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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

United States Department of Agriculture

Planning for Land Use and Conservation: 

Assessing GIS-Based Conservation Software 

for Land Use Planning

Rob Baldwin, Ryan Scherzinger, Don Lipscomb, 

Miranda Mockrin, and Susan Stein

Abstract

Recent advances in planning and ecological software make it possible to conduct highly technical 

analyses to prioritize conservation investments and inform local land use planning. We review these 

tools, termed conservation planning tools, and assess the knowledge of a key set of potential users: 

the land use planning community. We grouped several conservation software tools into five themes: 

reserve selection, habitat connectivity, species distribution and viability modeling, threats, and climate forecasting. We found that professional planners frequently use GIS tools and are generally 

aware of conservation planning tools, but few planners are proficient in the use of such tools owing 

to lack of financial support and time for training. We propose that conservation planners and land 

use planners work together to strategically invest resources and maximize the conservation impact 

of land use planning.

Keywords: reserve selection, habitat connectivity, species modeling, climate forecasting, 

conservation planning, land use planning

Rob Baldwin, Ryan Scherzinger, Don Lipscomb, Miranda Mockrin, and Susan Stein. 2014. 

Planning for land use and conservation: Assessing GIS-based conservation software for land 

use planning. Res. Note RMRS-RN-70. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 33 p.

Forest Rocky Mountain Research Note

Service Research Station RMRS-RN-70 November 2014
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Introduction

The challenge to preserve healthy, functioning ecosystems and populations of plant and animal species 

across the planet is daunting; only 15 percent of the earth’s surface is specifically managed for biodiversity 

conservation (Dudley and others 2010, Rodrigues and others 2004). Further, lands that are managed to 

protect species and their habitats are unevenly distributed across ecosystems. For example, the United States 

has a large and well-established system of public lands, managed for various purposes including habitat 

protection. However, most of these lands are concentrated in the West. In much of the United States, particularly in the East, private lands provide a disproportionate amount of high-quality habitat for species and 

ecosystem services; such resources are critical for human well-being as well as wildlife conservation.

While private land conservation efforts have grown rapidly in recent years, the total area of developed land 

(housing and other non-agricultural development) in the United States is still 10 times that of privately 

conserved lands, and land is being converted to residential and urban development at twice the rate that 

it is being protected (Aldrich and Wyerman 2006, NRCS 2007). Strategic management of both public 

and private lands combined is therefore increasingly critical to preserve biodiversity in the United States 

(Newburn and others 2005).

Efforts to conserve biodiversity and plan for human uses often occur on two separate tracks: conservation 

planning and land use planning. Conservation planning is a systematic effort to strategically target conservation efforts for those areas of land and water that hold the greatest promise for long-term biodiversity 

conservation, while land use planning includes work by agencies, local governments, and not-for-profit entities to allocate uses for land based on combinations of social, economic, and environmental goals.

Land use planning is often required at the local government level. Conservation planning has generally 

been carried out by conservation biologists through non-profit organizations, governments, and agencies; 

unlike land use planning, however, conservation planning is not legally required. Today, increasing effort is 

being exerted to link conservation biology [footnote 1] with land use planning. Part of this effort involves 

the development of “conservation planning software”—tools and data designed to enable strategic land use 

planning and biodiversity conservation.

Software and data that can support conservation planning take many forms, including tools developed 

to predict species distributions and viability, model habitat quality and connectivity, predict where and 

when threats will accumulate, and forecast how systems may respond to large-scale environmental changes, 

including climate change. Recent advances in conservation planning software make sophisticated analyses 

available for use by multiple organizations across a variety of spatial extents, from local to regional. These 

tools originated in the conservation and ecology communities, and it is unclear whether they meet the needs 

of land use planners or are being adopted in the land use planning community.

In 2011 a team of specialists from Clemson University, the American Planning Association (APA), and 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service conducted a review of existing conservation 

planning software, focused on geographic information system (GIS) platforms, to summarize and evaluate 

the goals, requirements, and ease of use of a number of these programs. We also worked with the American 

Planning Association (APA) to survey the land use planning community and assess the availability and perceived benefits of conservation planning software [footnote 2].

[1] Conservation biology is a field of scientific study focused on the conservation of biological diversity and the effects of 

humans on the environment.

[2] This report is an abbreviated and edited version of an earlier unpublished report of our findings (Baldwin and others 

2012).
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

This report reviews currently available conservation software tools and assesses the knowledge of a key set of 

potential users: the land use planning community. We discuss barriers to the use of conservation planning 

tools, and conclude with suggestions to enhance the use and adoption of conservation planning software 

and tools by the land use community. Appendices provide additional details, as derived from Baldwin and 

others (2012).

Conservation Planning Software and Other Tools

Over the past decade, GIS-based conservation planning tools have proliferated, as computing capabilities 

have increased and spatially explicit information about natural resources has become widely available. To 

review the available types of conservation planning tools, primarily GIS-based programs and datasets, we 

surveyed the literature for reference to established programs, searched the Internet for emerging programs, 

and included information on any additional software or tools of which we had previously been aware.

We grouped the conservation planning software and data we found into five themes: (1) reserve selection, 

(2) habitat connectivity, (3) species distribution and viability modeling, (4) threats, and (5) climate forecasting. Below we briefly describe each theme and then discuss the different features and uses of conservation 

planning software.

An overview of the resources reviewed for this project is presented in Table 1, organized by theme. Each 

program is described according to computing environment and average ease of use, data requirements, and 

documentation available. Most of these programs work through GIS software or the Python programming 

language, although a few tools are datasets or are accessed through stand-alone software. In general, programs are challenging to use, and available documentation is technical. Data requirements to use these tools 

are more variable, ranging from standard to highly specialized inputs. A more complete table is provided 

in Appendix A.

Table 1. Overview of GIS conservation planning tools reviewed for this project.

Quality and

Software	 Computing	 Relative difficulty	 	 availability of

type Software names environment or ease of use Data requirements documentation

Reserve Marxan, Sites, Zonation GIS software, Challenging Moderately Moderately technical

selection Zonae Cogito specialized

GIS Interface, 

 stand-alone 

 software 

Habitat 

connectivity CorridorDesigner, GIS software, Challenging Varies from standard Highly technical

Circuitscape, mostly in inputs to some

Linkage Mapper, Python code specialized information

Unicor, FunConn, required

Wild Lifelines

Species Expert Opinion, GIS software, Challenging Varies from standard Moderate to highly

distribution Maxent, JAVA, or inputs to highly technical, except for

modeling Presence standalone specialized expert opinion

software (not technical)

Threats CommunityViz GIS software From moderately Standard inputs Accessible

UrbanSim or raster difficult to

Human Footprint datasets challenging

Future housing and 

impervious surface 

scenarios

Climate Climate forecasts, Raster datasets, Moderately Standard inputs Moderately technical

historical data, such as Web interface difficult

ClimateWizard
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Reserve Selection Software

Reserve selection software works to strategically select areas for land conservation. Conservation biologists 

have developed these programs in recognition of the fact that existing networks of protected areas have often 

been established opportunistically (Margules and Pressey 2000). Systematic conservation planning seeks 

to identify the most important areas for conservation, considering both their ecological values and their 

levels of threat and vulnerability. An ideal system of reserves would represent the regional pool of species 

and ecosystems and contain enough habitats of specific types sufficient to maintain viable species populations, allow natural patterns of disturbance, and enable continued community and population processes, 

including shifts of species’ ranges in response to climate change (Craighead and Convis 2013, Groves 2003, 

Noss and others 2002, Trombulak 2010). Reserve selection is closely related to other conservation planning 

activities including habitat connectivity and climate resilience.

Reserve selection software operates in a GIS environment, is highly technical, and can be challenging to use. 

This software uses algorithms to identify the most valuable areas for conservation, iteratively testing different land protection configurations to identify efficient conservation priority areas (for example, balancing 

the total area of land, the cost of land, and the amount of area in comparison to reserve boundary). This 

process also often requires consultation with regional experts and other stakeholders.

An example of output from one of these pieces of software (Marxan) is shown in Figure 1, the result of a 

planning process for Sitka black-tailed deer habitat in Southeast Alaska (Schoen and Dovichin 2007). For 

more information on reserve selection, see box, Key Resources for Reserve Selection, and Appendix B.

Key Resources for Reserve Selection

Books: Moilanen and others (2009). Spatial conservation prioritization: Quantitative 

 methods and computational tools. Oxford Univ. Press.

Trombulak and Baldwin(2010). Landscape-scale conservation planning. 

 Springer-Verlag.

Online Tools: MARXAN Website—http://www.uq.edu.au/marxan/.

 http://www.helsinki.fi/bioscience/consplan/software/Zonation/References.html.

Selected Articles: Margules and Pressey (2000). Systematic conservation planning. Nature.

Noss and others (2002). A multicriteria assessment of the irreplaceability and 

 vulnerability of sites in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Conservation Biology. 

Pressey and others (1996). Optimality in reserve selection algorithms: When does 

 it matter and how much? Biological Conservation.

For full citations, see References.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Figure 1—Reserve Selection. Core areas for Sitka black-tailed deer habitat simulated with the reserve selection software 

MARXAN, for Southeast Alaska. Irreplaceability scores represent the number of simulations in which a particular 

area was selected by the software given input parameters. Areas selected in all or a large percentage of simulations 

are considered higher value for achieving conservation goals. Marxan analysis and cartography by David Albert, The 

Nature Conservancy. Source: Schoen and Dovichin (2007).
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Habitat Connectivity Software

Biodiversity and ecological processes within reserves are greatly influenced by the quality of the surrounding 

matrix of land and water in which the reserve sits (Noss 1983, Parks and Harcourt 2002). Habitat connectivity 

software within a GIS environment is used to strategically link reserves through corridors; to more generally 

maintain landscape connectivity or permeability for species that move more diffusely over landscapes (such as 

large carnivores); or to support seed transport and ecosystem processes such as natural fire regimes (Dobson 

and others 1999, Noss 1983). These programs use an input layer that represents landscape “resistance,” or the 

degree that land cover and land use present resistance to movement by organisms. This concept of mapping 

habitat corridors is intuitively accessible, but the challenges of generating resistance layers and choosing which 

areas to connect on the landscape make planning for habitat connectivity a complex endeavor (Beier and Noss 

1998, Beier and others 2011, McRae and others 2008).

Habitat connectivity exercises may be conducted at multiple levels, from individual species to groups of species. For example, resistance landscapes can be targeted to individual species’ habitat requirements, in some 

cases over large areas. More commonly, researchers attempt to create generalized resistance surfaces that might 

work for groups of organisms; such resistance layers are often derived from maps of land cover.

Habitat connectivity also requires deciding what areas to connect. For example, planners can focus on specifically linking protected areas, or they may examine the entire landscape to enhance animal movement (Fig. 2). 

Among the tools available, one of the most commonly used programs is CorridorDesigner, which provides a 

way to map habitat-based corridors between locations, such as high-quality habitat or protected areas [footnote  3]. CorridorDesigner calculates the least-cost path between two places based on measures of habitat 

suitability. It calculates best connecting routes, and it identifies barriers and bottlenecks.

In contrast, the Circuitscape program models ecological connectivity across whole landscapes. Circuitscape 

applies electronic circuit theory to problems in landscape ecology. It models the flow of organisms and genetic 

material through landscapes with varying levels of resistance to that flow.

Using both approaches and maintaining the potential for multiple habitat corridors is likely to be helpful for 

land use planners. Given the complexity of landscapes and the needs of individual species, habitat connectivity 

planning is a burgeoning technical field. For more information on habitat connectivity, see box, Key Resources 

for Understanding Habitat Connectivity, and Appendix C.

[3] The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader information and does not imply endorsement by the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture of any product or service.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Key Resources for Reserve Selection

Books: Crooks and Sanjayan (2006). Connectivity conservation. Cambridge Univ. Press.

Hilty and others (2006). Corridor ecology: The science and practice of linking 

 landscapes for biodiversity conservation. Island Press.

Online Tools: CorridorDesigner—http://www.corridordesign.org/.

Circuitscape—http://www.circuitscape.org/Circuitscape/Welcome.html.

Connecting landscapes: A practitioner’s resource for assessing and planning for 

 habitat connectivity—www.connectinglandscapes.org.

Conservation corridor digests—http://www.conservationcorridor.org/.

Selected Articles: Beier and others (2011). Toward best practices for developing regional connectivity 

 maps. Conservation Biology. 

Carroll and others (2011). Use of linkage mapping and centrality analysis 

 across habitat gradients to conserve connectivity of gray wolf populations in 

 Western North America. Conservation Biology. 

Theobald and others (2012). Connecting natural landscapes using a landscape 

 permeability model to prioritize conservation activities in the United States.

 Conservation Letters. 

For full citations, see References.

Figure 2—Habitat Connectivity. Least-cost modeling (solid line) and Circuitscape (shaded area) pronghorn migration 

corridors in Montana and Saskatchewan created from the 10% most traversable habitat on Maxent and Analytic 

Hierarchy Process resistance surfaces for fall (A) and (B), respectively, and spring (C) and (D) migration seasons. 

Source: Poor et al. (2012).
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Species Distribution Models

To conduct work on reserve selection and connectivity, researchers and managers need accurate information 

on species distributions. Historically, species range maps were produced by experts who examined field collections and conditions under which specimens were collected (for example, habitat and elevation), and who 

drew potential range boundaries based on an extrapolation of those conditions.

The current way to model species distributions involves the use of known locations to develop predictive 

models based on mapped environmental variables. These models produce data that can be used for planning. 

The goal is to predict where species probably occur, based on conditions at locations where they do occur. 

Approaches vary in the degree of expert opinion involved, number and distribution of known species locations, information on absences, and use of environmental data (Franklin 2009).

All species distribution models are recognized as incomplete because they are likely to change not only as environments change but also as more data become available for the models to incorporate. However, even when 

information is limited, incomplete data on species’ occurrence and environmental conditions can help build 

maps of species’ ranges that will be useful in conservation planning.

In some cases the underlying diversity of land forms, elevation, and soils may be used as a surrogate for species 

distributions. Such coarse-filter mapping approaches may be particularly useful at very large spatial extents and 

in times of anticipated rapid environmental change. Coarse-filter approaches recognize uncertainty and make 

overall conservation of diversity a goal, without a focus on specific species or current assemblages (Anderson 

and Ferree 2010, Hunter 1991). In contrast, “bioclimatic envelope modeling” examines the relationship 

between climatic conditions and specific species’ occurrence to estimate the conditions that are suitable to 

maintain viable populations of those species. These models help us understand how climate change may influence specific biotic communities, and they can be included in conservation plans, although their predictions 

are uncertain (Lawler and others 2009, Seo and others 2009).

Key Resources for Understanding Species Distribution Modeling

Books: Akcakaya and others (2004). Species conservation and management: Case studies 

 for RAMAS GIS. Oxford Univ. Press.

Franklin (2009). Mapping species distributions: Spatial inference and prediction.

 Cambridge Univ. Press.

Online Tools: Maxent software for species habitat modeling—http://www.cs.princeton.

 edu/~schapire/maxent/.

American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Species Distribution Modeling 

 courses and background information—http://biodiversityinformatics.amnh.org/

 index.php?section_id=82&content_id=140.

RAMAS GIS software and background information—http://www.ramas.com/ramas.

 htm .

Selected Articles: Carroll and others (2003). Use of population viability analysis and reserve selection 

 algorithms in regional conservation plans. Ecological Applications.

Elith and others (2011). A statistical explanation of MaxEnt for ecologists. Diversity 

 and Distributions.

For full citations, see References.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Species distribution software—such as Maxent, AMNH Species Distribution Modeling, and RAMAS GIS—is 

often challenging to use and requires GIS software or similarly technical software. Required data and documentation are both complex and specialized, although the use of expert opinion could make this software less 

demanding to use. For more information on habitat connectivity, see box, Key Resources for Understanding 

Species Distribution Modeling, and appendices D and E.

Threats Software and Data Products

Conservation planning seeks to identify and map the distribution of activities that threaten ecosystem function and diversity; such information can help to prioritize conservation actions based on site vulnerability to 

threats (Abbitt and others 2000, Lawler and others 2003, Theobald 2003). While not all threats to biodiversity 

are human-caused, and not all human activities threaten biodiversity (Baldwin 2010), conservationists are 

often concerned about impacts of many human activities—including increases in housing, expansion of road 

infrastructure and traffic, gas and oil development, the use of some forestry and agricultural methods, and in 

some cases, activities to control ecological processes (for example, fire suppression or flood control) (Noss and 

others 2006, Rood and others 2005, van Lear and Waldrop 1989).

Among all these human impacts, land use change is often the most immediate challenge, resulting in habitat 

degradation, loss, and fragmentation (Harding and others 1998, Tilman and others 1994, Vitousek and others 1997). The ability to develop predictive maps of land use change and loss of naturalness in the landscape 

has increased rapidly over the past decade (Theobald 2010, Trombulak and others 2008) (Fig. 3). Maps that 

show both where threats are greatest and where ecological communities are most valuable can be used to guide 

conservation efforts (Baldwin and deMaynadier 2009), although not all threats are easily mapped and their 

effects on natural communities and ecosystems are not always well-understood. Once we have data on threats, 

planning tools or decision-support systems such as NatureServe Vista can help users integrate conservation 

with planning and stressors. Planners can create and evaluate different scenarios to determine where and how 

their values of interest are conserved or threatened, and develop alternatives to best achieve planning objectives 

(Appendix A, Table A-1) .

Among software and data products for analyzing threats, perhaps the most complex type of analysis is generating future scenarios of development—a substantial endeavor requiring specialized modeling skills, such as 

simulating land use change under different climate change scenarios (Bierwagen and others 2010). Some of 

the tools listed in Table 1 (earlier) and Appendix A are the data products from these analyses—simulations 

that are usually carried out over large spatial extents using standard data inputs (those datasets most likely to 

be available at these large scales). The completed data products are used in a GIS environment but are generally accessible and are most helpful in providing a broad-scale overview of threats. For example, the Human 

Footprint dataset (Appendix F) shows human influence on the environment at the global level, by combining 

datasets on population density and infrastructure.

Other more complex software packages allow managers to model land use change at the local level. For example, CommunityViz and UrbanSim are software packages that have been used primarily for land use planning 

in an urban environment; they allow users to create models and visualize human development in a GIS 

environment. These programs are moderately technical to use but require standard data inputs and are generally well-documented (Appendix G). For more information on threat modeling see box, Key Resources for 

Understanding Mapping of Threats, and appendices F and G.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014. Future Human Footprint: Scenario 2: Rapid Influx A – Pacific Northwest

Imagine that the Northern Appalachian/Acadian ecoregion undergoes a radical transformation as did the PacificNorthwestern United States (and many other rapid growth areas – see North-Central Georgia, Northern Virginia,and Las Vegas, for example) during recent decades. Imagine that a large new industry like Microsoft opensheadquarters here. Much rural land near cities becomes valued for real estate. For good measure, add in climatemoderation. Under this scenario, "exurban growth", "edge cities", and road networks typify the NorthernAppalachian/Acadian ecoregion. Suddenly, a rural, forested region begins to look like developed America.

Legend

Northern AppalachianEcoregion

2040 Future Human Footprint –North Central LakesRapid Growth Scenario

Displaying: VALUE

0

1 - 1011 - 2021 - 3031 - 4041 - 6061 - 8081 - 100

78.52 ° Wa

57.74 ° W

50.61 ° N

41.05 ° N 0 190 km (120 miles)

Figure 3—Threats. Degree of 

development pressure on areas of high naturalness under threat scenarios in the Northern Appalachian/Acadian Ecoregion. Future human footprint was generated by simulating housing growth in this relatively unpopulated region similar to that seen in the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s. Source: Baldwin, R.F. (undated), for Two Countries, One Forest Data Atlas.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Climate Projections

Conservation planning seeks to integrate climate change and to understand human actions in the context of 

rapid, current, and future climate change (Dale 1997, Thomas and others 2004, Walther and others 2002). 

Conservation planning that integrates climate change often focuses on the ability of species to shift their 

ranges given land use change and habitat fragmentation; for example, approaches described above under 

Habitat Connectivity Software or Species Distribution Models may typically be used.

However, when specifically focused on climate change, conservationists use projections to anticipate how 

climate will change in the future. These “downscaled” climate projections, or fine-grained consistent data 

available over large spatial extents, are generated and compiled by climatologists and then made available 

for natural resource managers and scientists. For example, ClimateWizard is a conservation planning tool 

developed by The Nature Conservancy, the University of Washington, and the University of Southern 

Mississippi. ClimateWizard is not a type of modeling software but rather is an Internet-based server that 

displays and provides access to a range of conservation-relevant climate data, based on scenarios from the 

International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Custom analyses for subregions are available.

The National Climatic Data Center is another source of climate data for planners. Understanding the 

way in which these data were generated requires some technical knowledge, although these models take in 

standard inputs. As a result, we consider these types of data to be moderately challenging to use. For more 

information on climate change modeling, see box, Key Resources for Climate and Conservation Planning, 

and Appendix G.

Key Resources for Understanding Mapping of Threats

Books and Reports: Stein and others (2005). Forests on the edge: Housing development on America’s 

 private forests. USDA Forest Service.

Turner and others (2001). Landscape ecology in theory and practice. 

 Springer-Verlag.

Online Tools: Global Human Footprint: Last of the Wild—http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/

 data/set/wildareas-v2-human-footprint-geographic.

CommunityViz software description—http://placeways.com/communityviz/.

UrbanSim software-based simulation system—http://www.urbansim.org/Main/

 WebHome.

Selected Articles: Baldwin and deMaynadier (2009). Assessing threats to pool-breeding amphibian 

 habitat in an urbanizing landscape. Biological Conservation,

Sanderson and others (2002). The human footprint and the last of the wild. 

 Bioscience.

Theobald (2003). Targeting conservation action through assessment of protection 

 and exurban threats. Conservation Biology .

For full citations, see References.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Conservation Planning Software and Other Tools: Summary

In total, our review of conservation planning software found 18 tools, which we grouped into five themes. 

Because each tool is different and designed for a unique purpose, these tools and data have varying characteristics and uses, answer different conservation questions, and are used at different stages of a conservation 

planning process. Despite the variety in tools, we found some common features among different software 

programs and datasets, namely that tools are often complex and require detailed knowledge of both software 

and the literature. Many of these tools require the use of specialized data and programming, and nearly all 

draw upon stakeholder/expert input.

Survey of Land Use Planners

Given the growing number of conservation software programs, we wanted to see if these programs were serving the needs of land use planners. The Forest Service partnered with the APA to assess awareness, perceptions 

of usefulness, proficiency with, barriers to use, and interest in training for a representative set of conservation 

planning tools.

To evaluate use of conservation planning tools, APA distributed an online survey to all its members (more 

than 40,000 planners). In total, APA received 1,872 replies, with all U.S. States and territories—including 

Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—represented. Of those who responded, 82 percent 

worked as professional planners (65 percent public sector, 17 percent private sector). The remaining 18 percent 

of respondents were in academia, not-for-profit organizations, or law firms; or they were citizens engaged with 

planning issues. Most of the respondents represented either municipal (51 percent) or county (26 percent) 

entities, and most were working in rural areas or cities with fewer than 250,000 residents (Fig. 4). These employment characteristics are similar to those of the entire APA membership (APA 2012).

The survey was designed to assess familiarity with conservation planning goals and objectives, specific conservation planning tools, and constraints on planners for implementing conservation planning approaches. We 

specifically targeted those individuals who participated in conservation planning: if respondents did not do 

this type of work they were asked to forward the survey to the person in their organization who did.

Key Resources for Climate and Conservation Planning

Books: Hilty and others (2012). Climate and conservation: Landscape and seascape 

 science, planning, and action. Island Press.

Online Tools: Climate Wizard—http://www.climatewizard.org/ .

National Climatic Data Center—http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/.

Regional Climate Science Centers—http://www.doi.gov/csc/index.cfm.

Selected Articles: Bierwagen and others (2010). National housing and impervious surface scenarios 

 for integrated climate impact assessments. PNAS.

Girvetz and others (2009). Applied climate-change analysis: The ClimateWizard 

 tool. PloS ONE.

Hannah and others (2002). Conservation of biodiversity in a changing climate. 

 Conservation Biology.

For full citations, see References.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Because the most general kind of conservation planning tool is GIS, a first question was how much the organization uses GIS for conservation planning. Most (74 percent) responded “always” or “frequently,” and an 

additional 15 percent indicated “occasionally.” Only 11 percent responded “seldom to never” or that they did 

not know. Regionally, the percentage of organizations that frequently or always use GIS tools for conservation 

planning varies over the United States but is highest in the South Atlantic and Pacific West; intermediate in 

the Mountain West, Northeast Central, and Mid-Atlantic; and lowest in the South Central and West North 

Central Regions (Fig. 5).

The institutional capacity for conservation planning may limit how individuals use these tools. Consequently, 

we asked planners about levels of support they receive from their organizations. Approximately half the respondents indicated that their organizations provide strong support (49 percent), are very aware of the capabilities 

of conservation planning tools (48 percent), and provide sufficient technical support (44 percent). However, 

Municipality

51%

County

26%

Region or Metropolitan

Area

10%

State

4%

Federal

3%

Tribal

1%

Other

4%

No Answer

1%

Figure 4—Demographics of APA survey respondents. These demographics are similar to the those of the 

entire APA membership (APA 2012). 

Figure 5—Regional percentage of organizations that frequently or always use GIS tools for conservation planning.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

a lower rate of respondents indicated that their organization provides adequate funds for these activities; only 

27 percent of respondents indicated their organizations provide or pay for training, and 18 percent indicated 

that their organization allocates funds to invest sufficiently in conservation planning tools.

We also wanted to better understand which conservation tools planners were most familiar with and used 

the most. We asked planners which specific tools they were aware of among 11 of the most common tools, 

which represented each theme of conservation planning software (Fig. 6). Most (65 percent) were aware of 

two threat/land use planning tools typically used to visualize “build out”—CommunityViz (42 percent) and 

UrbanSim (23 percent). There was comparatively lower recognition of the nine other conservation planning 

tools.

As in many technical fields there may be differences between a person’s awareness of a tool, perception of 

the tool’s usefulness, and ability to use it. To better understand the perceived utility of tools, we asked the 

51 percent of respondents who claimed awareness of at least one tool how useful they found each of the 

tools to be. While planners expressed the highest levels of awareness for land use planning or build-out tools 

(CommunityViz and UrbanSim), only 16 percent found CommunityViz useful or very useful (4 and 5 on a 

1 to 5 scale) and only 8 percent indicated that UrbanSim had that level of usefulness. None of the other tools 

fared well, either, with the greatest levels of utility achieved by Natureserve Vista (23 percent with scores of 4 

and 5), RAMAS GIS (22 percent), and CorridorDesigner (19 percent).

Planners also reported relatively low levels of proficiency with tools. Only 87 planners, or 4.6 percent of total 

respondents, described any level of proficiency with any of the tools. The lowest levels of proficiency were 

claimed for UrbanSim, ClimateWizard, and CommunityViz, and greatest levels with Miradi and FunConn 

(Fig. 7). Examination of awareness, tool use, and proficiency together clearly indicates that most planners are 

not aware of or using conservation planning tools (Fig. 8). However, only 2 percent felt that the tools they were

using were sufficient for the job, which indicates there is a role for additional tools, or combinations of tools, 

to help bring conservation-based planning to the land use planning community.

We then asked about barriers that might inhibit planners from using conservation planning tools. When asked 

what factors prevented them from using these tools in their work, 89 percent of survey respondents answered. 

0

10

20

30

40

50

Percent Aware of Tool

Figure 6—Awareness of planning tools. Awareness among planners of a representative set of 11 conservation planning 

tools. See Table 1 and appendix A for functions of tools listed here. 
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

The top three barriers were cost of software (55 percent), time needed to learn the tool (50 percent), and cost 

of training (47 percent). However, planners did express interest in receiving training: the majority (51 percent) indicated very or somewhat high levels of interest, and 31 percent indicated a moderate level of interest. 

Regionally, levels of interest were greatest in the Northeast, South, and Interior West, with lower rates of interest in the West North Central area.

012345

FunConn

Miradi

Maxent or other SDM

CorridorDesigner

Circuitscape

RAMAS GIS

Natureserve Vista

MARXAN or Zonation

CommunityViz

ClimateWizard

UrbanSim

Level of Proficiency (5‐pointscale)

Planning Tools

Figure 7—Level of proficiency. The mean summary (5-point scale) of levels of proficiency for conservation planning tools 

is displayed for the 51 percent of respondents who claimed awareness of any tool. 

0

10

20

30

40

50

Percent of users

Conservation Planning Tools

Aware of tool

Tool user

Proficient tool user

Figure 8—Awareness, use, and proficiency of conservation planning tools. Percentage awareness, user, and proficient user 

of different tools (total sample =1,872 planners).
16

Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Conclusions—Future Use of Conservation Planning Tools

The use of conservation planning tools for land use planning could help agencies, conservation groups, 

and others identify lands that face high levels of threat from human use but also hold high potential conservation value. Numerous powerful tools and extensive datasets are currently available for conservation 

planning, but the land use planning community has not widely adopted these tools. Insights into the lack 

of widespread use of such tools can be found in our review of conservation software, which shows that many 

of these programs are complex, technically challenging, and require a significant time investment to use. 

Further, our survey results combine to suggest it is unlikely that land use planners have or will have the time 

and resources to become expert users of these conservation planning tools.

However, additional time and training could be devoted to increasing literacy with conservation planning 

software among the land use planning community, and to increasing GIS capacity. Indeed, according to 

our survey, most land use planners are interested in training, which reveals an important opportunity 

for outreach and education to improve technical knowledge and application. Biologists with conservation 

planning expertise could then become more involved with land use planning through partnerships and collaborations. Such consultations would allow conservation biologists not only to contribute their expertise 

but also to inform their research by making them more aware of constraints in “real world” planning on 

private lands and with private-public partnerships (Miller and others 2008).

Because most of the land area of the United States is in private hands and used for multiple social, economic, and ecological goals, funding for education programs and collaborative networks to improve the use of 

conservation planning tools by land use planners could have a significant impact on biodiversity conservation in the United States. Where appropriate, land use planners could combine with conservation planners, 

land managers, and non-profit organizations to help shape not only how land is developed, but also where 

and how land is protected [footnote 4].

Establishing collaborations among land use planners, ecologists, biologists, conservation planning modeling 

experts, and public lands managers could also help expand conservation planning from academic simulations to conservation and land use action on the ground. However, conservation planning will remain 

complex—planning often occurs over multiple scales, with ecological processes such as climate change occurring at large geographical extents but actual management and land use planning taking place at the local 

level, often on private lands with multiple owners. Technological advances happen quickly as well, so that 

conservation planning has become a rapidly evolving field; indeed, the specific data and tools presented here 

will quickly become obsolete if they are not updated and revised.

A study of conservation and ecosystem-based tools in the marine environment found that the lack of consistent financial investment was another challenge for the use of many tools, leaving managers to choose 

between low-quality, unmaintained, but free products or commercial products with high license fees (Curtice 

and others 2012). For more information on this effort to compile marine-based ecosystem management and 

planning tools, please see the Ecosystem-Based Management Tools Network (http://www.ebmtools.org/).

These technological advances and our changing environments, as well as shifting political and economic 

circumstances, combine to pose substantial challenges to land use planning. Only through being iterative, 

integrative, and as open as possible to new techniques will we be able to incorporate conservation biodiversity issues in land use planning.

[4] For example, tens of thousands of conservation easements have been established on private lands in the United States 

in recent decades.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

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Appendix A—Overview of Conservation Planning Tools

Table A-1 presents a detailed overview of conservation planning tools reviewed for this project. Most are software; four are data models representing scenarios that are used in conservation planning. Table A-1. Additional information on GIS conservation planning tools reviewed for this project Software type Software name Computing environment Programming language Difficulty (1 = easy, 5 = lots of time investment) Data requirements (1 = standard inputs, 5 = specialized) Quality and availability of documentation (1 = very accessible, 5 = technical language only) Web site for further information Reserve selection Marxan Zonae Cogito N/A 5 2 3 http://www.uq.edu.au/marxan/ Marxan with zones Zonae Cogito N/A 5 3 3 http://www.uq.edu.au/marxan/ Zonation Stand alone Compiled 5 5 5 http://cbig.it.helsinki.fi/ Habitat connectivity Corridor Designer ArcGIS 10 Python 4 2 2 http://corridordesign.org/ Circuitscape ArcGIS Python 5 2 4 http://www.circuitscape.org/ Circuitscape/Welcome.html Linkage mapper ArcGIS Python 5 2 5 http://code.google.com/p/linkage- mapper/ Unicor ArcGIS Python 5 5 5 None found FunConn ArcGIS 9.1 Python 4 2 5 http://www.nrel.colostate.edu/ projects/starmap/funconn_index. htm Wild Lifelines ArcGIS 10 3 1 3 http://www.twp.org/what-we-do/ scientific-approach/wild-lifelines Species distribution modeling Expert Opinion ArcGIS 10 N/A 5 1 1 NA Maxent JAVA 3 3 4 http://www.cs.princeton. edu/~schapire/maxent/ Presence 5 3 4 http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/ software/presence.html RAMAS GIS Stand alone Compiled 5 5 3 http://www.ramas.com/index. php?option=com_k2&view=iteml ist&layout=category&task=catego ry&id=41&Itemid=80&lang=en#gis
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014. Table A-1. Continued. Planning process integration NatureServe Vista ArcGIS 10 Python 2 2 2 http://www.natureserve.org/vista Miradi Stand alone Compiled 2 2 1 https://miradi.org/

Threats

Community Viz (Local Buildout) ArcGIS 10 3 2 http://placeways.com/ communityviz/Global Human Footprint

Raster dataset for ArcGIS, Web interface

NA 3 1 3 http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/ wildareas/

Future Human Footprint scenarios

Raster dataset for ArcGIS, Web interface

NA 3 1 3 http://www.2c1forest.org/

Future housing and impervious surface scenarios

Raster dataset for ArcGIS NA 5 1 5 http://www.pnas.org/ content/107/49/20887.full

Climate

Climate forecasts, historical data

Raster datasets, Web interface NA 3 1 3 http://www.climatewizard.org/
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Appendix B—Drilling Down Into Reserve Selection 

Software: Marxan and Marxan Z

What Does Marxan Do?

Marxan is a tool for selecting areas to constitute efficiently configured protected area networks (that is, reserve 

systems). Marxan is intended to optimize inclusion of biodiversity targets in a reserve system while minimizing 

cost—which at its simplest is defined by area. Boundary length, or perimeter, is minimized relative to area, 

which has the effect of maximizing “core” habitat relative to “edge.” 

Marxan Z (Marxan with zones) has the same functionality as Marxan but is able to allocate planning units to 

multiple zones (for example, marine protected areas of various protection levels) and to incorporate multiple 

costs into a systematic planning framework. Marxan Z extends the range of problems the software can solve to 

include the near optimal allocation of resources to multiple-zone configurations. The purpose of Marxan Z is 

to assign each planning unit in a defined region to a particular zone in order to meet a number of ecological, 

social, and economic objectives at a minimum total cost. 

What Is the Marxan Work Environment?

The work environment for Marxan is the stand-alone, open-source, free GIS software Zonae Cogito, which 

allows users to implement Marxan in a windows environment (using a MapWindow GIS interface). By using 

Zonae Cogito, Marxan is made available to a wide audience including those around the world who cannot afford to purchase or do not otherwise have access to fee-based GIS software (such as ESRI ArcGIS). 

Zonae Cogito provides a method for incorporating input files, parameterizing models, and visualizing Marxan 

output, and in so doing supports a more iterative and interactive modeling and design process, essential to 

high-quality conservation planning. 

What Are the Marxan Data Inputs and In What Form?

The inputs to Marxan and Marxan Z are text (.dat) files. There are seven fundamental input files used in 

Marxan Z. In addition, there are optional input files that facilitate additional functionality in Marxan Z, as 

shown below. Extensions and scripts are available for download to automatically create some of the input files 

from GIS layers in ArcMap.

Fundamental Input Files Optional Input Files

Planning Unit Feature Zone

Boundary Length Boundary Cost

Planning Unit Versus Feature Zones

Planning Unit Zone Planning Unit Lock

Costs Zone Cost

Zone Target or Zone Target 2 Zone Contribution or Zone Contribution 2

Input Parameter
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Generally, How Does Marxan Work?

Marxan uses the input information in computer algorithms (mathematical processes) to solve for a range of 

near-optimal solutions (heuristic approach). One of these algorithms is a simulated annealing process, which 

is described in an appendix to the documentation. The range of solutions provides output for each zone with 

other information in the output data files.

What Are the Marxan Outputs and In What Form?

The outputs from Marxan and Marxan Z are also in .dat (text) files. Output and input files are connected to 

GIS layers by the zone and planning unit identification codes or numbers. Output files are identified in the 

Input Parameter file and can contain various information including Summary, Sums, and Connectivity.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Appendix C—Drilling Down Into Habitat Connectivity 

Software: CorridorDesigner and Circuitscape

What Does CorridorDesigner Do?

CorridorDesigner provides a way to map habitat-based corridors between two places, which could be areas 

of high-quality habitat, existing protected areas, or other discrete locations. CorridorDesigner calculates the 

least-cost path between places based on measures of habitat suitability; it calculates best connecting routes and 

identifies barriers and bottlenecks. One feature of CorridorDesigner that makes it a comprehensive tool is that 

it provides ways to classify habitat suitability for a target species into population habitat, breeding habitat, or 

habitat patches. 

CorridorDesigner has attracted a good deal of attention because of the excellent product documentation, 

elegance of the software design, intuitively accessible process and outputs, and ease of working within ArcGIS 

environment. It is fundamentally different in design and function from Circuitscape (profiled below); the two 

programs and others should be carefully reviewed and used in appropriate situations. 

What Is the CorridorDesigner Work Environment?

The work environment is ArcGIS with the Spatial Analyst extension required. This program is written as a 

series of Python script tools that are used to accomplish the task in an appropriate order.

What Are the CorridorDesigner Data Inputs and In What Form? 

The inputs are GIS feature layers in raster format and text files with reclassification parameters in them.

Generally, How Does CorridorDesigner Work?

The program uses raster reclassification and analysis to identify suitable habitat for focal (target) species. It 

then groups those areas into patches and evaluates their suitability for population, breeding, or habitat patches 

based on area and other species-specific parameters. It relies heavily on an “expert input” phase of parameterizing habitat suitability for focal species, and it reclassifies input layers (such as land use/land cover or elevation) 

on those values. The program then attempts to classify links of usable habitat among the major habitat patches, 

giving first priority to linking breeding habitat patches. Corridors are produced that have increasing levels of 

inclusiveness; the most narrow slices have the highest likelihood of supporting movement but incorporate 

the least variability and are most susceptible to edge effects. By calculating and evaluating possible linkages, 

bottlenecks and barriers can be identified.

What Are the CorridorDesigner Outputs and In What Form?

The primary product is a set of corridor slices of varying inclusiveness that are polygon shape files. These 

are intuitively appealing for use in conservation planning because like protected areas data, they are discrete 

shapes. A problem that has been discussed is that they may be seen as too definite and may not depict the 

spatial and temporal variability expected from gene flow in a changing world. On the other hand, they provide 

an excellent communications tool, and they may provide an easily understandable entry point for managers 

and planners new to habitat connectivity modeling. Other data products that are produced during the process 

are topographic index and habitat suitability factors as raster layers. 
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

What Does Circuitscape Do?

Circuitscape models ecological connectivity across whole landscapes. Circuitscape applies electronic circuit 

theory to problems in landscape ecology—it models the flow of organisms and genetic material through 

landscapes with varying levels of resistance to that flow. Resistance is analogous to resistance to electricity; in 

landscapes, resistance is parameterized by values for roads, development, and natural landscapes as a function 

of how easily living material may pass through or by it. Circuitscape is different from other models in its approach, in that it considers all possible pathways across a landscape simultaneously. Outputs are not as simple 

to interpret as discrete corridor polygons, but they show different phenomena, as they are operating at larger 

scales. The two approaches are considered complementary. 

Like CorridorDesigner, Circuitscape is being widely used. It has excellent documentation on its Website. 

What Is the Circuitscape Work Environment?

Circuitscape is a stand-alone application written in Python with a graphic user interface (GUI). 

What Are the Circuitscape Inputs and In What Form? 

Circuitscape uses maps of habitat in ASCII grid format that can be exported from raster maps used or created in ArcGIS. One of the inputs is habitat with resistance or conductance coded into its cells. As with 

CorridorDesigner, this requires a step in which input layers (such as land use/land cover) are reclassified. 

Another input is a layer that defines regions or patches of high-quality habitat for grouping. Circuitscape will 

model flow between two or more nodes. The GUI prompts for additional information about options selected 

and whether or not the input grid contains resistance or conductance values.

Generally, How Does Circuitscape Work?

The Circuitscape program converts the input grid to a graph and runs a series of computations to determine 

flow paths and probability of flow along each path based on the options chosen by the user. Available RAM 

can influence the extent and resolution of a project that is able to be analyzed using Circuitscape. 

What Are the Circuitscape Outputs and In What Form?

Outputs are a series of graphs that can be turned into ASCII grid maps for display in ArcGIS or other raster 

GIS program. Circuitscape outputs are more amorphous and less discrete than CorridorDesigner because 

they treat the entire landscape simultaneously and provide relative values for every cell, rather than attempt to 

define discrete areas. Circuitscape outputs provide information on areas that are important for gene flow and 

movements in a general sense; they also point to areas of the landscape where flow is more restricted and where 

connectivity may be limited and thus may be important for targeted conservation action. 
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Appendix D—Drilling Down Into Species Distribution 

Modeling Software: Maxent

What Does Maxent Do?

Maxent was developed to recognize the vastly incomplete information on species distributions. Attempts to 

map where and why species occur are frequently thwarted by problems that include: biased methods in which 

known locations of species are usually produced, difficulty in ascertaining species absence in the field, and 

lack of knowledge of species–environment relationships. Maxent maps are based on a “maximum entropy” 

approach to predict where species occur, by using a combination of (a) knowledge of where species have been 

observed and (b) the environmental correlates of those locations. Maxent is a general-purpose machine learning method with a simple and precise mathematical formulation. The idea of Maxent is to estimate a target 

probability distribution by finding the probability distribution of maximum entropy (that is, that is most 

spread out or closest to uniform), subject to a set of constraints that represent our incomplete information 

about the target distribution.

What Is the Maxent Work Environment?

Maxent is a stand-alone program written in Java, a language that is widely used. It has a graphical user interface 

(GUI) and can be run from a command-line interface.

What Are the Maxent Inputs and In What Form? 

Maxent requires data on known locations of the species (that is, presence data), together with environmental 

information for the whole study area. Location data are geo-referenced—that is, they represent coordinates 

for observed occurrences. Absence data are not required. Environmental data are in a GIS format for the same 

study area and can include any available, uniformly distributed data. Climate, elevation, and land cover are 

potentially important environmental variables. Maxent can use both continuous and categorical data, and it 

can incorporate interactions between different variables. Maxent uses ASCII raster grid format.

Generally, How Does Maxent Work?

When Maxent is applied to presence-only species distribution modeling, the pixels of the study area make up 

the space on which the Maxent probability distribution is defined; pixels with known species occurrence records constitute the sample points; the features are climatic variables, elevation, soil category, vegetation type, 

or other environmental variables, and functions thereof. The program then predicts the likelihood of other 

populations as a continuous probability surface (grid or raster). If a threshold is defined, this technique can 

produce maps of suitable conditions and habitat for the species under consideration.

What Are the Maxent Outputs and In What Form?

Maxent outputs are grid or raster layers and/or tabular data in .csv (comma separated variable) files.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Appendix E—Drilling Down Into Species Population 

Viability Modeling Software: RAMAS GIS

What Does RAMAS GIS Do?

RAMAS GIS is highly specific software for modeling the viability of populations of species in a spatially 

explicit manner. Traditionally, viability of populations was assessed in a single location; RAMAS GIS uses 

patch characteristics and demographic information on populations to assess long-term survival in those areas. 

RAMAS GIS links GIS data layers with a metapopulation model for population viability analysis and extinction risk assessment. It is intended to help combine geographic data and demographic data for risk assessment. 

This is a terrific, powerful tool for single-species management but it requires a great deal of high-quality, 

specific data on populations. The program is well-documented in books and publications, and it has an informative Website and excellent instructions. 

What Is the RAMAS GIS Work Environment?

RAMAS GIS is a stand-alone program that imports GIS data layers and provides tools to link metapopulation 

modeling with landscape data and GIS technology. It can be used in conjunction with ArcGIS. Unlike most 

of the other tools discussed, RAMAS GIS must be purchased. 

What Are the RAMAS GIS Inputs and In What Form? 

RAMAS GIS uses two kinds of data: GIS data and demographic data derived from field studies. GIS data 

inputs are land use and vegetation cover spatial data layers that can be coded for the ecological requirements of 

a species. Any map that contains information on some aspect of the habitat that is important for a designated 

species may be incorporated. Information is needed on dispersal distances, home range sizes, and minimum 

patch size. Demographic data are derived from field studies and experiments and include information on 

population structure, fecundity, and mortality. 

Generally, How Does RAMAS GIS Work?

Once the spatial data layers for the ecological requirements of a species are imported, RAMAS GIS uses a habitat suitability map to find habitat patches. RAMAS GIS contains a separate module called RAMAS Metapop 

that can apply the above information to produce estimates of risk of a species for extinction and time to extinction. Demographic data are imported and used in the metapopulation model that incorporates patch structure 

from the GIS, to produce a risk analysis for the population. If the user has information about time change or 

a time series (for example habitat dynamics due to forest succession), RAMAS GIS can incorporate these data 

to build a time series of population-specific parameters for use in the metapopulation model. 

What Are the RAMAS GIS Outputs and In What Form?

RAMAS GIS has the capacity to make a number of outputs for use in planning and research including tables, 

graphs and maps. Map outputs include a layer of habitat patches with high suitability for species survival that 

contains numerous attributes about habitat suitability, patch size, edge, survival, and growth rate.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Appendix F—Drilling Down Into Threat Modeling: The 

Human Footprint

What Does the Human Footprint Do?

A number of existing spatial datasets represent degree of human impact to the environment. Each of these 

datasets attempts to do the same thing but they differ largely in the detail of how they do it; some are quantitatively more sophisticated than others and use tools to assess, smooth, and average impacts over various scales. 

The Human Footprint is one of the first such approaches and is simpler than others in that the effects modeled 

are additive. Like the others, it is not a program but rather a raster dataset where each cell’s value is a normalized index representing a cumulative human impact. The resulting “human footprint” represents the sum total 

of ecological footprints of human activities, not as a single number but as a continuum of human influence 

stretched across the land surface, revealing through its variation the major pattern of human influence on 

nature. The Human Footprint is a methodology that can be re-used when new input data become available. It 

also can be projected into the future. 

What Is the Human Footprint Work Environment?

The data are displayed in a GIS working environment and result from a combination of GIS dataset layers. The 

Human Footprint is sometimes used in combination with other GIS datasets to derive new values of interest. 

Standard ArcGIS tools such as reclassification and buffer are used. Future human footprints are derived from 

mathematical models based on past trends and other information that might influence future conditions. 

Future human footprints extrapolate current values under scenarios, to make “forecasts” for future human 

impact.

What Are the Human Footprint Inputs and In What Form? 

The first iteration of the human footprint methodology was done for the entire globe (Sanderson et al. 2002); 

data availability for that entire surface was a limiting factor. The Human Footprint calculated for the Northern 

Appalachian/Acadian Ecoregion includes four types of data used as proxies for human influence: population 

density, land transformation, accessibility, and electrical power infrastructure. These four types of data had 

nine datasets chosen to represent influence:

•	 Gridded population of the world,

•	 Global land use/land cover version 2,

•	 Vector map level 0 built-up centers,

•	 Vector map level 0 population settlements,

•	 Vector map level 0 roads and railways,

•	 Vector map level 0 roads and railways,

•	 Vector map level 0 coastline,

•	 Vector map level 0 rivers, and

•	 Defense meteorological satellite infrastructure program, stable lights.

Recent analyses have revealed that most of the variation in the human footprint (across subregions) is accounted for by just three variables: human population density (or housing density), roads, and land cover 

(Woolmer and others 2008, Theobald 2010). 
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Generally, How Does Human Footprint Work?

The Human Footprint is a quantitative evaluation of human influence on the land surface, based on geographic data describing human population density, land transformation, access, and electrical power infrastructure; 

the data are normalized to reflect the continuum of human influence across each terrestrial biome defined 

within biogeographic realms.

First, each of the nine datasets are categorized and assigned human influence scores, then the human influence scores for each of the nine datasets are summed to create the human influence index (HII) on the land’s 

surface. In this scheme the human influence index scores range from 0 to a maximum of 72. Next, biomes 

and biogeographic realms are used to normalize this human influence. The greatest HII score in any realm is 

assigned 100, and the scores are normalized to the new scale 0 to 100. The lowest 10 percent of the values are 

selected as “Last of the Wild.” Last of the Wild areas are considered areas of high naturalness and potential habitat cores for conservation action. These values are mapped as a continuous surface for the terrestrial portions 

of the earths’ surface in raster format. A marine human footprint does exist. As with the other approaches, the 

human footprint can be reclassified into a landscape resistance surface to be used in connectivity modeling.

What Are the Human Footprint Outputs and In What Form?

The output is a raster (grid) map of human impact. Resolution of the map varies depending on resolution 

of input layers. Global grids can be 1.63 miles (1 km), and regional grids 98.4 yards (90 m). The display can 

be made informative through the use of symbology such that even casual viewers can readily grasp the levels 

of human impact and its variability, throughout (Fig. 9). While the simplicity and mathematical/conceptual 

features make the Human Footprint methodology a good communication tool, those features also are its drawback. More sophisticated approaches may treat impacts in a more naturalistic way, for example by smoothing 

a kernel of impact from roads based on traffic volume, which the Human Footprint does not do. As with all of 

these approaches, careful attention to the tool and its assumptions and uses is essential. 

Figure 9—The Global 

Human Footprint. 

Source: Sanderson 

and others 2002.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Appendix G—Drilling Down Into Planning: CommunityViz 

What Does CommunityViz Do?

CommunityViz is a broad-based tool designed to help planners, resource managers, local governments, and 

regional governments make decisions about development, land use, transportation, conservation, and other 

infrastructure elements in a defined area around communities. It supports planning, suitability analysis, impact assessment, and growth modeling.

What Is The CommunityViz Work Environment?

CommunityViz is an extension for ArcGIS (ESRI) and is designed to be used in participatory processes. 

What Are the CommunityViz Inputs and In What Form?

Input data are in the form of GIS layers for land use and numerous infrastructure components such as roads, 

streams, and elevation. Input also requires interaction with the program tools to set parameters, define scenarios, and view on-screen alternative choices.

Generally, How Does CommunityViz Work?

This program uses a large number of infrastructure layers as a basis for estimating impacts of urban growth 

and development (or other change trend). Inputs about the layers are guided by “wizards” in a GUI to develop impact algorithms as indicators of change. Key elements of each layer are given best estimates or expert 

opinions to develop indicator equations. These are linked to time change, and results are displayed as tables 

or charts. Key indicators can be manipulated to examine different impacts visually. When all change estimates 

are complete, the cumulative effect can be remapped to look at impacts on different land use units and their 

impacts on key conservation elements as well as other resources. All can be remapped, charted, or visualized in 

3D graphic presentations and reported as such.

What Are the Outputs and In What Form?

Simulation outputs are available in multiple formats: 

•	 Numeric: ranges of values and graphs;

•	 Spatial: theme layers to illustrate where changes and impacts will occur;

•	 Visual (3D): 3D illustrations of changes and impacts; and

•	 Text: text files and html files reporting results.

Outputs are displayed on the computer monitor’s screen and/or to files for printing or viewing.
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

Appendix H—Drilling Down Into Climate: ClimateWizard

What Does ClimateWizard Do?

ClimateWizard is a conservation planning tool developed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the University 

of Washington, and the University of Southern Mississippi. It is not a piece of modeling software; rather, it is a 

Web map server that displays and provides access to a range of conservation-relevant climate data. It integrates 

International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) climate scenarios to produce maps of change, and it displays 

and serves climate data from the past 50 years. Custom analyses for subregions are available. ClimateWizard is 

well-documented on the Website and has a number of high-quality peer-reviewed publications. TNC support 

staff are responsive and helpful when contacted via email. When ClimateWizard was developed, the National 

Climatic Data Center was not as functional as it is now. Users of climate data should inspect both websites to 

make sure they are getting the best product for their planning needs. 

What Is the ClimateWizard Work Environment?

The work environment is a Web map server. Themed maps are displayed in which choices can be made for 

analysis area (United States or global), time period (past 50 years, or future projections), map options (average 

or change values), measurement (temperature or precipitation), and future climate model (combinations of 

emissions scenarios and circulation models). Data can be downloaded from the site and used in ArcGIS or 

other GIS programs. 

What Are the ClimateWizard Inputs and In What Form? 

Data used on the Website are: 

•	 United States lower 48,

•	 Historical data at 4-km (2.48 mi) resolution,

•	 Global historical data at 50-km (31.1 mi) resolution,

•	 United States lower 48 future model at 12-km (7.46 mi) resolution, and

•	 Global future model at 50-km (31.1 mi) resolution. 

Generally, How Does ClimateWizard Work?

ClimateWizard provides a user-friendly Web “front end” where map displays can be made and viewed. Map 

displays can be downloaded as images from the Map Image section under Resources. In the viewer, values 

for average or change over time in temperature and precipitation can be displayed on maps at varying scales. 

ClimateWizard resources are provided and include case studies, documentation for data sources and models, 

data download, map image download, and custom analysis. Data are downloaded in ASCII format, which may 

be converted to ArcGIS rasters. Analysis of climate raster data can occur inside of ArcGIS. 

What Are the ClimateWizard Outputs and In What Form?

Outputs include data and map image downloads. Data downloads are in ASCII format and can be used in 

ArcGIS. Map image downloads are made in the Web viewer and may be saved as .png files. 
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Research Note RMRS-RN-70. November 2014.

ClimateWizard is a good introductory tool and a notable teaching tool. Ease of display of various datasets in 

the map viewer allows a quick examination of patterns. Data downloads are straightforward and can readily 

be incorporated with other conservation planning data. The National Climatic Data Center has developed a 

comprehensive Website for data display and download. 
This publication is sponsored by the Forest Service 

Washington Office, State and Private Forestry, 

Cooperative Forestry staff, Forests on the Edge project. 

For further information contact:

Susan Stein, Coordinator, Open Space Iniative, U.S. 

Forest Service, Cooperative Forestry Staff, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Mailstop 1123, 

Washington, DC 20250-1123. (202) 205-1389. http://

www.fs.fed.us/openspace/fote/.

*RMRS posted link:http//www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rn069.html

*RMRS publications are also listed in Treesearch.
United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

Rocky Mountain Research Station

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