This presentation is part of the Landscape Conservation Planning and Prioritization Organized Session.
NYSDEC's Great Lakes Program is leading a pilot effort to develop ecosystem-based management (EBM) plans for two watersheds of regional interest, Cattaraugus Creek and Sterling-Wolcott Creek watersheds. These watersheds were identified as regional priorities for EBM by GLAA sub basin work groups, and will be proving grounds for demonstrating a collaborative, EBM approach at the watershed scale. The Integrated Watershed Action Plans (IWAPs) are based on NOAA's Integrated Ecosystem Assessment framework for applying EBM and actions identified will directly support NY's Great Lakes Action Agenda. This framework includes identifying watershed goals, identifying and evaluating indicators of ecosystem conditions, identifying and characterizing ecosystem risks, as well as working with stakeholders to identify management strategies and projects that align with the needs of the watershed and overarching framework of the GLAA. Over 100 different existing data sets were compiled to evaluate the current status of ecosystem services as well as direct and indirect drivers of change. Across the two IWAPs, several dozen actions of watershed-scale impact were identified.
The Sterling-Wolcott watershed is centrally located on the southern shoreline of Lake Ontario and is exemplary of many ecological services and management issues encountered on Great Lakes shorelines. While this IWAP explores ecological processes and management risks along the shoreline, it also considers key linkages between the coast and interior portions of the watershed. For example, significant coastal fish and wildlife habitats are protected by coastal barrier systems however these systems require additional study as several have been breeched during 2017 and 2019 flood events and important sediment sources are being lost. Overall, wetlands comprise approximately 14% of the Sterling-Wolcott watershed, however, hydric soils cover approximately 43% of the watershed area, which suggests that there is a significant opportunity for wetland restoration and improved habitat connectivity between inland and coastal systems. Forests comprise 41% of the Sterling-Wolcott watershed and play a key role in regulating water quality and quantity flowing to the coastal systems, however forest regeneration in the watershed is poor which is concerning for long term forest resilience. Conservation planning and implementation through New York’s Agricultural Environmental Management program (Tiers 3A, 3B, 3C and 5B) tends to be below 10% on agricultural lands comprising the Sterling-Wolcott watershed, which means that there is a significant opportunity for expanded actions to protect the quality of water flowing to the coastal system. Historical agricultural expansion has been a key part of the cumulative factors (including development and lake level regulation) that have led to the expansion of invasive cattail within the coastal wetlands, which further underscores the important linkages between interior and coastal watershed processes. This presentation will explore the process of developing the Sterling-Wolcott IWAP, the ecosystem indicator and risk analyses, as well as recommended projects emerging from this effort.
