CICEET Progress Report for the period 9/01/08 Through 2/15/09

Project Title: Collaborative Learning and Land Use Tools to Support Community Based Ecosystem Management
Principal Investigator(s): Wells NERR - Christine Feurt, Tin Smith, Zack Steele, Jacob Aman; Town of Sanford - Jim Gulnac; Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission - Jamie Oman-Saltmarsh
Project Start Date: November 2007
Report Compiled By: Christine Feurt, Ph.D. will assistance from investigative team

Project Objectives for This Reporting Period
Tier I of the project applies land use technologies including geospatial tools and visualization technology to the development of a Conservation Plan for Sanford, Maine.

Tier II of the project includes the development and piloting of regional training on the use of Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) Tools for land use planning.

Objectives
Objectives for Tier I addressed during this period
1. As a consequence of applying geospatial tools, predictive models, and visualization technology, in the context of planning processes using Collaborative Learning, municipal decision makers in Sanford will understand and discuss spatial and temporal aspects of land use decisions that relate to the sustainability of water resources, habitat and biodiversity identified as valuable by the community.

2. Using products generated by land use planning tools, the Comprehensive Plan and other resources, Planning Board members, land trust members, municipal staff and other citizens will develop a Conservation Plan. The plan will identify opportunities for mutually beneficial regional collaboration on land use issues and consider appropriate strategies such as zoning; ordinance development and transfer of development rights to achieve plan goals.

3. Collaborative Learning will facilitate municipal efforts to identify ways to incorporate resource protection strategies into economic development decisions. Encouraging participation by relevant stakeholders, providing multiple opportunities and venues for collaboration and implementing a transparent process for developing the Conservation Plan for Sanford, will support this.

During the period from October 2008 through February 2009 the Sanford Conservation Plan Steering Committee, consisting of representatives from the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) Coastal Training Program, Stewardship and GIS Sectors, the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission (SMRPC), and staff from the Town of Sanford worked to develop the conceptual framework for the Sanford Conservation Plan. The first draft of the plan, including GIS layers will be presented to the Sanford Planning Board on March 4th.

The Senior Planner from SMRPC used Community Viz to develop a build out analysis of Sanford to complement the work on the Conservation Plan. This addition to the project was funded by the Town of Sanford and will be used to project build out potential under a no-action alternative in the Conservation Plan. A critical lesson from this aspect of the project is to link the conservation planning and build out analysis tools of Community Viz to create scenarios that provide a spatial comparison among what community members consider important conservation values, where those values manifest in the landscape in the form of ecosystem services provided by natural systems and the patterns of development expected from current zoning and land use policy.

During this period, refinement of the GIS layers associated with the plan continued in response to stakeholder, planning team and conservation partner input. The Mousam Way Land trust, one of the two local land trusts working in Sanford, provided hand drawn maps of priority conservation areas. These maps included unique species assemblages and rare and endangered species. That material was digitized and added to the existing database. This event underscored the importance of including locally relevant data and providing technical support needed to transfer local scale data that has been ground-truthed in the field by key participants in the stakeholder process. State generated GIS habitat data from the Beginning With Habitat program was part of the data set for the Community Viz process. Because the Mousam Way Land Trust maps weren’t digitized they were not included in the early data layers generated for the stakeholder process. Analysis of local conservation knowledge from narratives, reports and hand drawn maps should be made while conducting a public process so that relevant information can be translated into a GIS format and adapted for use with decision support tools. The hand drawn maps represented years of field research by the local land trust whose president holds a Ph. D. in botany. Because the Community Viz process privileges digital information, additional effort was required to incorporate non-digital local knowledge into the decision-making process.

Two presentations to Sanford community groups provided additional input in to the planning process. The planning team identified the local Rotary and Kiwanis clubs aa business oriented community groups with the potential to provide input into the planning process. These two groups include Sanford business leaders and members whose primary orientation focuses on business and economic issues, not toward conservation as a primary focus, as with many members of the stakeholder process. These presentations consisted of a brief overview of the project and a key pad polling demonstration about the conservation values identified in the stakeholder process. Data from the key pad polling demonstration will be analyzes and compared to key pad polling results generated by the stakeholder group.

4. The Sanford project will serve as a case study/demonstration site for the Coastal Training Program of the Wells NERR. Lessons learned will be used to design future land use trainings and workshops. Participants in the Sanford project will be involved in the delivery of training. This objective is critical to the diffusion of new technologies.

Members of the Sanford Conservation Plan Steering Committee and stakeholders participating in the conservation values planning process include representatives from all levels of government, land trusts, watershed groups, NGOs, business and academia. For the past year these people provided input into the conservation plan process and tested the application of Collaborative Learning, Community Viz, GIS, and Key pad polling within the boundaries of the project, the first of its kind in the region. The Steering Committee members from the Wells Reserve used the Key Pad Polling technology in Coastal Training Program events described below in the section dealing with ecosystem management (EBM).

A presentation about the Sanford Conservation Planning process given to the annual Maine Watershed Manager’s Roundtable reached twenty watershed management practitioners from throughout Maine.

A presentation about the project for Coastal Training Program coordinators at the NERR system annual meeting reached 20 CTPs coordinators from reserves across the country.

A presentation at the Restore America's Estuaries Conference in Providence, Rhode Island reached 30 restoration and coastal management professionals.

Chris Feurt and Jamie Oman-Salt Marsh participated in the Land Use workshop hosted by CICEET in December 2008.

Objectives for Tier II Addressed October 2008 ­ March 2009
1. Increase the land use technology knowledge, skills and abilities of local, state and federal government staff, academics, consultants and NGOs providing support and oversight to land use decision making.

2. Involve a steering committee of land use decision makers, government staff, consultants, academics and NGOs in the adaptation and design of training using the Ecosystem Based Management Tools Database.

3. Conduct and evaluate regional training in the use and application of the resources of the Ecosystem Based Management Tools Database related to land use planning.

4. Adapt the pilot training to for presentation to additional audiences nationwide as a result of this project

Progress on Objectives
Progress on Objectives for Tier II
During this period Steering Committee members involved in the Sanford Conservation Plan process developed skills using Community Viz and key pad polling technology. The Wells NERR GIS Center, Stewardship and Coastal Training Program staff have been involved in adapting these two technologies to land use decision making. Members of the Maine State Planning Office, Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission and Town of Sanford have increased knowledge and skills related to these tools as a result of this project. Participants in the Sanford Conservation Plan project participated in design of the EBM tools training conducted Fall 2008. The Maine Geological Survey, Maine Coastal Program, Town of York, and Maine Department of Conservation Beginning with Habitat program participated in the focus group meetings to develop the agenda for two EBM Tools Trainings. These two regional training courses attracted participants from the regional target audience. Agendas for each course are included below.

Forty-eight people attended The Practice and Potential of Ecosystem Management workshop on October 22, 2008. The objectives and agenda for the workshop are included below. Analysis of the participant list and evaluations is in progress and will be part of the final report.

Tools to Support Community Based Ecosystem Management
Skill building training for 27 EBM professional occurred on November 19 and 20, 2008. This training was developed with EBM Tools Network member Ken Snyder of Place Matters and Judy Colby-George of Spatial Alternatives, a Maine-based consulting firm. This training focused on capacity and skill building for Community Viz and keypad polling. These technologies emerged from the Sanford Conservation planning process and the needs assessment of coastal managers and land use planners as important land use decision-making tools relevant to issues in Maine. Community planners, resource managers and GIS specialists need tools that support stakeholder participation. They also need tools that assess complex land use decisions in ways that increase transparency and improve understanding of the cumulative impacts of decisions. CommunityViz software, linked with keypad polling technology, supports processes that engage stakeholders and improve decision making in these ways.

Text of Training Announcement and Course Agendas
Wells NERR, in collaboration with Place Matters and Spatial Alternatives, Inc. is offering two days of training on how to use keypad polling and GIS scenario planning tools in Community Based Ecosystem Management.

These trainings will demonstrate the use of keypad polling as well as the scenario-planning tool CommunityViz. Keypad polling is an interactive technology that allows participants to vote on a variety of questions anonymously and see the results instantaneously. Easy-to-use keypads gather opinions, share them with the audience, and facilitate an iterative process to reach consensus. Keypad polling can also be integrated with visualization and maps to allow for more complex analyses.

CommunityViz community planning software provides real-time interactive 3D visuals, intelligent maps and dynamic analysis tools. The trainings will instruct attendees in the use of this tool, which is employed by hundreds of communities and organizations in their decision-making around land use, transportation, and ecosystem-based management.

Data Generated
Data consists of records of stakeholder participation and minutes of meetings, GIS maps, Community Viz data layers and metadata, and keypad polling data. Data related to the Sanford Conservation Planning process will be incorporated into the final Conservation Plan. Training materials and evaluations will be incorporated in the summative evaluation for the pilot training.

Project Objectives for Next Reporting Period
March: Present preliminary Conservation Plan to Sanford Planning Board for review and feedback. Invite all stakeholders who participated in stakeholder process to this meeting.

March ­ May: Incorporate Planning Board feedback into final plan development.

March ­ September: Create a web presence for the Sanford Conservation Plan on the Sanford Town Page, Wells NERR website and other internet locations identified by the steering committee.

Summer: Complete the Sanford Conservation Plan and associated GIS resources.

Summer: Conduct summative evaluation of Sanford Conservation Plan process with steering committee members and interested stakeholders.

March - September: Present findings from Sanford Conservation Planning process and EBM Trainings at regional and national conferences: Maine Water Conference, NEIWPCC, Coastal Zone 09, Coastal Training Program Winter Meeting.

March - September: Apply ADDIE Project Design and Evaluation Framework to EBM Training. Evaluate materials, participant and partner feedback from EBM Trainings in fall 08. Summarize findings on pilot training and recommendations for future EBM training for final report September 2009.

March - June: Develop “Collaborative Learning for EBM” workshop for Coastal Zone 09.

March - September: Consult with EBM Tools Network, NOAA Coastal Services Center about regional approaches to building EBM capacity.

Expenditures
Expenditures are on track for both Tier 1 and Tier 2 objectives. The Maine State Planning Office, Laudholm Trust, and the Town of Sanford provided additional funding to support the project during this period. The EBM Tools network provided funding to support the development and delivery of the EBM Tools training as outlined in the original budget for the grant.

Additional Comments
A February 2009 Snapshot
This section of the report documents the evolving conceptual framework of the project. The RFP provided guidelines for developing an approach to improving land use decision-making at a national scale. Our initial proposal presented our objectives, strategies and work plan for the way our project addresses the national challenge articulated in the RFP. Each six month reporting period provides the opportunity for analysis and reflection about the ways our research is progressing and the degree to which that original conceptual framework holds true or is transforming. The section below is an informal formative evaluation discussing some of the ways our project is transforming as we progress toward the completion of the grant.

The integrative aspects of the project as articulated in the original proposal remain strong.
"This project brings the interdisciplinary orientation of ecosystem management, the information processing rigor of land use planning tools and the communication facilitation principles of Collaborative Learning together to influence the institutions responsible for the system of land use and water quality in the Gulf of Maine. At every stage of the project the knowledge and experience of the diverse stakeholders actively wrestling with land use issues will be treated like a resource." (Feurt, et al., 2006 p.4)

Land use decision-making in Maine occurs within a network of governmental structures, citizen participation, municipal staff and board members. Collaboration among groups with differing missions and mandates, scopes of authority and statutory constraints presents barriers to the incorporation of science in the decision making process (Feurt, 2007). This CICEET project is examining the nature of barriers that block the application of relevant social and biophysical science that has the potential for fostering a holistic or systematic approach to sustainable land use (Public Policy Research Institute, 2007). This examination of barriers occurs at two scales. Tier I examines process at the municipal scale. Tier II examines broad scale barriers that influence the application of EBM practices and tools within the institutional infrastructure that interacts with the municipal land use decision-making system through policy mandates, regulation, funding, provision of technical assistance and generation and application of scientific knowledge.

Tier I of this project is testing ways that the land use decision making processes at the local scale can use collaborative engagement of stakeholders, spatial analysis techniques and technology tools for community engagement to:

1. Engage stakeholders in the process of identifying conservation values important in their community.
2. Apply spatial analysis techniques to locate the areas in the landscape that provide the ecosystem services connected to community conservation values.
3. Show and describe areas of conservation value to municipal land use decision-makers in a plan with associated GIS resources and a suite of conservation strategies that can be used by the town to prioritize actions, form partnerships to achieve conservation goals and secure funding for accomplishing town conservation goals.
4. Facilitate the cognitive connection between traditional economic values associated with land use and the concept of ecosystem services or green infrastructure through the language of the plan and communication strategies about the plan.

Tier II of this project investigates the connections between ecosystem-based management and land use. At the outset of this project, a series of locally relevant surveys identified barriers to the implementation of an EBM approach. As part of this project we met with practitioners from organizations using EBM practices (even if they were not calling them EBM) at a variety of scales in Maine. We used the results of the EBM surveys and our stakeholder meetings to develop trainings that addressed different aspects of implementing an EBM approach. The EBM Tools Network is a partner in the training design providing support for the needs assessment, training design and implementation.

Four EBM focused workshops in the fall of 2008 provided:
1. A review of approaches used to implement EBM
2. Examples of science that supports EBM
3. Skill development associated with application of technology based tools
4. Opportunity for practitioners, tool designers, consultants, scientists and the investigators on this grant to discuss EBM and land use.

A summative evaluation of the four workshops will be conducted during the next reporting period. As identified in our previous project report, cost appears to be the dominant barrier to the application of EBM tools technology with the potential for improving land use decision-making. Tool designers frequently underestimate the expertise gap separating tool designers and targeted end users. Spanning the expertise gap is possible with adequate funding and support for training. However, skill building does not address barriers associated with creating locally relevant data sets. Land use decision-makers attending our trainings in southern Maine want local data used in trainings. Seeing that an EBM tool has been used successfully in Maine overcomes initial resistance to new tools. The next barrier is capacity to use a tool identified as appropriate and desirable.

As a result of CICEET funding for the Sanford Conservation Plan project, we have a local data set and case study based in Maine. The Wells NERR and Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission increased organizational capacity to use EBM tools regionally. As a boundary-spanning organization, facilitating EBM, the Wells NERR could continue to build capacity for EBM tools applied to land use if the costs associated with bridging the expertise gap could be reduced.

We can diffuse lessons learned from this project regionally and nationally over the next year, but the ability of others to adopt our approach is severely constrained by the costs associated with bridging the expertise gap and the time required by local experts to input local data to make a tool relevant. Rapidly developing rural areas like Maine are the places where improved decision-making can make a difference in environmental outcomes that prevent loss of rather that try to restore ecosystem services. These places are frequently the places where the financial resources required by complex tools are unavailable. The financial disparity between the budgets of local land use planning offices and the costs associate with importing outside expertise is staggering. During the remainder of this project the investigators will continue discussions within the NERRS, the EBM Tools Network and NOAA Coastal Service Center to build capacity at the local level were land use decision makers are more directly linked to the landscapes their decisions affect.

References
Feurt, C. 2007.“Protecting Our Children’s Water” Using Cultural Models and Collaborative Learning to Frame and Implement Ecosystem Management. Ph.D. Dissertation submitted to Antioch University New England, Keene, New Hampshire.

Feurt, C., T. Smith, J. Gulnac. 2006. Collaborative Learning and Land Use Tools to Support Community Based Ecosystem Management. Proposal submitted to CICEET.

Public Policy Research Institute, 2007. Responding to Streams of Land Use Disputes: A Systems Approach, Practical Strategies for Planners, Decision-makers, and Stakeholders. Policy Report # 5 of the Public Policy Research Institute and the Consensus Building Institute. University of Montana, Bozeman, Montana.