Hi Jen, We're doing something very similar in the southeast and have several herp forums already established. We also now have a tool to clone a "species working group" template with a Drive document requesting information needs for the candidate assessment process and links to several spreadsheets, projects, and other content types that can be edited as appendices with structured information. We've been slowly making announcements to determine which forums result in the greatest return. ECOLOG-L was up next, so please see below. Also, please feel free to contact me about starting and administering groups if you think this process will be useful to your objectives. I'm definitely interested in talking about your approach too.
-Ed *Participation Requested: At-risk Species Forums* Many species were recently petitioned to be federally listed as Threatened or Endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and it is likely that many more species will be in the near future. To assist the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in determining whether the petitions are warranted, the Wildlife Diversity Committee of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies has established a Southeast At-Risk Species (SEARS) Program. One component of this innovative program is the “crowdsourcing” of knowledge and data about petitioned species. We are establishing groups for each petitioned and candidate species on the Griffin Groups collaboration platform (https://griffingroups.com). In each group, a editable document contains descriptions of the species’ life history and status, links to editable tables describing threats and actions, a registry of research and monitoring projects, means to link or recommend data collection protocols, as well as editable descriptions of data repositories that contain historical observations. These crowdsourced products, with their citations, will then be used by the USFWS for assessing the petitions. The results will also be used for capacity and needs assessments, evaluation of the crowdsourcing process, and determining additional ways to improve the efficiency and comprehensiveness of the candidate species assessment process. To learn more about the SEARS program, visit the SEARS Data Coordination group: https://griffingroups.com/groups/profile/200347/sears-data-coordination More species groups will be added over time. The list is maintained here: https://griffingroups.com/relatedgroups/owner/200347 We seek your participation in consolidating information about these petitioned species. Each group can serve as a nexus of communications, and an archive of links to research and reports, survey methods and data, and other information. If relevant forums or tools already exist, then they can be bookmarked in the appropriate group to increase awareness and access. Assisting with these information needs could be a part of class projects, an efficient way to consolidate background information for new research, a means to provide expert opinions, etc. Subject matter experts are especially encouraged to join these groups to collaborate on the species’ conservation. This process could include sharing and recommending sampling protocols, sharing updates about research and monitoring projects, integrating data repositories, discussing species' taxonomies, developing management and monitoring plans, managing projects, etc. To join one or more of the species groups: 1. Register as a member of Griffin Groups: https://griffingroups.com/register 2. Validate your registration by clicking the link in the automated email (check your spam folder if you do not receive this email within a few minutes) 3. Log into Griffin Groups: https://griffingroups.com/login 4. Explore the list of species groups: https://griffingroups.com/relatedgroups/owner/200347 5. Click on a group name and then the “Join group” or “Request membership” button under its title. A welcome message is sent after joining any of the species groups. That email contains instructions about Griffin Groups’ collaboration tools and suggestions for their use. Thank you for your participation, Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Wildlife Diversity Committee U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife Management Institute Connecting Conservation For questions, please contact: Dr. Ed Laurent - Connecting Conservation: edlaurent@connectingconservation Additional contacts for SEARS program questions: Becky Gwynn - VA Department of Game and Inland Fisheries: becky.gw...@dgif.virginia.gov Mike Harris - US Fish and Wildlife Service: michael_har...@fws.gov Dr. Jon Gassett - Wildlife Management Institute: jgass...@wildlifemgt.org On Tue, May 31, 2016 at 3:45 PM, Williams, Jennifer <jen_willi...@nps.gov> wrote: > The Excel file linked here > <http://parcplace.org/Herp_Species_Petitioned_for_Listing-one_list.xlsx> > contains > a list of amphibian and reptile species being evaluated for listing > determinations under the Endangered Species Act. > > > As part of Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation’s role in > ensuring that the best science is in the hands of managers and decision > makers, we are compiling a list of all experts on each of these species. > This file will help biologists across the nation who are involved in any > aspect of listing determinations (including evaluating information that > could suggest that listing may not be warranted) or subsequent recovery > processes. > > > *In the spreadsheet, please include your name, email address, and a short > description of the type of conservation or population ecology work you are > doing or have done that qualifies you to be considered an expert on the > species. Please email the file with this information directly to me > at jen_willi...@nps.gov <jen_willi...@nps.gov>.* > > > Thank you in advance for helping us to connect those involved in these > decisions with those who have the greatest knowledge on the subject! > > > Sincerely, > > > Jen > > -- > > Jen Williams, Ph.D. > > Federal Coordinator for Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation > (PARC) > 1201 Oakridge Dr., Suite 200 > Fort Collins, CO 80525 > Phone: 352-568-5903 (cell) or 970-267-2159 > Fax: 970-225-3585 > > *Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.* > > The mission of PARC is to conserve amphibians, reptiles and their habitats > as integral parts of our ecosystem and culture through proactive and > coordinated public-private partnerships. To learn more, visit > parcplace.org > >
