Conservation of the redwoods: lessons from a Red Listed ... · Figure from: Rodrigues et al. 2006....
Transcript of Conservation of the redwoods: lessons from a Red Listed ... · Figure from: Rodrigues et al. 2006....
Conservation of the redwoods:
lessons from a Red Listed species
Erin Kelly
Dept. of Forestry
Humboldt State University
Conservation of the redwoods:
lessons from a Red Listed species
• Overview of the IUCN Red List• Brief history of redwood
conservation• Rationale provided for listing
redwood as endangered• Implications of redwood listing• Suggested modifications for the
IUCN Red List
Overview of the IUCN Red List
• The IUCN created & has maintained the Red
List since 1964
• Intended to be a “clarion call to action” &
consistency, objectivity for labeling species
(Vie et al. 2008)
• Allows for comparison across species and
regions, and for large-scale assessments of
biodiversity and conservation (Mace et al.
2008; for an example see Brooks et al. 2006)
Late 19th c.:
“scenic
protection” for
isolated
1918:
establishment
of the Save-
the-Redwoods
Leagu
Mid- to late-
20th century:
maintaining the
last remnants
of old growth,
including
boycotts, legal
action,
direction action
Late 19th & early
20th c.: “scenic
protection” for
isolated groves
(Schrepfer 1983)
1918: establishment
of the Save-the-
Redwoods League
(Schrepfer 1983)
Late 20th c.: preserving the
last remnants of privately-
held old growth through
boycotts, legal action, direct
action
(Bevington 2009)
A brief history of redwood conservation
21st c.: maintaining and restoring
old-growth function & increasing
structural diversity and restoring
ecosystem function in 2nd/3rd growth
(Lorimer et al. 2009, SRL 2016, Van
Pelt et al. 2016)
Categories of the IUCN Red List
Figure from: Rodrigues et al. 2006.
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000
data deficient
least concern
near threatened
vulnerable
endangered
critically endangered
extinct in wild
extinct
Redwood listing criteria: A2acd
Redwood listing
criteria/
subcriteria
Explanation
A: (criteria)The population of mature individuals has been
reduced.
2: (subcriteria)
The population of the species has declined by ≥50%
over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever
is longer. The reduction has not ceased, is not
understood, or may not be reversible.
The subcriteria of a, c, and d refer to the basis for listing the species:
a: (subcriteria) The species was listed as a result of direct observation.
c: (subcriteria) The species has had a decline in area of occupancy…
d: (subcriteria)The species was listed because of actual or potential
levels of exploitation.
Why was redwood listed as
endangered?
“Its late successional to climax dominance
coupled with shade tolerance means it is
easily replaced by more light demanding
conifers such as Pseudotsuga menziesii[Douglas-fir]. This can be made ‘permanent’
if forests are chosen to be so managed, as
indeed they tend to be in commercial forestry
operations.”
From the listing: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/34051/0
Why was redwood listed as
endangered?
“A second cause of decline
of area of occupancy for
redwoods is urbanization,
at present a relatively
minor factor, but predicted
to increase much in the
next few decades.”
Image from CDF 2010
From the listing: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/34051/0
What does the IUCN propose to
address this listing?
“It is imperative to place all remaining ‘old
growth’ forest in which this species is a
component under strict protection; the
greater portion of these forests is already so
protected. Logging the species should be
under stricter regulation allowing
regeneration to maturity of this species”
From the listing: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/34051/0
Implications of Red Listing of redwood
• There are no legal or political consequences
Definition of “endangered”
Federal ESA: a species is in danger of extinctionthroughout all or a significant portion of its range.
California ESA: a native species… which is in serious danger of becoming extinct throughout all, or a significant portion, of its range
Flaws in the IUCN listing
The IUCN Red List criteria may not be helpful for assessing species like redwood, particularly since:
• threats to the species are not existential or single-species, but threats to ecosystem function/process
• conservation actions suggested by the listing are already in place, and would not address threats identified by practitioners in the region
“[T]hreats to redwoods include climate change;
human land uses not compatible with forest health
(such as development and conversion to vineyards);
intense fires; people’s increasing detachment from
nature…”
“[T]hreats to redwoods include climate change;
human land uses not compatible with forest health
(such as development and conversion to vineyards);
intense fires; people’s increasing detachment from
nature…”
Parcelization
Lessons for IUCN from this case:
• Consult local experts & managers
• Create multiple lists (Mrosovsky 2003)
regarding:
1) Whether species is threatened with
extinction;
2) Whether species is fulfilling its ecological
role;
3) Whether species is maintaining economic
utility.
Citations:Bevington, D. 2009. The rebirth of environmentalism: grassroots activism from the spotted owl to the polar bear.
Washington, DC: Island Press.
Brooks, T.M.; Mittermeier, R.A.; da Fonseca, G.A.B.; Gerlach, J.; Hoffmann, M.; Lamoreux, J.F.; Mittermeier, C.G.; Pilgrim,
J.D.; Rodrigues, A.S.L. 2006. Global biodiversity conservation priorities. Science 313(5783): 58-61.
Lorimer, C.G.; Porter, D.J.; Madej, M.A.; Stuart, J.D.; Veirs, S.D.; Norman, S.P.; O’Hara, K.L.; Libby, W.J. 2009.
Presettlement and modern disturbance regimes in coast redwood forests: implications for the conservation of old-
growth stands. Forest Ecology and Management 258: 1038-1054.
Mace, G.M.; Collar, N.J.; Gaston, K.J.; Hilton-Taylor, C.; Akҫakaya, H.R.; Leader-Williams, N.; Milner-Gulland, E.J.; Stuart,
S.N. 2008. Quantification of extinction risk: IUCN’s system for classifying threatened species. Conservation Biology.
22(6): 1424-1442.
Rodrigues, A.S.L.; Pilgrim, J.D.; Lamoreux, J.F.; Hoffman, M.; Brooks, T.M. 2006. The value of the IUCN Red List for
conservation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 21(2): 71-76.
Schrepfer, S.R. 1983. The Fight to Save the Redwoods: A History of Environmental Reform 1917-1978. Madison, WI:
University of Wisconsin Press.
Save the Redwoods League (SRL). 2016. Threats to Redwoods. Webpage. Available:
https://www.savetheredwoods.org/about-us/faqs/the-threats-to-the-redwoods/.
Van Pelt, R.; Sillett, S.C.; Kruse, W.A.; Freund, J.A.; Kramer, R.D. 2016. Emergent crowns and light-use complementarity
lead to global maximum biomass and leaf area in Sequoia sempervirens forests. Forest Ecology and Management
375: 279-308
Vie, J.-C.; Hilton-Taylor, C.; Pollock, C.; Ragle, J.; Smart, J.; Stuart, S.N.; Tong, R. 2008. The IUCN Red List: a key
conservation tool. In: Vie, J.-C.; Hilton-Taylor, C.; Stuart, S.N. (eds). The 2008 Review of the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species. IUCN Gland, Switzerland.