Adirondack All-Taxa
Biological Inventory: A Path of Discovery
A Brief Summary of the Program Prepared by the Founding Members of the Adirondack ATBI
An all-taxa biological inventory is a biological information gathering process that is dependent upon and supported by the stakeholders (the people) of the geographic area of interest. It acknowledges the close interdependence that stakeholders have with the biological community within which they live, work, and recreate. Through the active participation in an ATBI, individuals and groups can uncover these relationships and learn about this global treasure we call the Adirondacks, an internationally recognized Biosphere Reserve. Much of this recognition is derived from the knowledge that unlike many other Biosphere Reserves, the Adirondacks encompass an enormous six million acre land mass: three million acres of public Forest Preserve land protected as “forever wild” by the New York State Constitution interspersed with 3 million acres of private land. Residents of New York and elsewhere, some 90 million within a day’s drive, can recreate, explore, and marvel at the vast areas of northern hardwood and boreal forests, the 11,000 lakes and ponds, and 12,000 miles of streams and rivers. Ninety percent of the wildlife species in the northeastern US are found here; few places on the planet can make such boasts.
With the knowledge that the Adirondacks are globally significant and with heart-felt conviction, individuals from diverse backgrounds (i.e., academic and non-academic, NGO’s and government organizations) support a shared vision to create a process called the Adirondack All-Taxa Biological Inventory (ATBI). Since it is our goal that the Adirondack ATBI reflect ownership by a greater Adirondack community, initial steps forward are prudently taken to ensure that no interested party is left by the wayside. So far, two astoundingly productive meetings of a broad based stakeholder group have focused on three key aspects of an ATBI for the Adirondacks:
- Rationale
Management approaches to dealing with ongoing environmental issues at local and regional scales, such as air and water quality, climate change, land use and development, and invasive species, rely upon defining relationships between biological diversity and the surrounding environment. We believe an ATBI will provide essential biological knowledge for management decisions. Moreover experience with a six year on-going ATBI effort in the Great Smoky Mtn. Park has shown a strong link to developing an increased connectedness of people to the environment through citizen science efforts, inspiration from understanding the beauty of nature, increased public support for protected areas, and the potential for economically beneficial discoveries.
- A Clear Focus
A thorough discussion about planning for and maintaining the ATBI concluded that it should have several critical elements. Foremost, an Adirondack ATBI should focus on all taxonomic groups, citizen participation, education, and public and private collaboration. An Adirondack ATBI will not have a focus on threatened and endangered species, will not be limited to an academic base of support, and will not be government controlled. This shall be a project that both serves and is supported by the larger Adirondack community.
- Giving it Life
Five subgroups were formed following the stimulating work from two meetings and from an interim attempt to acquire funding through a grant proposal with the New York Biodiversity Research Institute. Currently, the subgroups are focusing on
- Organization
- an ATBI Plan
- Communication and Outreach
- Database
- ATBI Panel Discussion
In a leadership role, Paul Smith’s College will be home and hub to the ATBI as collaborations are formed during the next three year start-up phase. Often referred to as ‘The College of the Adirondacks’, Paul Smith's College is the only four-year degree granting institution in the six million acre Park, and is ideally located in the Park for stakeholder meeting, has state-of-the-art technology, and an array of pertinent resources to help the ATBI become a viable, useful and long-standing community endeavor. Additionally, the college has been identified as a potential site for future national ATBI meetings.
Funding of coordination and initial planning efforts during the first three years would permit implementation of a solid, extremely well-designed biological inventory; and provide time to develop a funding base. We hope that this is viewed as a historical event and as both a national and an international model of local and regional communities engaging, understanding, honoring, and nurturing life within the bounds of the Adirondacks.
That man is, in fact, only a member of a biotic team is shown by an ecological interpretation of history. Many historical events, hitherto explained solely in terms of human enterprise, were actually biotic interactions between people and land.Aldo Leopold (1949). A Sand County Almanac. Oxford University Press. New York.