EVALUATION OF METHODOLOGY USED IN ECOLOGICAL 

 CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CHENIER PLAIN 



R. H. Chabreck,' J. B.Johnston,' and J. B. Knkwood- 



INTRODUCTION 



Increasing uses of coastal areas by developers, 

 plus increasing public awareness of the value of 

 living resources in these areas, have resulted in in- 

 creasing conflicts concerning land and water uses. 

 These conflicts can be resolved and reasonable de- 

 velopment can proceed while, at the same time, 

 productivity is maintained, if a good understanding 

 of the functions of these fragile areas and more pre- 

 cise methods of predicting the effects of further 

 alterations can be developed. The ecological char- 

 acterization process was devised by the Fish and 

 Wildhfe Service (FWS) as a procedure for providing 

 this understanding. Characterizations provide a de- 

 scription of the important environmental and 

 socioeconomic resources and physical processes 

 comprising coastal ecosystems, and an understand- 

 ing of the dynamic relationships of these systems 

 by integrating existing resource data as a functional 

 ecological unit. 



The area selected for the initial ecosystem char- 

 acterization was the Chenier Plain of southeastern 

 Texas and southwestern Louisiana. This area is an 

 important producer of fish and wildlife resources; 

 it is subjected to a wide variety of land use prac- 

 tices; it contains large areas of vital natural habitat 

 such as coastal marshes, estuaries, and shallow off- 

 shore waters; and it supports several endangered 

 and threatened species. There is a large amount of 

 biological and environmental data available from 

 previous studies of this ecosystem, and the Chenier 

 Plain area has a long history of development associ- 

 ated with industrialization, mineral extraction, 

 navigation, flood control, and agriculture. Through 

 investigation and evaluation of the productivity of 

 resources that have been subjected to various in- 

 tensities of development, it should be possible to 

 iormulate precise impact predictions. 



National Coastal Ecosystems Team, Office of Biological Services, 

 Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, NSTL Station, 

 Miss. 39529. 



Office of Biological Services, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. 

 of the Interior, Atlanta, Ga. 30347. 



Since the Chenier Plain characterization was 

 the first investigation of this type to be initiated, 

 an important aspect of the project was an evalua- 

 tion of the methodology used. This evaluation was 

 needed also for the orderly execution of subse- 

 quent characterizations of other coastal ecosys- 

 tems. A methodology evaluation made it possible 

 to identify techniques which effectively served to 

 meet project objectives, and at the same time it 

 identified procedures that had not contributed sig- 

 nificantly. 



Important aspects of the characterization 

 metht)dology to be evaluated in this paper include 

 the steering committee concept, user needs sur\ey, 

 conceptual modeling, area delineation, type of map- 

 ping, data search and presentation, and pilot study. 

 This paper presents the results of these evaluations 

 and suggests alternative procedures where unsatis- 

 factory results were obtained. 



STEERING COMMITTEE CONCEPT 



In order to facilitate active input into the char- 

 acterization study by others within and outside the 

 FWS, various State and Federal agencies closely in- 

 volved with activities within the Chenier Plain were 

 asked to assign a representative to a steering com- 

 mittee. These committee members were assigned 

 on the basis of their iniderstanding of tiic area or 

 special knowledge of certain aspects of the charac- 

 terization process. The Steering Committee re- 

 viewed progress made by contractors at regularly 

 schedided periods, assessed this progress, and made 

 recommendations to the FWS Project Officer re- 

 garding future study areas. 



The initial meeting of the Steering Committee 

 was held prior to the beginning of work. Most 

 members showed a strong interest in the project 

 and responded with both oral and written reviews 

 of materiiil presented to them. Enthusiasm re- 

 mained high during the project and attendance at 

 meetings was even higher than anticipated. The 

 committee size (six) for Chenier Plain was accept- 



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