Executive Summary

Prior to November 2010, when The Intertwine Alliance launched the Regional Conservation Strategy (RCS) and Biodiversity Guide (RBG) efforts for the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region, conservation priorities in the metropolitan region were identified at a broad regional scale that generally excluded urban areas (e.g., state conservation strategies and Willamette Synthesis); were regional but based solely on expert opinion (e.g., Natural Features); and consisted of localized priorities that abruptly ended at jurisdiction boundaries. The goal of the RCS was to fill in the gaps between broad and local scales of information related to conservation priorities. RCS members envisioned a data-driven approach that could add a regional perspective to local efforts and facilitate cross-scale cooperation toward protecting remaining valuable habitat in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region. Also, RCS members expected that the product would complement rather than replace local knowledge, by validating what is known and expanding to areas that are less well known.

The RCS Technical Working Group worked with the Institute for Natural Resources to develop a land cover layer at a spatial resolution appropriate for highly fragmented areas (5m versus the typical 30m), then to develop a conservation priority model that addressed conservation needs. Several key products resulted from the project: the High-value Habitat Model describing high-value habitat within the metropolitan region, the Riparian Habitat Model describing high-value habitat adjacent to streams and rivers, and the high spatial resolution land cover data set describing land cover at a 5 m spatial resolution. In June 2011, INR completed an initial proof-of-concept product describing high value conservation areas in the Portland-Vancouver region. The product demonstrated a methodology that enabled stakeholder involvement while also being data-driven. In May 2012, a second version of this product was completed. While the product is considered final at this time, it is expected and hoped that the models and data will be updated and improved upon into the future as more funds and better information becomes available so that the product functions as a “living work” rather than a one-time snapshot in time.

Among the data used, the habitat prioritization modeling makes use of multiple data sets including high, 5 m spatial resolution imagery, improving on past efforts that were mapped at 30 m spatial resolution and nationally available data. The 5 m spatial resolution allows users to distinguish individual features on the landscape, such as large tree canopies. Because urban landscapes are widely diverse in terms of the vegetation types and types of surfaces (e.g., sidewalks, rooftops, plants, etc.), and many materials may be located in small areas, high resolution spatial data is essential to understanding and cataloging urban areas. The nationally available data allows the products to use spatially consistent data across the whole metropolitan region. Local data sets were used to supplement region-wide data sets.

Data Summary

The RCS extent was derived by a combination of Hydrologic units both Watershed Boundaries and Subwatershed Boundaries. The intent was to reach from the foothills of the Cascades over to the foothills of the Coast Range and from the East Fork of the Lewis River to south of the metro UGB.

Data sources used to develop the extent were based off the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) http://www.ncgc.nrcs.usda.gov/products/datasets/watershed/index.html

For more information, please refer to the Technical Report available from The Intertwine Alliance website (http://theintertwine.org/), Clean Water Services, and Metro.