Using spatial analysis to drive reserve design: a case study of a national wildlife refuge in Indiana and Illinois (USA)

Our refuge design strategy involves a landscape approach formulated to complement existing management efforts and employ restoration in the heavily degraded Kankakee River watershed in northeastern Indiana and northwestern Illinois. The watershed historically contained an approximately 400,000 ha wetland (Grand Marsh), a diverse riverine system, oak savanna, and prairie. Today only fragments of these habitats remain. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service developed a preliminary project proposal (PPP) during the summer of 1996 to protect and restore habitat within the watershed by establishing the Grand Kankakee Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. The Indiana and Illinois Gap Analysis projects provided the resources to move beyond the expert workshop approach to a data-driven method for initial reserve design. Using visual analysis of various Gap Analysis data layers, we established 'Focus Areas' that formed the basis for the Environmental Assessment and the Economic Impact Study required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We have initiated Phase II of the reserve design analysis using preliminary results of the Indiana Gap Analysis project and C-Plan software in conjunction with the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service.