Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative

News and Recent Updates

The Great Basin LCC Steering Committee met November 8-9 as part of the Great Basin Consortium at the University of Nevada, Reno. At the meeting, the Steering Committee met the new Great Basin LCC Coordinator and Science Coordinator, selected a Leadership team, heard updates from the Climate Science Centers (CSCs) and issue-based working groups, and discussed emerging issues and developments in the Great Basin. Please view the full meeting summary here.

Dr. Todd Hopkins selected as Great Basin LCC Science Coordinator

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has named Dr. Todd Hopkins as the new Great Basin LCC Science Coordinator. He began his new position in November and will join Linda Kelly in Reno, NV. Todd comes to the LCC from the USFWS South Florida Ecological Services Office where he has served since 2002, most recently as interim Science Coordinator for the Peninsular Florida LCC. He will serve as a senior staff scientist and advisor to the LCC Coordinator and Steering Committee on landscape-level conservation and climate change science.

Linda Kelly selected as Great Basin LCC Coordinator

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) selected Linda Kelly as the new Great Basin LCC Coordinator. She began her position in September. Linda joins Matt Germino, Great Basin LCC Research Ecologist, and will provide ongoing leadership to the Great Basin LCC while working with the Steering Committee.

Linda most recently served as field manager for the BLM’s Sierra Front Field Office. She has held planning and management positions at the National Park Service, the US Forest Service and Air Force Space Command.

About the GBLCC

The Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) is one of 22 LCCs nationwide established by the Department of the Interior (DOI) to better integrate science and management to address climate change and related issues. The Great Basin LCC is a self-directed partnership between bureaus and others involved in natural resource management and conservation.

What does the Great Basin LCC do?

In broad terms, the Great Basin LCC will help link and integrate science information providers with resource managers and science users; bring additional DOI resources to bear on landscape-scale conservation issues and opportunities; and help to apply science and facilitate coordination on a wide range of efforts to respond to climate change, invasive species, wildfires, human development and other stressors across the Great Basin. Specific objectives and shared priorities will be determined by the partnership itself. The LCC is not intended to replace existing organizations already accomplishing conservation work in the Great Basin. The aim is to facilitate, enhance and inform that work.

Mission

The Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative enhances understanding of the effects of changing climate and other natural and human impacts across the region and promotes the coordination of science-based actions to enable human and natural communities to respond and adapt to those conditions.

Goals

• Provide leadership and a framework linking science and management to address shared ecological, climate, and social and economic issues across the basin. 
• Focus science and management actions to sustain natural resources in the context of changing environmental conditions.
• Enhance collaboration to integrate science and management among Great Basin LCC partners particularly as related to climate change and other landscape-scale change agents.
• Promote communication and education.

Organizational Structure

Great Basin LCC Steering Committee

The Great Basin LCC Steering Committee met for the first time on March 22, 2011 in Boise, Idaho. The meeting included finalizing and adopting the Great Basin LCC charter, identifying resources needed for the organization, and identifying three initial Issue-based Working Groups. The Steering Committee reviewed and discussed the input from the Stakeholder Forum held in February and discussed next steps. 

The Steering Committee met again via webinar in July 2011. During the meeting, the Steering Committee heard updates on the Issue-based Working Groups and Rapid Ecoregional Assessments (REAs), discussed Steering Committee representation and gathered ideas about the prioritization process for the Great Basin LCC. During the November 2011 meeting, the Steering Committee selected a Leadership team, heard updates from the Climate Science Centers and issue-based working groups, and discussed emerging issues and developments in the Great Basin. 

Steering Committee members include:

Federal representatives
Bureau of Land Management, Raul Morales
USDA Farm Service Agency, Clint Koble
Natural Resources Conservation Service, Bruce Petersen
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ren Lohoefener
U.S. Forest Service, Jeanne Higgins
U.S. Geological Survey, Carol Schuler

Tribal representatives 
Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, Kim Townsend 
Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Gaylord Robb

State representatives
State of Idaho, invited
Nevada Department of Wildlife, Ken Mayer
State of Oregon, invited
State of Utah – Office of the Governor, John Harja
California Department of Fish and Game, Armand Gonzales 

Local government representatives 
Nevada Association of Counties, Lorinda Wichman

NGO and private community representatives 
PacifiCorp, Mark Tallman
Lahontan Audubon Society, Robin Wilson
Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition, Julie Thompson 
Great Basin Water Network, Susan Lynn
Nevada Mining Association, Allen Biaggi
Partnership for National Trails, Jim Evans
Public Lands Council, Brenda Richards
The Nature Conservancy, Bob Unnasch

Great Basin Consortium representatives 
Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Mike Collopy 
Great Basin Environmental Program, Stan Johnson
Great Basin Research and Management Partnership, Nat Frazer

Great Basin LCC Staff

Research Landscape Ecologist
Dr. Matthew Germino joined the Great Basin LCC, working at the US Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center in Boise, Idaho, to research spatial and temporal patterns of change across Great Basin landscapes, and the biological and physical processes that generate these patterns.

Coordinator 
The BLM selected Linda Kelly as the new Great Basin LCC Coordinator. Linda will provide ongoing leadership to the Great Basin LCC while working with the Steering Committee.

Science Coordinator 
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service named Dr. Todd Hopkins as the Great Basin LCC Science Coordinator. He began his new position in November 2011, joining Linda Kelly in Reno, NV to serve as a senior staff scientist for the Great Basin LCC.

Initial Issue-based Working Groups Identified

The Steering Committee identified three initial working groups for the Great Basin LCC:

• Assessment working group - Review current efforts and activities in the Great Basin, focusing on one or two issues, to determine data gaps and avoid duplication of efforts 
• Communications working group - Develop an outreach strategy for the Great Basin LCC to share information about the organization and receive input from partners
• Cheatgrass die-off working group - Work with partners already engaged in the issue of cheatgrass die-off and contribute to this effort

To sign-up for Great Basin LCC updates, email: info@greatbasinlcc.org

Documents Available for Download Great Basin LCC Fact Sheet - December 2011 Great Basin LCC Fact Sheet - October 2011 Great Basin LCC Fact Sheet - September 2011 Great Basin LCC Final Charter - May 2011 Great Basin LCC Fact Sheet - May 2011 Revised Great Basin LCC Draft Charter - Jan. 2011 Great Basin LCC Fact Sheet - Jan. 2011 DOI Memo Regarding the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and LCCs - November 2010 Great Basin LCC Fact Sheet - Sept. 2010 Great Basin LCC Questionaire - Sept. 2010 Great Basin LCC Draft Charter - Sept. 2010 Organizational Synthesis of Existing Great Basin Organizations & Lessons Learned from Other LCCs - July 2010 Great Basin LCC Staff Position Description General LCC Fact Sheet    Presentations Stakeholder Forum - February 2011 Basin-Wide Webinar PPT Presentation - Nov. 2010 Basin-Wide Meeting PPT Presentation - Oct. 2010  Intro to the Great Basin LCC: Great Basin Webinar Presentation - Sept. 2010

Meeting Summaries Steering Committee Meeting - November 8-9, 2011 Steering Committe Webinar - July 6, 2011 Steering Committee Meeting Summary - March 22, 2011   Stakeholder Forum - Feb. 17, 2011 Informational Webinar - Nov 3. 2010 Basin-Wide Meeting Summary - Oct. 29, 2010 Informational Webinar - Sept. 2010 Organizing Committee meetings - July 2010  Kick-off meetings - May 2010       Links Secretarial Order 3289 Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on America's Water, Land, and other Natural And Cultural Resources - (Feb. 22, 2010)   Interactive map of U.S. Landscape Conservation Cooperatives   DOI News Release: Secretary Salazar Launches Southwest Regional Climate Science Center (Oct. 20, 2010)   Climate Change: BLM's Response -Website on Rapid Ecoregional Assessments

E-mail: info@greatbasinlcc.org