CONTENTS

Completed Research

Application of Gap Analysis procedures to facilitate biodiversity conservation planning in the Hudson River Valley

The primary objective of this project was to facilitate planning for biodiversity conservation in the Hudson River Valley (HRV).

In the first phase of this project, we compiled natural resources information for the HRV. Databases related to land cover-, vertebrate-, and public land distributions were developed from existing New York Gap Analysis data. Additional field data were collected as needed.

In the second phase of this project, a GAP Analysis of the Hudson River Valley was performed. The following content and context questions were addressed:
Comparison of HRV with the rest of New York:
• How many and which terrestrial vertebrates and vegetative associations (or superalliances) are found in the HRV? What proportion of the “fine-filter” (i.e., species) and “coarse-filter” (i.e., vegetative associations or superalliances) elements of New York biodiversity are represented in the HRV?
• Are there any terrestrial vertebrate species or vegetative community associations (or superalliances) found only in the HRV and nowhere else in New York? If so, what are they and where are they found?
Comparison of HRV counties with each other:
• What is the ranking of counties in the HRV for the elements of biodiversity represented within their boundaries at both fine-filter and coarse-filter levels, from most diverse to least diverse?
• Which county has the most amphibian species? Reptile species? Bird species? Mammal species?
• Within the HRV, which species and vegetative types are well represented on public lands and which taxa are poorly or not represented on public lands?
• What is the ranking of public lands in the HRV for the elements of biodiversity represented within their boundaries, at both fine-filter and coarse-filter levels, from the most diverse to least diverse?
Gap Analysis questions:
• Where are the centers of high terrestrial vertebrate and vegetative diversity and where are they located relative to public lands?
• Are there “gaps”, where we have regions of high biodiversity in the absence of public land status?

This project was conducted in cooperation with the New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and the New York State Department of Conservation and is funded by the Hudson River Estuary Program.

Results can be found in the following publications:
Smith, C.R., S.D. DeGloria, M.E. Richmond, S.K. Gregory, M. Laba, and S.D. Smith, J.L. Braden, W.P. Brown, and E.A. Hill. 2001. An application of Gap Analysis procedures to facilitate planning for biodiversity conservation in the Hudson River Valley, Final Report. New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.