Skip to main content

James E Lyons, Ph.D.

Jim is a Research Ecologist at the Eastern Ecological Science Center in Laurel, MD.

STRUCTURED DECISION MAKING AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS (DECISION ANALYST & TEAM LEAD)

  1. Development of an Integrated Avian Monitoring Framework for the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Application of Structured Decision Making.  (3 SDM workshops: USFWS/USGS SDM Workshop, National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV, 3-7 February 2014;  Spanish Fort, AL, 7-8 May 2014; Cedar Key, FL, 12-14 August 2014)
  2. Use of Structured Decision Making to Identify Management Priorities and Monitoring Targets for Salt Marsh Ecosystems (2 SDM workshops, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 11-12 and 24-26 January 2012)
  3. Decision Analysis for Optimal Wetland Management at Patuxent Research Refuge: Application of SDM for Comprehensive Conservation Planning (worked with Refuge staff during multiple meetings over a period of six months, 2011-2012)
  4. Decision Analysis for Coastal Wetland Management in Delaware Under Uncertainty about Sea Level Rise (USFWS/USGS SDM Workshop, National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV, 13-17 September 2010)
  5. Scaup Conservation Action Plan: Linking Models to Conservation Actions and the Revised NAWMP (4 SDM workshops, 2009-2011)
  6. Impoundment Management at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge for the Benefit of Breeding Whooping Cranes (SDM workshop, Necedah NWR, 23-27 March 2009)
  7. Conservation and Management Decisions for Mountain Plovers throughout the Annual Cycle (USFWS/USGS SDM Workshop, National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV, 21-25 July 2008)
  8. Application of Structured Decision Making to Assessment of Salt Marshes on National Wildlife Refuges in the Northeastern, Southwestern, and Northwestern U.S. (SDM workshop, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 7-11 April 2008)
  9. Impoundment Management at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge (SDM workshop, Necedah NWR, 4-7 March 2008)
  10. Integrated Wetland Bird Management and Monitoring Initiative.  (USFWS/USGS SDM Workshop, National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV, 28 January-1 February 2008)
  11. Strategic Habitat Conservation (SHC) in the Prairie Pothole Region.  (USFWS/USGS SDM Workshop, La Crosse, WI, 14-18 January 2008)
  12. Wetland Loss and Fire Effects at Blackwater NWR and Fishing Bay WMA.  (USFWS Adaptive Management Consultancy, Cambridge, MD, 23-24 October 2007 and 29-30 April 2008)
  13. Application of Structured Decision Making for Multi-species Management of Horseshoe Crab and Shorebird Population in Delaware Bay. (SDM Workshop, National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV, 9-13 July 2007)

Professional Experience

  • Instructor

    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center

    Introduction to Structured Decision Making            01/2010, 03/2008, 05/2013

    Shorebird Ecology and Management                     6 times in 2007-2014

  • Lecturer in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Biology                                      08/2002 - 08/2004

  • Department of Wildlife, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA

    lectures:

    - Conservation Biology

    - Ornithology

    - Ecology of Wildlife Populations

    - Ecology and Management of Wetland Habitats for Wildlife

    - Introduction to Wildlife Conservation and Administration (lecture)

    Discussions:

    - Senior Seminar in Wildlife Management

    - Ecology of Animal Movements

    - Advanced Population Ecology

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D. Biology, 2001, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, Dissertation: Population Ecology and Foraging Behavior of Breeding Birds in Bottomland Hardwood Forests

  • M.S. Aquaculture, Fisheries, and Wildlife Biology, 1994, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, Thesis: Eco-physiology of Shorebirds During Winter and Migration at South Island, SC

  • B.S. Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, 1986, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405

Science and Products

link
Salt marsh nekton monitoring

Use of Structured Decision Making to Optimize Salt Marsh Management Decisions at Northeastern National Wildlife Refuges

US Fish and Wildlife Service completed a regional assessment of salt marsh integrity (SMI) on 15 National Wildlife Refuges/Refuge Complexes in the northeastern US. Developed within a structured decision making (SDM) framework, the SMI assessment provides essential baseline data on salt marsh condition relative to regional management objectives. These data now provide the basis for applying the SDM...
By
Ecosystems, Environments Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center
link

Use of Structured Decision Making to Optimize Salt Marsh Management Decisions at Northeastern National Wildlife Refuges

US Fish and Wildlife Service completed a regional assessment of salt marsh integrity (SMI) on 15 National Wildlife Refuges/Refuge Complexes in the northeastern US. Developed within a structured decision making (SDM) framework, the SMI assessment provides essential baseline data on salt marsh condition relative to regional management objectives. These data now provide the basis for applying the SDM...
Learn More
link
Riparian birds

Informing Management of Waterfowl Harvest in a Changing Climate

The ability to effectively manage wildlife in North America is founded in an understanding of how human actions and the environment influence wildlife populations. Current management practices are informed by population monitoring data from the past to determine key ecological relationships and make predictions about future population status. In most cases, including the regulation of waterfowl hu
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Northeast Climate Science Center, Climate Adaptation Science Center
link

Informing Management of Waterfowl Harvest in a Changing Climate

The ability to effectively manage wildlife in North America is founded in an understanding of how human actions and the environment influence wildlife populations. Current management practices are informed by population monitoring data from the past to determine key ecological relationships and make predictions about future population status. In most cases, including the regulation of waterfowl hu
Learn More
link
Riparian birds

Informing Management of Waterfowl Harvest in a Changing Climate

The ability to effectively manage wildlife in North America is founded in an understanding of how human actions and the environment influence wildlife populations. Current management practices are informed by population monitoring data from the past to determine key ecological relationships and make predictions about future population status. In most cases, including the regulation of waterfowl hu
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Northeast Climate Science Center, Climate Adaptation Science Center
link

Informing Management of Waterfowl Harvest in a Changing Climate

The ability to effectively manage wildlife in North America is founded in an understanding of how human actions and the environment influence wildlife populations. Current management practices are informed by population monitoring data from the past to determine key ecological relationships and make predictions about future population status. In most cases, including the regulation of waterfowl hu
Learn More
link
Aerial Survey Crew

Marine Bird Populations and the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS)

The Challenge: The Gulf of Mexico has critically important breeding, staging, and wintering habitats for North America’s migratory birds. Unfortunately, limited information is available to quantitatively characterize species composition, distribution, and abundance of birds Gulf-wide, particularly for seabirds. The number of platforms and cumulative level of oil and gas activity in the northern...
By
Energy & Wildlife, Eastern Ecological Science Center
link

Marine Bird Populations and the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS)

The Challenge: The Gulf of Mexico has critically important breeding, staging, and wintering habitats for North America’s migratory birds. Unfortunately, limited information is available to quantitatively characterize species composition, distribution, and abundance of birds Gulf-wide, particularly for seabirds. The number of platforms and cumulative level of oil and gas activity in the northern...
Learn More
link
Structured Decision Making. The PrOACT sequence captures the essential elements of any decision

Structured Decision Making

The biggest natural resource management challenges include competing views of the value and uses of those resources in society. Patuxent scientists develop methods to manage resources given those competing views under a “structured decision making” (SDM) framework. Our scientists both practice and train others in key SDM skills, such as model development and monitoring design.
By
Ecosystems, Energy & Wildlife, Eastern Ecological Science Center
link

Structured Decision Making

The biggest natural resource management challenges include competing views of the value and uses of those resources in society. Patuxent scientists develop methods to manage resources given those competing views under a “structured decision making” (SDM) framework. Our scientists both practice and train others in key SDM skills, such as model development and monitoring design.
Learn More
link
Migratory birds in a wetland.

Decision-Support for Migratory Bird Management in the Face of Uncertainty

Migratory birds are responding to changes in climate in complex and sometimes unpredictable ways. The timing of breeding and migration typically coincide with the periods of peak food availability; however, these peaks are shifting as temperatures and precipitation patterns change, resulting in a mismatch in the timing of key events. The degree to which this mismatch is impacting migratory birds v
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Climate Adaptation Science Center
link

Decision-Support for Migratory Bird Management in the Face of Uncertainty

Migratory birds are responding to changes in climate in complex and sometimes unpredictable ways. The timing of breeding and migration typically coincide with the periods of peak food availability; however, these peaks are shifting as temperatures and precipitation patterns change, resulting in a mismatch in the timing of key events. The degree to which this mismatch is impacting migratory birds v
Learn More
link
Migratory birds in a wetland.

Decision-Support for Migratory Bird Management in the Face of Uncertainty

Migratory birds are responding to changes in climate in complex and sometimes unpredictable ways. The timing of breeding and migration typically coincide with the periods of peak food availability; however, these peaks are shifting as temperatures and precipitation patterns change, resulting in a mismatch in the timing of key events. The degree to which this mismatch is impacting migratory birds v
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Climate Adaptation Science Center
link

Decision-Support for Migratory Bird Management in the Face of Uncertainty

Migratory birds are responding to changes in climate in complex and sometimes unpredictable ways. The timing of breeding and migration typically coincide with the periods of peak food availability; however, these peaks are shifting as temperatures and precipitation patterns change, resulting in a mismatch in the timing of key events. The degree to which this mismatch is impacting migratory birds v
Learn More
link
Decision tree illustrating the expected value of perfect information

Structured Decision Making: Methods, Applications, and Capacity-Building

The Challenge: The field of decision analysis is a rich and mature discipline that provides robust methods for helping decision makers understand the nature of their decisions, involve stakeholders and scientists in appropriate steps of the process, and develop transparent records for the public. The use of these structured approaches is emerging in natural resource management, and there is strong...
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center
link

Structured Decision Making: Methods, Applications, and Capacity-Building

The Challenge: The field of decision analysis is a rich and mature discipline that provides robust methods for helping decision makers understand the nature of their decisions, involve stakeholders and scientists in appropriate steps of the process, and develop transparent records for the public. The use of these structured approaches is emerging in natural resource management, and there is strong...
Learn More
Filter Total Items: 45

Optimization of salt marsh management at the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuges, Virginia, through use of structured decision making

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 objective

Optimization of salt marsh management at the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Maine, through use of structured decision making

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 objective
By
Ecosystems, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Optimization of salt marsh management at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Maine, through use of structured decision making

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 objective
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Structured decision making and optimal bird monitoring in the northern Gulf of Mexico

The avian conservation community struggles to design and implement large scale, long-term coordinated bird monitoring programs within the northern Gulf of Mexico due to the complexity of the conservation enterprise in the region; this complexity arises from the diverse stakeholders, multiple jurisdictions, complex ecological processes, myriad habitats, and over 500 species of birds using the regio
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Optimization of salt marsh management at the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, New York, through use of structured decision making

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 objective

Multicriteria decisions and portfolio analysis: Land acquisition for biological and social objectives

Resource allocation for land acquisition is a common multi-objective problem that involves complex trade-offs. The National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service currently uses the Targeted Resource Acquisition Comparison Tool (TRACT) to allocate funds from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund (MBCF; established through the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Act

Optimization of salt marsh management at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey, through use of structured decision making

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 objective
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Stopover ecology of red knots in southwestern James Bay during southbound migration

Many shorebirds rely on small numbers of staging sites during long annual migrations. Numerous shorebird species are declining and understanding the importance of these staging sites is important for successful conservation. We surveyed endangered rufa red knots (Calidris canutus rufa) staging in James Bay, Ontario, Canada, during southbound migration in 2017 and 2018. We used mark‐resight data an

Using decision science for monitoring threatened western snowy plovers to inform recovery

Western Snowy Plovers (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) are federally listed under the US Endangered Species Act as Threatened. They occur along the US Pacific coastline and are threatened by habitat loss and destruction and excessive levels of predation and human disturbance. Populations have been monitored since the 1970s for distribution, reproduction, and survival. Since the species was federally l
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

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

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 objective
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Research priorities for migratory birds under climate change—A qualitative value of information assessment

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey National Climate Adaptation Science Center is to provide actionable, management-relevant research on climate change effects on ecosystems and wildlife to U.S. Department of the Interior bureaus. Providing this kind of useful scientific information requires understanding how natural-resource managers make decisions and identifying research priorities that s
By
Ecosystems, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Climate Adaptation Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Optimization of tidal marsh management at the Cape May and Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuges, New Jersey, through use of structured decision making

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 objective
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Science and Products