Advocate

Achievements in conservation planning and advocacy

US State Agency Wildlife Conservation Planning Resources

Major contributor to the Southern Wings online guide created to help US state agencies be more efficient and impactful with their finite resources by providing easy access to full annual cycle conservation planning resources. In partnership with American Bird Conservancy, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Georgetown University, Audubon contributed maps showing connections between each state and the places their priority species travel across the hemisphere, as well as a database linking Latin American conservation organizations to states via their shared species.

Internationally Designated Ship Routing Measures

Led an analysis of ship-routing measures for the Bering Strait with a large coalition of environmental NGOs and the regional Alaska Native Organization. Worked with the US Coast Guard to advocate for a science-based approach and increased routing measures. Because of this work, the International Maritime Organization designated three Areas To Be Avoided that we delineated and recommended to protect birds, marine mammals, and subsistence hunting.

Pages from Bering Strait PARS_NGO Ltr and Appendices_3June2015

Permanent Withdrawal of Offshore Oil Leases

My colleagues and I presented our work on Important Ecological Areas in the Arctic Ocean to executive staff at the White House, as well as the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in Washington, DC. That effort, A Synthesis of Important Areas in the U.S. Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, informed the science behind President Obama’s permanent withdrawals of offshore oil and gas leasing.

synthesis cover

Protection of Special Areas in the National Petroleum Reserve

Led a Habitat Conservation Strategy for the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska, using geospatial data to identify conservation priority areas. The proposal we developed became the basis for the Bureau of Land Management’s planning Alternative B, which was ultimately chosen, resulting in 11 million acres of protection in balance with industrial development.

Habitat_Conserv_Strategy_Jan_25_2011 map.jpg

Protection of Key Watersheds from Clearcut Logging

Identified top priority watersheds for fish and wildlife conservation in collaboration with other eNGOs. The Tongass 77, priority fish and wildlife conservation watersheds in Southeast Alaska, were protected by the US Forest Service in the 2016 forest plan and by the State of Alaska in land transfer legislation.

T77 from Ecological Atlas

Publications in conservation planning and advocacy

DeLuca, W., N. Seavy, J. Grand, J. Velásquez-Tibatá, C. Bowler, J. Deppe, E. Knight, G. Lentijo, T. Meehan, N. Michel, S. Saunders, N. Schillerstrom, M. Smith, L. Taylor, C. Witko, C. Wilsey. 2023. A framework for linking hemispheric, full annual cycle prioritizations to local conservation actions for migratory birds. Conservation Science and Practice 5(8):e12975. Available here.

Saunders, S., J. Wu, E. Gow, E. Adams, B. Bateman, T. Bayard, S. Beilke, A. Dayer, A. Fournier, K. Fox, P. Heglund, S. Lerman, N. Michel, E. Paxton, Ç. Şekercioğlu, M. Smith, W. Thogmartin, M. Woodrey, C. van Riper III. 2021. Bridging the research-implementation gap in avian conservation with translational ecology. Ornithological Applications 123:1-13. Available here.

Huntington, H., S. Bobbe, A. Hartsig, E. Knight, A. Knizhnikov, A. Moiseev, O. Romanenko, M. A. Smith, and B. Sullender. 2019. The role of areas to be avoided in the governance of shipping in the greater Bering Strait region. Marine Policy 110:103564. Available here.

Matsuoka, S. M., J. C. Hagelin, M. A. Smith, T. F. Paragi, A. L. Sesser, and M. A. Ingle. 2019. Pathways for avian science, conservation, and management in boreal Alaska. Avian Conservation and Ecology 14(1):15. Available here.

Smith, M.A. and J. Adams. 2015. Prince of Wales Wolves: The Long-term Impacts of Logging and Roads Push a Wolf Population Toward Extinction. Anchorage: Audubon Alaska. Available here.

Audubon Alaska, Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, Pew Charitable Trusts, and World Wildlife Fund. 2014. A Synthesis of Important Areas of the US Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Anchorage, AK. Available here.

Kirchhoff, M., N. Walker, M.A. Smith, E. Myers, and J. Schoen. 2013. The Cost of Senate Bill 340: A Report to Congress. Anchorage: Audubon Alaska. Available here.

Smith, M.A., E.F. Myers, and J.W. Schoen. 2011. Habitat Conservation Strategy for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Anchorage: Audubon Alaska. Available here.

Kennett, G., G. Munther, J.M. Hillis, M.G. Hartwell, and M. Smith.  2006. Collaboration Concepts: Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. Prepared for Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership, Montana Trout Unlimited, Montana Wilderness Association, National Wildlife Federation, and Sun Mountain Lumber. Missoula, MT: Ecosystem Research Group.

Presentations in conservation planning and advocacy

M. Smith*, S. Butchart, A. Celis-Murillo, S. C. Davidson, W. DeLuca, N. Gonzalez, A-L. Harrison, M. Jimenez, E. Knight, S. Mackenzie, P. Marra, A. Punjabi, K. Ruegg, A. Scarpignato, N. Seavy, L. Taylor, C. Wilsey, C. Witko, and J. Deppe​. 2022. The Bird Migration Explorer: A collaborative science-based geospatial platform to connect birders with migration and conservation. In American Ornithological Society Annual Conference. San Juan, Puerto Rico.

M. A. Smith*, M. Goldman, and E. Knight. 2018. The Ecological Atlas of the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. In American Ornithological Society Annual Conference. Tucson, AZ.

M. A. Smith*, M. Goldman, and E. Knight. 2018. The Ecological Atlas of the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. In Alaska Marine Science Symposium. Anchorage, AK.

M. A. Smith*, M. Goldman, and E. Knight. 2017. The Ecological Atlas of the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. In US Arctic Research Commission Annual Meeting. Anchorage, AK.

M. A. Smith*, M. Goldman, E. Knight, D. Huffman, and B. Sullender. 2016. Building better bird maps: The Ecological Atlas of the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. In 17th Alaska Bird Conference. Cordova, AK. Available here.

R. Daniel*, C. Krenz, M. Smith, N. Walker, B. Robson, E. Huffines, A. Hartsig, and H. Huntington. 2015. A synthesis of important areas in the U.S. Beaufort Sea, In Alaska Marine Science Symposium. Anchorage, AK. Available here.

C. Krenz*, M. Smith, N. Walker, K. Livingston, R. Daniel, and B. Robson. 2015. Identifying marine mammal fall migration core areas in the U.S. Beaufort Sea, In Alaska Marine Science Symposium. Anchorage, AK. Available here.

M. Smith*, C. Krenz, N. Walker, R. Daniel, B. Robson, E. Huffines, A. Hartsig, and H. Huntington. 2015. A synthesis of important areas in the U.S. Chukchi Sea, In Alaska Marine Science Symposium. Anchorage, AK. Available here.

N. Walker*, M. Smith, and R. Wilson. 2012. A decision-support tool for bird conservation in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska. In 15th Alaska Bird Conference. Anchorage, AK.

G. Wong*, D. Barker, D. Cost, R. Daniel, M. Prior, and M. Smith. 2012. Planning for Arctic Energy Futures. In Northern Energy Science an Technology Fair. Anchorage, AK.

M. A. Smith*, 2011. The Arctic Marine Synthesis: using maps to influence science and policy in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. In Alaska Marine Science Symposium. Anchorage, AK.

M. A. Smith*, E. F. Myers, J. W. Schoen. 2011. A habitat conservation strategy for the National Petroleum Reserve—Alaska. In Annual conference of Arctic AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science). Dillingham, AK.

M. A. Smith* and J. W. Schoen. Comparing landscape-scale land management strategies on the Tongass National Forest, Alaska. 2010. In Society for Conservation GIS Annual Conference. Monterey, CA.