What We Do

We are advancing science for the future of conservation.
We do this by asking key stakeholders the right questions. We identify the gaps in our current body of scientific knowledge about natural resources issues. We ask ourselves and others- What information is needed to help make the best conservation and management decisions? Who can help us do the research, and get the results of that research to the people making decisions about how land is managed and used?

We are addressing today’s challenges.
The Plains and Prairie Potholes LCC is responsible for identifying and prioritizing the scientific uncertainties and needs that can inform better conservation management. Climate change, shifts in land-use, urban expansion, agricultural changes, are all contributing stressors impacting the plains and prairie potholes landscape.

Research supported by the LCC is directed at maximizing habitat quality within key ecosystems from palustrine wetlands, native grasslands and restored grasslands to sage prairie and riparian habitat and river systems.

View details of our ongoing research by clicking here.
LCC partners are focused on research that examines how species within these habitats are likely to respond to landscape level stressors, like climate change, and thus determine implications for management across a species range.  Similarly, the LCC is interested in zeroing in on the impacts of energy development on fish and wildlife populations and natural resources, to help both the conservation and development communities minimize negative impacts.

LCC partners also recognize that there are socio-economic considerations that impact conservation and natural resources management. Research supported by the LCC aims to analyze these socio-economic factors that play a major role in conservation incentives and land use policy.

There are many agencies, organizations and individuals that hold decision-making power within the LCC geographic area. LCC partners aim to identify these decision makers, understand the types of decisions they make, and determine the tools they currently use, or may need in the future, to address their most pressing natural resource issues.  In addition to supporting science-based research on current natural resources threats, LCC partners also recognize emerging threats to natural resources are just beyond the horizon, and require a proactive approach to land and water management. The LCC seeks to provide the tools that prepare decision-makers for these emerging threats.

We are part of a bigger picture.
We are also connected with a broader network that crosses state, jurisdictional, and international boundaries. This larger LCC network includes 22 similar partnerships that are all vested in a conservation mission no single agency or natural resources organization can accomplish alone. We look beyond our own areas of expertise to create a cooperative and partnership oriented perspective, focused on developing, adapting and coordinating large-scale applied science needs in the face of 21st century environmental challenges.

This means providing the right science in the right places to the right people, with the goal of sustaining our natural resources in the face of ever-changing 21st century stressors like climate change. Working together, we can ensure a sustainable landscape that supports fish, wildlife, habitat and people.