The Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority’s Natural Resource Department (NRD) is responsible for
the management and conservation of undeveloped areas within 13 southeastern Michigan’s
Metroparks- roughly 80% of the nearly 24,000 total acres. While their management decisions
should ideally be based on consistent, current, and comprehensive ecological information, the data
currently used by the NRD has been collected at different points in time, using different methods,
and only in select undeveloped areas. This lack of consistent data inhibits the proper siting of
municipal and recreational amenities and may lead to inefficient and unsound land management.
Additionally, the NRD’s current method for assessing ecological quality is difficult to implement,
given the reality of time, funding, and staffing constraints. Our master’s project sought to assist the
NRD in the development of a practical, effective, and informed protocol for assessing ecological
quality; thereby enabling the NRD to target management efforts towards natural areas of maximum
conservation benefit.
Five ecological assessment protocols were examined through a case-study approach in
Lower Huron and Willow Metroparks during the fall of 2010: a Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA),
the NRD’s current model, the Huron River Watershed Council’s Bioreserve Rapid Assessment
Method (BRAM), the Huron River Watershed Council’s corresponding Bioreserve Desktop Analysis,
and a GIS-based Multi-Criteria Evaluation. Each protocol was measured against a set of predetermined
evaluation criteria as a means to determine their advantages and disadvantages for
implementation within HCMA. A recommended action plan was developed for HCMA based on the
findings of our evaluation.
Our action plan recommends that the NRD generate preliminary data for all natural areas of
all parks using a multi-criteria evaluation. Following this initial desktop analysis, HCMA’s NRD
should implement the BRAM to create a comprehensive baseline dataset, as it is a resource-efficient
and holistic approach to field-based ecological assessments. Our results suggest that the BRAM is a
relatively accurate and reliable assessment given its large statistical correlation with FQA and the
HCMA’s current model. We highly recommend NRD pursue partnerships with local conservation
organizations in order to implement and expand the agency’s management, conservation, and
preservation activities.