Science-based conservation is a foundational component of the NGPJV. We aim to increase access to science tools, data, and research for our partners to inform conservation decisions across the landscape. The NGPJV serves the partnership by facilitating information transfer, hosting conservation delivery and effectiveness monitoring workshops, and improving our shared understanding of new economic tools and social science. Depending on the needs of our partners and producers, we are able to deliver science at many scales, from one-on-one conversations to formal presentations.
NGPJV science integration staff leverage larger regional initiatives, like the Central Grasslands Roadmap and the State of the Birds report, to help partners prioritize grasslands projects and target areas for conservation. Along with regional initiatives, local priority breeding habitat data are incorporated to emphasize the multiple and varied benefits of grasslands conservation practices for birds, other wildlife, and people.
As we interact with partners and producers throughout the Northern Great Plains, we aim to achieve two objectives in the near future. The first, to better understand and reduce existing barriers for producers in conservation program enrollment. The second is to co-produce new science that will address locally relevant information needs. This new science will be informed by our partners and producers to ensure that end products are useful and interpretable.
Our partners continue to research system dynamics and change agents within grasslands to better inform and adapt conservation work. New and emerging partnerships with social scientists will allow the NGPJV to explore human dimensions and incorporate social science results into future conservation planning.
