National Gap Analysis Conference 2007

Featuring the Southeast Regional Gap Analysis Project

( Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia)

Call for Special Sessions, Papers and Posters

September 10 – 13, 2007
Renaissance Asheville Hotel
Asheville , North Carolina

Key-Note Speakers

Dr. Mark Myers, 14 th Director of the United States Geological Survey
Gary Myers, Director of the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency 28 years
Robert Ford, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist, Region 4, United States Fish and Wildlife Service

Hosted by

Gap Analysis Program, U.S. Geological Survey

Biodiversity and Spatial Information Center at North Carolina State University
Alabama Gap Analysis Project at Auburn University
Institute of Ecology at the University of Georgia
University of Idaho

Invitation

We invite you to join us for the upcoming National Gap Analysis Program (GAP) conference. The meeting will have presentations and discussions about recent developments and applications from GAP projects across the country. Attendees will learn about the most important environmental issues in the country, particularly in the Southeast, and will discuss how GAP data sets can be applied to natural resource management, conservation, stewardship, planning and decision-making.

A special symposium will focus on conservation issues in the Southeastern U.S. and the role of Southeast Regional Gap Analysis Project (SEGAP) data for addressing them. This symposium is intended to bring together all interested individuals and agencies to explore the highest priority management and conservation needs in this region and to discuss how data resources can be used to resolve these needs.

Who Should Attend

Individuals involved in conservation assessment, resource management and biodiversity research should plan to attend in order to learn about and interact with others interested in:

• The Southeast GAP Project;
• Conservation issues specific to the Southeast;
• The latest analyses using the Southwest GAP data;
• The Northwest and Northeast GAP Projects;
• Recently completed state projects;
• Representatives from any state interested in the uses of GAP data (particularly those working on the State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy Plans);
• Anyone involved in Gap Analysis projects who are interested or knowledgeable about the general applicability of GAP data sets;
• Research scientists, biologists, ecologists, data developers, educators;
• Professionals from conservation agencies focused on remote sensing, GIS, vegetation, classification, land stewardship, and the predictive modeling of species distributions.

Program Background

The mission of the GAP is to assist natural resource planners, managers, and policy makers in making informed decisions by providing spatially-explicit biological diversity information. The Program is designed to identify “gaps” in the existing network of protected lands by quantifying the degree to which native vertebrate species and plant communities are represented in that network. GAP data and associated analytical tools are currently used in many applications, from basic scientific research to land management, conservation planning, and State Wildlife Action Plans.

This conference will include a special symposium featuring the seamless datasets for the nine Southeastern states ( Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia) developed by the GAP. The primary focus will be on the use of land cover, predicted species habitat information, and land management stewardship data in natural resource management applications. Presentations will highlight the results of the Southeastern Gap Analysis Project for plant communities and vertebrate species.

Goals and Objectives

The goal of this meeting is to highlight the conservation efforts of the National Gap Analysis Program, particularly the efforts of the Southeast Gap Analysis Project and to hear from all interested federal, state and other agencies about their management issues, specifically with regard to how biological data are used in management, conservation, and decision-making. This will be an opportunity for agency professionals to learn more about the Southeast Gap Analysis Project, the National Gap Analysis Program, and for GAP professionals to hear about challenges faced by program leaders involved in the management and conservation of natural resources in the Southeast and elsewhere. Our intent is to bring together all interested individuals, groups, and agencies to delve into the highest priority management and conservation needs in the Southeast.

Our objectives of the meeting include:

• Sharing information about data collected and analyses performed in the Southeastern Gap Analysis Project and ideas regarding their applications;
• Obtaining feedback from those who have used, or could use, GAP data regarding its usefulness and potential improvements;
• Obtaining feedback from land and resource managers about their programs, priorities, and their data and research needs;
• Defining collaborative application opportunities with managers, technicians, and scientists across the country regarding GAP-related projects of mutual interest.

Location of Meeting

The National Gap Analysis Conference 2007 will be held in Asheville, North Carolina, at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel on September 10-13, 2007.

Presentations and Posters

Presentations and posters selected for sessions will demonstrate and evaluate (1) newly completed Southeast Gap Analysis Project, products, and applications, (2) applications and products from other state GAP projects, (3) new and emerging approaches to solving problems with scientific data and analyses, and (4) future challenges for providing data to help land management agencies such as EPA, BLM, NRCS, USFS, NPS and FWS. Papers and posters should stimulate group discussion and identify program needs for research, development, new standards, or potential applications to management and conservation. Papers and posters must be original work relevant to one of the topics below and paper presentations may be no more than 20-minutes allowing 5 minutes for questions. Poster size is limited to 3' x 4' (for larger layout you must make special arrangements).

Potential topics:

• Ongoing activities within the USGS, FWS, EPA, BLM, USFS, NRCS or other agencies that are dependent upon or could be improved with better data related to the distribution and relative protection of biodiversity.
• Land conservation efforts involving local governments and private/public partnerships, including Land Trusts, non-governmental conservation organizations using GAP data in planning.
• GAP’s role in support of the State Wildlife Action Plans.
• Identifying data needs specific to the increasing role of prescribed burning in habitat management.
• Aquatic Gap Analysis Projects and the application of gap analysis to freshwater, marine and estuarine systems.
• Importance of GAP for the National Fish Habitat Initiative.
• Aquatic habitat risk assessment.
• Predictive modeling for aquatic species and habitats.
• The challenge of incorporating global climate change in planning for the long-term persistence of species and plant communities.
• Products developed by the Southeast Gap Analysis Project and how managers could use these.
• Demonstration of the applicability of GAP data to natural resource planning, management, and conservation.
• Current status of the GAP and its ongoing projects, such as state projects, research projects, and data availability through NBII.

Abstracts must be 300 words or less and should include a title, name(s) of author(s), and affiliation(s) of author(s), links to related websites, as well as audiovisual needs. For examples, see: http://gapanalysis.nbii.gov. All papers and posters will be selected by peer review. Send your submissions via email to nnell@uidaho.edu by March 1, 2007. Please indicate whether you are submitting an abstract for a presentation or poster or if you would be willing to do a poster if time limits the number of presentations.

Workshops and Special Sessions

We invite proposals for workshops relevant to natural resource management and conservation issues in the Southeast or related to the general applicability of GAP data to management issues. These may include demonstrations of data products, applications of process models or sheer application tools. Workshop proposals should describe the purpose, content, duration, the proposed maximum number of participants, and any special computer or equipment needs required to hold the workshop. For a special session provide a title and descriptive abstract of 300 words or less. Send your submissions via email to nnell@uidaho.edu by March 1, 2007.

Web Publishing of Presentations and Posters

All presentation, slides, overhead visual aids, and posters must be made available in digital form for Web viewing. Presentations can be submitted as PowerPoint, or PDF files. Overheads and posters can be submitted in PowerPoint, jpg, or PDF format. Submit your material via FTP or e-mail to nnell@uidaho.edu by September 1, 2007.

Dates to Remember

Deadline for submitting abstracts for special sessions,
papers, posters or proposals for workshops: 3/1/2007

Notification of abstract acceptance: 4/16/2007

Deadline for submitting all materials in digital format: 9/1/2007

Registration

Registration information will follow. If you want to receive any details about registration and meeting logistics in the interim, contact Nicole Coffey-Nell at 208-885-3555 or send e-mail to nnell@uidaho.edu.

 For more information regarding the Gap Analysis Program and its application in the Southeastern U.S. please consult our Web sites at:

 http://gapanalysis.nbii.gov
(National Gap Analysis Program)

 www.basic.ncsu.edu/segap
(Southeast Gap Analysis Project)

www.basic.ncsu.edu/ncgap
( North Carolina Gap Analysis Project at North Carolina State University)

www.auburn.edu/academic/forestry_wildlife/alabama_gap_analysis_project
( Alabama Gap Analysis Project at Auburn University)

 http://narsal.ecology.uga.edu/gap.html
( Institute of Ecology at the University of Georgia)