James Madison University
OP-10: Biodiversity

According to STARS staff in a conversation with Abram Kaufman on February 10, 2017, the 340-acre Edith J. Carrier Arboretum meets the STARS criteria for a protected area, as it is dedicated and managed for long-term conservation per the designations below:
• The Arboretum has been declared a Living Legacy, commissioned on September 17, 1987 by the Commission of the Bicentennial of the United States of America, chaired by Warren E. Burger. This commission states that the Arboretum will link the past to the future by preserving a natural woodland comprised of native species of the region interspersed with selected cultivars, depicting diversity.
• The Board of Visitors of JMU created a resolution in May 1993 to assure that the Arboretum’s 125 acres (37 acres of developed land, 88 acres in a natural state) will be reserved for student/community use and enjoyment.
For the Arboretum, the grounds are carefully managed for ecosystem protection and restoration, visitor enjoyment of these qualities, and study and research by JMU faculty and students to understand ecosystem and cultural dynamics. Significantly, the area has also seen restoration projects, such as restoration of the main, previously-degraded stream corridor through the heart of the property.

The university is fortunate to have five identified environmentally-sensitive areas (while "environmentally-sensitive areas" was the term used in STARS v. 2.1, and this has now been replaced by the term "areas of biodiversity importance" for STARS v. 2.2, we use the two terms as synonyms): (1) Edith J. Carrier Arboretum, (2) the Port Republic Road Farm property, (3) the riparian corridors along Sibert Creek and other tributaries to Blacks Run, (4) East Campus Hillside Area including the food forest, and (5) land bridge area. The ecosystem services benefits of these areas include stormwater and flood mitigation, carbon sequestration, pollinator conservation, wildlife habitat, and the maintenance of a native seed bank. These areas also serve to replicate ecosystem succession, often with an overlay of experimental design and inquiry methods.

Environmentally-sensitive is defined by STARS as “having unique or significant value to plant and/or animal species.” It is critical to note that “environmentally-sensitive” has many definitions, and the analysis here is based on the authors’ professional judgment of how the areas matched the STARS definition specifically. The observational analysis is confirmatory for inclusion in STARS alone, and is insufficient and unsuitable for legal classification of the areas.

As submitted to STARS in 2018, JMU retained the services of the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC), the Center for Urban Habitats, and Hirschman Water & Environment to independently map areas on campus and identify the areas that fall within two STARS biodiversity categories.

The original assessment was reviewed with the ISNW Executive Council. In addition to affirming the areas originally listed would be included again, parts of campus that changed since the assessment were reviewed by the ISNW Executive Council in late 2021. Two new areas of biodiversity importance were added to the original list. An Edible Forest Garden was added to the East Campus Hillside Area in October 2021. The land bridge was added as the 5th area. JMU's new land bridge facilitates pedestrian access on East Campus. The original 1.5 acres of forest/open space meadow in the project area was increased to 3.7 acres of forest/open space meadow and will help meet stormwater management runoff reduction requirements. This area is intended to be used for pollinator education and outreach.

JMU has plans and programs in place for each of the environmentally-sensitive areas noted above. As stated, the Arboretum, Hillside, and Farm property are actively used by staff, faculty, and students to learn ecological principles and study methods. Plots and transects are evident in these locations. The Arboretum is continuously developing plans to restore and enhance native plant communities and seeks funding for positive outcomes. Other restored native landscapes (e.g., Hillside) are the subject of wildlife studies (e.g., birds, butterflies, insects) as well as studies on how to use compost derived from campus-generated waste materials.

JMU retained the services of the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC), the Center for Urban Habitats, and Hirschman Water & Environment to independently map areas on campus and identify the areas that fall within two STARS biodiversity categories. This was not a full ecosystem study or species/habitat analysis, but an independent verification of areas specifically for inclusion in the credit. Their findings as summarized above provide documentation and responses for OP-10 based on mapping, consultation with Facilities Management staff, a preliminary field investigation, and analysis of collected data. The external contractors did view the areas first hand to list some species they observed. They did not meet with faculty and students, and based the analysis on first-hand observation.