Demystifying Managed Relocation: Panel Discussion Illuminates a Valuable but Underutilized Adaptation Strategy

More than 170 members of the regional climate adaptation science community recently gathered via Zoom to participate in NE CASC panel discussion  on managed relocation, an adaptation strategy that focuses on moving species, populations or genotypes outside of their historical distributions to maintain biodiversity or ecosystem function in a changing climate. Held on May 12th, this event--which was jointly sponsored with the Northeast Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (RISCC) Management Network--provided a forum for managers and researchers to address key questions surrounding a potentially valuable but infrequently used management tool that is likely to become increasingly relevant in the coming years. As recent NE CASC research has illustrated, growing ranges for native plants are contracting with climate change while the reverse is true for nonnative plants.This inverse relationship implies that widespread use of managed relocation is needed to maintain the presence of native plants. 

Moderated by Jenica Allen, a member of the RISCC Management Network leadership team, the discussion featured exchanges between three experts on managed relocation:

• Peter Clark, NE CASC Affiliated Investigator and Research Associate in the University of Vermont Forestry Program & Northern Institute of Applied Climate ScienceE CASC Principal Investigator
• Jacquelyn Gill, Professor of Paleoecology and Plant Ecology at the University of Maine
• Chris Nadeau, Climate Change Adaptation Scientist, Schoodic Institute

In addition to panelist remarks, the conversation was also highlighted  by contributions from an audience that included representatives of more than 20 governmental agencies, 20 universities, and 15 NGOs. 

During the hour-long discussion, participants focused on three main issues related to the implementation of managed relocation: Risks, guiding principles or frameworks, and opportunities and obstacles. Key panelist conclusions are summarized below. 

Risks

• Inaction: Based on analysis of the modern fossil record, paleoecologists have concluded that climate change-driven extinction more frequently arises from species’ inability to migrate to areas with favorable climates rather than interactions between native and nonnative species. In this context, barriers to migration–such as large bodies of water and mountain ranges–often pose insurmountable challenges for species survival. Given this knowledge, it is clear that inaction poses a significant threat to  the survival of species that are most vulnerable to climate change impacts. 
• Hitchhikers: Another crucial risk–and a focal point of assessments conducted by the Schoodic Institute–is that managed relocation may have a net negative impact on ecosystems due to the threat posed by “hitchikers”--diseases, pathogens, pests, or unwanted fungi that accompany relocated species. This risk can be significantly reduced, however, by using seeds to carry out relocation instead of whole plants. 
• Regeneration Failure: The inability to grow relocated plant or tree species in a new environment poses a risk for managers given limited resources, labor and time to achieve their objectives. To address this risk, managers must select their relocation targets carefully, identify the best possible sites for relocation, and follow best growing practices when implementing relocation. 
• Reputation: Personnel at federal agencies are concerned about the possibility of losing hard-earned credibility and trust with stakeholders if they utilize a novel strategy such as managed relocation and it doesn’t work as expected. To avoid such a problem, panelists suggested that it is important to remember that Tribal Nations have engaged in their own versions of managed relocation for millennia by relocating fruit and nut trees. Becoming familiar with these established approaches would benefit managers by helping reduce potential for unexpected outcomes. Panelists also agreed that a thorough evaluation of possible relocation sites is paramount prior to initiating relocation. 

Guiding Principles

• Learn from the Past: The fossil record from the last ice age tells us that there is likely more capacity than typically assumed for introducing species into communities. During the last ice age, for example, northern tree species migrated to refugia in the Southeast and coexisted with native species for thousands of years. When the climate began to warm, these species migrated north with no apparent negative impact on native species of the Southeast, which did not migrate. 
• Prioritize the Local: When seeking to implement managed relocation, decision-making should be:  
  • Localized within a particular forest or stand 
  • Focused on maintaining local ecological function and integrity (e.g., replacing a shade-tolerant conifer with a similar species) 
• Select for Future Adaptability: Identifying relocation targets that will allow their seed sources to be maintained is vital to the success of managed relocation since it will enhance sustainability and reduce costs. In the context of climate change, this means identifying target species that are well adapted to high-emission scenarios. 

Obstacles and Opportunities

• Adaptation Infrastructure: Implementing managed relocation on a large scale requires a working reforestation pipeline that involves targeting valid species for relocation, collecting the right seeds, ensuring that nurseries are stocking future-adapted species, identifying the right planting windows for different species, acquiring funding, and recruiting a labor force. Each part of this pipeline presents challenges that can serve as a possible bottleneck. The pipeline must be strengthened to realize relocation and other adaptation objectives on a large scale. Examples of challenges within the reforestation pipeline include: 
  • The current state of seed collection is at a historic low point compared to the previous 50 years 
  • Nurseries are responsive to market pressures rather than adaptation objectives and frequently do not stock the right species 
  • Forest managers have limited time to identify the best candidates for relocation
• Community: There currently isn’t enough engagement between researchers and practitioners to establish a supportive culture for managed relocation. Managers have questions about managed relocation, but they do not have connections to researchers who can provide needed information. Fortunately, the RISCC Management Network provides an effective approach for bridging the knowing-doing gap and can be used as an example of organizational infrastructure that is needed to establish a network of researchers, managers, and decision-makers. Scientists and managers must coordinate on a large scale to advance managed relocation across the region.
• Data: There is a lack of large-scale, long-term research on managed relocation. Consequently, operational scale experiments, exemplified in the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) Network must be broadly implemented.  
• Government Regulation: The Endangered Species Act is not robust to climate change because it only protects species where they currently exist, but does not anticipate the need for managed relocation. Consequently, the adaptation community needs to be more interventionist than it normally is, especially in light of dissolving federal regulation. Opportunities exist for creating a better regulatory structure at the local and state levels. 

These resources were mentioned during the Managed Relocation discussion:

• Observed and Potential Range Shifts of Native and Nonnative Species with Climate Change: Journal article by Bethany Bradley, et al. (Referenced in Jenica Allen's introductory presentation)
• Managed Relocation: Integrating the Scientific, Regulatory, and Ethical Challenges: Journal article by Mark Schwartz et al. (Referenced in Jenica Allen's Introductory Presentation)
• Considering the Risks of Managed Relocation: White Paper by National Invasive Species Council
• "Balancing Risk and Resilience: Which Plant Traits Should Inform Managed Relocation Species Selection?": Journal article by Thomas Nuhfer and Bethany Bradley
• A Lack of Ecological Diversity in Forest Nurseries Limits the Achievement of Tree-Planting Objectives in Response to Global Change: Journal Article by Peter Clark, et al.
• A Decision-Support Framework for Conservation Introductions: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
• Helping Maine's Future Forest: News Article Series by Maine Coast Heritage Trust
• Centring Indigenous Knowledge Systems to Reimagine Conservation Translocations: Journal article by Rayne, et al.