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Optimization of salt marsh management at the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, Connecticut, through use of structured decision making

December 28, 2020

Structured decision making is a systematic, transparent process for improving the quality of complex decisions by identifying measurable management objectives and feasible management actions; predicting the potential consequences of management actions relative to the stated objectives; and selecting a course of action that maximizes the total benefit achieved and balances tradeoffs among objectives. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, applied an existing, regional framework for structured decision making to develop a prototype tool for optimizing tidal marsh management decisions at the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge in Connecticut. Refuge biologists, refuge managers, and research scientists identified multiple potential management actions to improve the ecological integrity of two marsh management units within the refuge and estimated the outcomes of each action in terms of performance metrics associated with each management objective. Value functions previously developed at the regional level were used to transform metric scores to a common utility scale, and utilities were summed to produce a single score representing the total management benefit that would be accrued from each potential management action. Constrained optimization was used to identify the set of management actions, one per marsh management unit, that would maximize total management benefits at different cost constraints at the refuge scale. Results indicated that, for the objectives and actions considered here, total management benefits may increase consistently up to approximately $1,190,000, but that further expenditures may yield diminishing return on investment. Management actions in optimal portfolios at total costs less than $1,190,000 included controlling avian predators in both management units, managing stormwater on lands adjacent to one marsh management unit, and removing a tide gate and breaching a dike to improve tidal flow in the other marsh management unit. The management benefits were derived from expected increases in the numbers of spiders (as an indicator of trophic health) and tidal marsh obligate birds, and an expected decrease in the use of herbicides to control invasive vegetation. The prototype presented here provides a framework for decision making at the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge that can be updated as new data and information become available. Insights from this process may also be useful to inform future habitat management planning at the refuges.

Publication Year 2020
Title Optimization of salt marsh management at the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, Connecticut, through use of structured decision making
DOI 10.3133/ofr20201139
Authors Laurel E. Low, Hilary A. Neckles, James E. Lyons, Jessica L. Nagel, Susan C. Adamowicz, Toni Mikula, Kristina Vagos, Richard Potvin
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Open-File Report
Series Number 2020-1139
Index ID ofr20201139
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Patuxent Wildlife Research Center; Eastern Ecological Science Center