U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Broad-Scale Assessments of Ecological Landscapes— 

Developing Methods and Applications

ISSN 2327-6932 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20153007

Public lands are subject to increasingly complex and widespread environmental stressors that transcend traditional 

management boundaries. To address these challenges, the U.S. 

Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM) is developing a Landscape Approach for managing multiple 

uses of public lands and sustained yield of their renewable natural 

resources. The BLM Landscape Approach incorporates multiscale 

information to quantify the effects of natural and human influences 

on natural resource conditions and trends. A primary goal of the 

approach is to identify opportunities for resource conservation, 

restoration, and development. By quantifying and synthesizing 

information across regions, the Landscape Approach is useful 

for identifying important ecological resources and quantifying 

the effects of environmental change that may not be evident at 

finer scales. Ecological resources can include important wildlife 

habitats and ecological communities, as well as pristine or unique 

areas that have high conservation potential.

Aspen landscape near Fairplay, Colorado. Photograph by Tasha 

Carr, USGS, 2014.

Sagebrush in Wyoming. Photograph by Cameron Aldridge, 

Colorado State University, 2010.

Fact Sheet 2015–3007

February 2015

The BLM Landscape Approach is closely aligned with the 

DOI’s “A Strategy for Improving the Mitigation Policies and 

Practices of The Department of the Interior,” also referred to as 

the Landscape-Scale Mitigation Strategy (Landscape Strategy). A 

primary objective of the DOI Landscape Strategy is to shift from 

project-level to broad-scale, science-based management that helps 

to avoid, minimize, and compensate for adverse effects to natural 

resources. The BLM Landscape Approach addresses the following 

key components outlined by the DOI Landscape Strategy: develop 

assessment methods that promote consistency in management 

decisions, identify ecological characteristics that promote ecosystem 

resilience under rapidly changing environmental conditions, and 

foster collaboration among land management agencies. 

The BLM Landscape Approach and the DOI Landscape 

Strategy recognize the need for methods and tools to quantify 

landscape-level effects across a range of spatial scales. Such 

effects include the consequences of human activities on the 

spatial patterning and dynamics of ecological communities and 

wildlife habitats.

A major component of the BLM Landscape Approach is the 

Rapid Ecoregional Assessment (REA) program. REAs identify 

important ecosystems and determine where these resources are 

at risk from development, climate change, wildfire, invasive 

species, and other environmental stressors that can affect the 

integrity of ecological systems. Development of methods to 

quantify landscape intactness or condition is a primary goal 

of the REAs. Such information is crucial for establishing 

regional strategies and identifying areas that have potential for 

conservation, restoration, or development. 

Since 2010, BLM has initiated or completed 15 REAs, 

with additional assessments planned for the near future.

By design, the initial REA guidelines allowed considerable 

flexibility to address local information needs and to foster 

innovation. Federal and state agencies and nongovernmental 

organizations provided guidance on appropriate and relevant 

assessment methods. They also provided vital feedback on the 

successes and challenges encountered in conducting the REAs 

and applying the results to management decisions. 

Building on the lessons learned from completed or current 

REAs, the BLM, in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey, 

will perform systematic comparisons of REA methods to identify 

the most promising suite of landscape-level analysis tools. In 

addition, the BLM and USGS will develop practical applications 

that demonstrate how to incorporate assessment information to 

address existing management issues, such as cumulative effects 

of proposed management actions, as required by the National 

Environmental Policy Act. 
The outcome of these efforts will be a set of comprehensive 

technical guidance documents for conducting and applying 

broad-scale assessments. The guidance documents are 

intended to identify scientifically defensible methods, 

promote consistency and transparency in management 

decisions at multiple scales, and demonstrate how information 

from regional assessments can be applied within and 

across jurisdictions. Continued partnerships with multiple 

governmental and nongovernmental organizations are essential 

for identifying common information needs, relevant assessment 

methods to meet those needs, and management applications. 

This set of guidance documents is expected to benefit natural 

resource managers, contribute to the development of the BLM 

Landscape Approach, and support the objectives of the DOI 

Landscape Strategy.

Technical Guidance for Broad-Scale Assessments

The primary components of the proposed technical 

guidance documents include (1) the assessment scoping 

process, (2) a broad-scale assessment framework, (3) geospatial 

analysis methods and approaches, and (4) integration of the 

BLM Landscape Approach into natural resource management.

The Assessment Scoping Process

The scoping process identifies and prioritizes the 

management issues, species or ecological communities, and 

risks or stressors, to be addressed. This includes development 

of the ecological foundation needed to conduct a geospatial 

assessment. To ensure the most relevant and scientifically 

North Slope

Central Yukon

Yukon

Kuskokwim

Seward

Peninsula

Ecoregion boundary

Northwestern Plains

Southern Great Plains

Central

Basin and Range

Northern Great Basin

Middle

Rockies

Wyoming Basin

Chihuahuan

Desert

Colorado

Plateau

Sonoran Desert

Mojave

Basin and

Range

Madrean

Archipelago

300 KILOMETERS

300 MILES

0

0

150

150

Bureau of Land Management Rapid 

Ecoregional Assessments (REA) 

initiated or completed as of 2014. 

Map modified from BLM. 

Example of an assessment framework for the Wyoming Basin 

Rapid Ecoregional Assessment. Change Agents such as 

development, invasive species, fire, and climate change, are 

defined as risks or stressors to natural systems.

Where are the key ecological

attributes of its habitat?

Core Management

Questions

Integrated Management

Questions

Where are the relevant

Change Agents?

How do Change Agents affect the key

ecological attributes of habitat?

What is the distribution of the species of concern?

Where are areas with high

landscape-level values?

Where are areas with high

landscape-level risks?

Where are areas with high conservation,

restoration, or development potential?

robust products are developed, additional guidelines will be 

useful for prioritizing assessment components and products. 

In particular, the use of selection criteria for identifying 

and prioritizing regional ecological resources will foster 

transparency and help agencies and stakeholders meet their 

priorities, while providing documentation of the decision 

process used in establishing priorities for the assessment. 

Regional assessments require collaboration and mutual 

learning between land managers and scientists. Land managers 

have knowledge of the priority information needed for 

management decisions, whereas scientists can evaluate the 

feasibility and scientific validity of assessment methods. 

Typically, clarification of management issues requires multiple 

opportunities to obtain feedback on proposed methods and 

preliminary products to address information needs. Such 

feedback provides proof of concept and demonstrates the 

relevance to end users, thereby improving acceptance and 

integration into decisionmaking.

A Broad-Scale Assessment Framework

An assessment framework can be beneficial by providing 

a clear and concise overview of the assessment process. The 

framework would identify a set of general management and 

conservation issues applicable to broad-scale assessments, 

include a suite of common datasets and methods, and 

generate products that can be used across multiple regions 

and jurisdictions. The assessment framework can also clarify 

the workflow and establish templates for documenting and 

organizing the assessment components and methods. Such a 

framework will promote consistency across jurisdictions and 

help improve understanding of relevant management issues, yet 

allow flexibility to address local information needs. To enhance 

communication, the framework will provide clear definitions of 

terms and concepts relevant to regional assessments.
Golden eagle overlooking the Snake River Gorge, Idaho. Photo by Aldis Garsvo, Mountain Post—Digital Imaging.

Geospatial Analysis Methods and Approaches

A suite of standard approaches for REAs and other broadscale assessments would encourage consistency among ecoregions, 

while allowing flexibility to address regional management priorities. 

For example, this could include a set of geospatial analyses that 

quantify landscape intactness or condition. Scientists with applied 

expertise in summarizing and modeling at broad spatial scales will 

be invited to evaluate methods and approaches for use in regional 

assessments. The development of additional standardized indices, 

such as an index of ecological integrity, could improve consistency 

and facilitate comparisons across ecoregion boundaries. 

To facilitate multiscale decisionmaking, the guidance would 

identify appropriate scales of analysis for REAs. In addition, 

clarification of the accuracy and resolution of source data and 

results will help to ensure that assessment products are applied 

at appropriate spatial scales. Because there are substantial data 

limitations for most ecological resources and risks, management 

Indices of Landscape Intactness or Condition used for Rapid Ecoregional Assessments. Left panel: the Mojave Basin and Range ecoregion 

(map modified from NatureServe); Right panel: the Colorado Plateau ecoregion (map modified from Conservation Biology Institute).

decisions can benefit from improved understanding of how such 

uncertainty affects our ability to evaluate current conditions and 

develop realistic future scenarios.

Integrating the Landscape Approach into Natural Resource 

Management

Technical assistance, guidance, and support are needed for 

managers interested in using multiscale information in planning 

or decisions. Examples of REA applications for developing 

Resource Management Plans and project-level evaluations can 

provide guidance on the use of REAs. Initial guidance and test 

applications of REA data will help land managers incorporate 

broad multiscale information into planning and management 

decisions. Expanding the scales of information used for 

decisions will help managers move beyond the current projectlevel focus of analyses to address issues that span broad spatial 

scales and administrative boundaries.

Very high

High

Moderately high

Moderately low

Low

Very low

Terrestrial Landscape

Intactness

UTAH COLORADO

ARIZONA NEW MEXICO

EXPLANATION

0 25 50 MILES

0 25 50 KILOMETERS

Landscape Condition

Index

EXPLANATION

NEVADA UTAH

CALIFORNIA ARIZONA

Very high

High

Moderate

Low

Very low

WA

OR

CA

ID

MT

UT

NV

AZ

NM

WY

CO
Sonoran desert tortoise in Arizona. Photograph from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

In Conclusion

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Landscape 

Strategy aims to establish a common landscape-scale 

approach among the DOI bureaus to ensure consistent policies 

and practices and more effectively balance development 

activities with conservation of natural resources. The Bureau 

of Land Management (BLM) Landscape Approach, the 

Rapid Ecoregional Assessments, and the proposed technical 

guidance documents for conducting and applying broadscale assessments directly support a collaborative process 

that specifically addresses four desired outcomes of the DOI 

Landscape Strategy, as outlined below.

Geospatial Assessments 

The development of a geospatial information system 

is needed for identifying existing and potential conservation 

priorities as well as development opportunities. The information 

system includes geospatial analysis and decision-support tools and 

guidelines to facilitate application at appropriate spatial scales.

Landscape-Level Strategies 

Geospatial tools and data are essential for developing 

landscape-level strategies that encompass the three-step 

hierarchy to avoid, minimize, and compensate for adverse 

impacts from major development activities including energy 

and infrastructure, minerals, and water resources development. 

Additional Information 

For inquiries about the BLM Rapid 

Ecoregional Assessments and the 

Landscape Approach, please visit

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/

Landscape_Approach/reas.html.

Tasha Carr

U.S. Geological Survey

Fort Collins Science Center

(970) 226-9446, carrn@usgs.gov

Zack Bowen

U.S. Geological Survey

Fort Collins Science Center

(970) 226-9218, bowenz@usgs.gov

David Wood

Bureau of Land Management

National Operations Center

(303) 236-5431, dwood@blm.gov

Travis Haby

Bureau of Land Management

Colorado State Office

(303) 239-3714, thaby@blm.gov

ISSN 2327-6932 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20153007

Contact Information

Compensatory Mitigation Programs 

Accessible and transparent multiscale information 

is critical to developing landscape-level strategic goals. 

Identification of ecological characteristics that promote 

ecosystem resilience is a crucial information need for 

management of the Nation’s resources.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Geospatial systems and data sources are necessary for 

landscape-scale monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of 

mitigation strategies. Development of metrics and benchmarks 

for use in monitoring changes in the condition and landscape 

patterns of terrestrial and aquatic systems will help inform the 

application of the DOI Landscape Strategy.

Reference

Clement, J.P., Belin, Alletta, d’A., Bean, M.J., Boling, 

T.A., and Lyons, J.R., 2014, A strategy for improving 

the mitigation policies and practices of The Department 

of the Interior—A report to the Secretary of the Interior 

from the Energy and Climate Change Task Force: 

Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of the Interior, Energy 

and Climate Change Task Force, 25 p., http://www.doi.

gov/news/upload/Mitigation-Report-to-the-Secretary_

FINAL_04_08_14.pdf.