Habitat and Population Evaluation Team (HAPET)

HAPET began with ducks, and many people think HAPET only works with waterfowl. In reality, HAPET staff have been working with non-waterfowl species for more than 20 years and have developed models and decision-support tools for dozens of non-waterfowl species. Nevertheless, ducks are the foundation of wetland and grassland conservation in the PPJV, as they are the primary source of conservation funding in the region.

Waterfowl conservation planning efforts provide data, processing power, and examples that have aided model development for many other species, including grassland birds, shorebirds, marshbirds and threatened and endangered species. HAPET gained extensive experience supporting programs that deliver on-the-ground grassland conservation for waterfowl, which translates into increased expertise and efficiency for conservation of non-waterfowl birds.

Strategic Planning & Delivery

HAPET actions are not random, but are part of a comprehensive process that includes communication, strategic planning, identification and evaluation of assumptions and uncertainties, and filling of information gaps. This provides a coordinated strategy for understanding waterfowl populations and how to best conserve them using available conservation treatments. HAPET conservation planning products reflect a commitment to strategic habitat conservation (SHC), where monitoring and research, biological planning, conservation design, and conservation delivery follow an iterative and adaptive cycle. In fact, HAPET was one of the models for development of SHC and the adoption of landscape-level conservation planning within the USFWS.

Strategic Habitat Conservation

The SHC framework remains core to everything HAPET does. The foundations of SHC and landscape-scale conservation planning used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are greatly informed by HAPET. For example, HAPET staff assisted with development of the National Ecological Assessment Team report and the final SHC report. Numerous HAPET products were used to inform and illustrate concepts for Service publications about SHC.

Targeting Conservation

HAPET models and decision-support tools for waterfowl, other migratory birds, pollinators and threatened and endangered species are widely used by internal and external partners to inform conservation and support competitive grant applications. But many people don’t know that millions of dollars conserving hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands and grasslands have been brought to Region 6 based on the strength of HAPET models, decision-support tools, and partnerships.

Evaluating Conservation

Determining the biological benefits resulting from conservation efforts is important for demonstrating the value of programs, engaging partners, and garnering support, both internally and externally. Many program assessments take place at local scales, which provide accurate results but are difficult to implement across the broad geographies associated with landscape-level conservation. By using spatial models, HAPET can evaluate conservation efforts across broad geographies, quantify benefits, and identify places for improvement. 

Evaluating Loss & Risk

Understanding factors influencing wetland and grassland loss and being able to predict risk of future loss are critical to effective and efficient conservation of priority trust species. HAPET is working on multiple projects – several in conjunction with the USDA – that assess  conversion risk. Tools we develop can be used to guide placement of CRP, project future landscape conditions, and optimize conservation actions to benefit populations of priority trust species.

Climate

The specter of climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change looms large across the globe, but especially in the Great Plains, where already tenuous moisture conditions, intensifying land use, and availability of drought-resistant crops are greatly affecting wetland and grassland-dependent wildlife. HAPET is working on multiple analyses and cooperative projects investigating how climate change might affect wildlife populations, along with possible solutions to limit negative consequences of climate change on priority species.

Bird Populations

Collecting and analyzing bird survey data are not only critical to understanding population status and trends but also to effective conservation planning and management as well as development of species distribution models and spatially explicit decision-support tools. HAPET is involved with a variety of survey efforts related to migratory birds, ranging from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) to regional and local efforts that assess trends, habitat use, potential stressors, and effects of roads and survey timing on detection.

Evaluating Stressors

Most waterfowl and grassland bird species of the Prairie Pothole Region evolved in open environments free from trees or human infrastructure. Many local studies suggest that migratory birds avoid tall anthropogenic structures such as wind turbines and radio towers, as well as areas of human activity such as urban areas, roads, and well pads for extracting oil and gas. Broad-scale effects of infrastructure on bird populations are poorly known, but HAPET staff and partners are working to better understand how roads, oil extraction, and wind turbines affect these populations, as well as how to best use HAPET models to avoid, minimize, and offset any negative effects of these stressors.