| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.91 |
| Liaison | Susan Powers |
| Submission Date | April 10, 2024 |
Clarkson University
OP-10: Biodiversity
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Susan
Powers Director of the Institute for a Sustainable Environment ISE |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Does the institution own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, or regions of conservation importance?:
Yes
A brief description of the legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance:
The Raquette River is an important, north flowing tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It is included on the NYS Open Space plan. We are a priority area for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Wetland and Grassland management district for birds and other wetland animals. Our region is also part of the Algonquin to Adirondack corridor (http://www.a2acollaborative.org/).
Endangered and vulnerable species
Yes
A list of endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution, by level of extinction risk:
Valued plant species find their homes in our wild areas: 'yellow lettuce' (Lacttuca hirsute) is endangered in New York State and a Pyrola and a Botrychium fern are state heritage list plants. Our species of greatest conservation need include blue spotted salamanders and blandings turtles.
Areas of biodiversity importance
Yes
A brief description of areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution:
Vernal pools, beaver wetlands, riparian zone/forest, old growth hemlock forest (assessment by Jon Rosales, a researcher from St. Lawrence University), cedar swamp, shrub/scrub wetlands, herbaceous emergent wetlands, beech/maple/yellow birch forests, white pine, ash swamp forest.
Methodologies
If yes to either of the above, provide the following:
Intermittent surveys conducted by students and researchers. The students and researchers draft management plans. An interdisciplinary class was created with a Sustainability Fund Grant for assessment and documentation. A freshman biology lab of roughly 100 students conducts a forest inventory using iTree in the fall of 2021 and 2022.
A brief description of the scope of the assessment(s):
Biology classes use our forested and wild areas for labs and classes. The Fall 2021 and 2022 biology lab conducted a forest inventory for the campus' forests using the iTree platform.
A brief description of the plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats, and/or ecosystems:
A campus forest task force has been established. The task force reports to the administrative council. All major stakeholders for forest use are represented on the task force. All land use changes of our wild areas must go through this task force. The Biology Department, the Institute for a Sustainable Environment, and the Clarkson University Outing Club are all represented in this group and vote for strong protections.
Optional Fields
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Website URL where information about the institution’s biodiversity initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Data from FY22 and FY23
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.