Highest Priority” (> 90th percentile), “High Priority” (>70th percentile), “Medium Priority” (>50th percentile), or as “Important for Connectivity”. The Midwest Conservation Blueprint is a living map and evolves annually driven by improvements to our underlying science and knowledge, our growing understanding of on-the-ground conditions, and input from relevant authorities and actors on the landscape. Landscape-scale planning products cannot, and are not designed to, replace local knowledge or to supersede decision-making authorities. However, by synthesizing existing spatial data and planning at a broader scale, the Midwest Conservation Blueprint documents where there are shared priorities, and thus opportunities for collaboration, across the landscape.
