Conservation and Management Planning for the Livingston Land Conservancy

Abstract

The Livingston Land Conservancy (LLC) is a volunteer-run non-profit based in Brighton, Michigan. Formed in 1995, the Conservancy now protects 612 acres of land in Livingston County through a combination of nature preserves and conservation easements. The Conservancy has a long-term goal to obtain Land Trust Accreditation through the demonstration of certain practices. This Practicum was developed to address two related practices: management planning for natural areas, and selection of lands for conservation. I combined field surveys and GIS data to inventory each property, followed by a written management plan, which recommends specific goals, targets, and methods based on theories of forest ecology, wetland ecology, and ecological restoration. In order to address the need for a decision-making tool for conservation, I used a GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation method to identify the properties with the highest conservation value. This tool can be adapted for changes in values or as more data becomes available. Both the management plans and the evaluation method demonstrate the efficiency and adaptability of using remotely sensed data in order to make conservation decisions. ii