AbstractA Regional Watershed Based Conservation AssessmentTrack: Ecology and Conservation Author In the course of regional conservation work there is the need for a tool to systematically evaluate conditions from the local level through the landscape and regional levels so that conservation progress and successes can be documented. Equally important is the ability to identify where conservation conditions are stable and where conditions are deteriorating. An assessment tool is needed to comprehensively evaluate terrestrial and aquatic ecological health and integrity measures. For a variety of reasons a watershed level assessment provides a convenient, ecologically relevant, and scalable model for addressing regional conservation issues in a comprehensive and integrative approach. A watershed assessment process will be presented that is being applied in the Southern Appalachian region. The assessment develops metrics of ecological health and integrity within watersheds that can be consolidated to larger watersheds and ultimately to the regional level. The approach could have application in other regions. Hugh Irwin Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition P.O. Box 817 Black Mountain, North Carolina 28711 United States Phone: 828-252-9223 Fax: 828-252-9074 E-mail: hugh@safc.org |