Climate driven range shifts are an important adaptation strategy for many species, but in the Upper Midwest, movement is constrained by ecosystem alteration. Connectivity modeling can help us understand current movement potential, consider exposure to climate change and identify where restoration could improve connectivity. Ecosystems also provide services to society that are threatened when degraded, including water filtration, carbon storage and support for pollinators. Facing limited budgets alongside the need to restore degraded lands, improve connectivity and consider interactions with climate, restoration practitioners need tools to help maximize the benefits of restoration.
On Monday, March 23, Marissa Ahlering and Kim Hall will discuss the Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center research project they led. The research team collaborated with federal and state agency practitioners and local Tribes to identify priority locations in Minnesota and surrounding US states for habitat restoration to both enhance connectivity that supports species’ range shifts and contributes valuable ecosystem services. They developed a framework to identify restoration opportunity areas that can be used alongside climate and ecosystem service benefits to help practitioners better coordinate their actions and engage a broader segment of the public in support of restoration.
Speaker Bios
Marissa Ahlering
Marissa Ahlering, PhD, has a passion for prairies and prairie conservation. She joined The Nature Conservancy in 2010 and currently serves as the Science Director for Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. She works with a team that broadly focuses on conservation and management of natural systems and the benefits they provide. Her work focuses on conservation issues such as the importance of plant diversity to other ecosystem functions, implementing adaptive management, and integrating climate adaptation strategies into TNC’s biodiversity conservation work.
Kim Hall
Kim Hall, PhD, applies her background in conservation biology and landscape ecology to developing and implementing strategies for reducing risks to nature and people from climate change. In her current position as a Climate Change Ecologist & Project Manager on our North America Science team (LANDFIRE group), her work focuses on developing and communicating data and tools for informing land protection and restoration decisions.