Assessment of Fish and Wildlife Habitat Value May 29-30, 2008

Today we have a tried and true way to determine habitat value. The “Habitat Value” (HV) method was developed by the Northwest Habitat Institute to allow the user to assess the diversity, complexity and size of the available habitat and to develop a quantifiable pre-project baseline VALUE for each habitat unit. These values are translated into a system of “debits” and “credits” that are transferable to mitigation wetlands, mitigation banks, and restoration projects. The method is consistent across sites and is being implemented by more and more local government planners for mitigation banking proposals and habitat restoration projects under the Columbia River Subbasin Plan framework.

This two-day workshop is an introduction to the Habitat Value (HV) approach and methodology. To determine HV at the project level within a watershed context, you will be learning how to use species, habitats, and functions as a base to revise the Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP). The intended audience for this includes consultants, natural resources managers, regulators, environmental planners, engineers, contractors and concerned members of the public that have an interest in projects that require wetland permits.

The HV approach provides you with a quantifiable value for habitat quality by considering the diversity, complexity, and size of the available habitat. The HV is a complete, systems-based method for fish and wildlife habitat assessment, planning, and mitigation using GIS and currently established, accessible, databases. For current users of the species-based Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) method, prepare yourselves for a paradigm shift!

Your expected benefits are as follows:

• Planners will learn how the HV approach is used to quantify fish and wildlife habitat quality for baseline measurement and consistent future evaluation.
• Landowners/agencies/organizations who are interested in creating, or who are currently managing a mitigation bank, will learn how the HV approach:
  • can be used to establish a consistent banking system using the “currency” of debits and credits,
  • can provide the HV currency used to determine equitable mitigation solutions.
• All participants will be able to understand the language and methods of the HV approach for assessing fish and wildlife habitats. You will learn:
  • how endangered species and wetlands are addressed, and
  • how the “currency” applied to mitigation banking replaces the inequitable acre-to-acre approach.
• All participants will be given an example of the HV Method currently used in mitigation banking by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).

The Virginia Tech “Assessment of Fish and Wildlife Habitat Value” workshop is taught by Northwest Habitat Institution co-founder Tom O’Neil, along with NHI’s Senior GIS Analyst, Cory Langhoff. Tom brings over 30 years of experience with habitat/wildlife programs and projects, including co-editor and -author of several leading publications in the field of wildlife-habitat relationships; Cory has an M.S. in Forest Resources where he worked on accuracy assessment of remotely sensed forest maps of Oregon, along with 12 years of experience with GIS applications to natural resource and wildlife issues.