Overall Rating	Silver
Overall Score	53.94
Liaison	DeLayne Miller
Submission Date	Dec. 15, 2022

STARS v2.2

Tennessee Technological University
OP-10: Biodiversity

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	2.00 / 2.00 This credit is weighted more heavily for institutions that own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to any of the following: Legally protected areas (e.g., IUCN Category I-VI) Internationally recognized areas (e.g., World Heritage, Ramsar, Natura 2000) Priority sites for biodiversity (e.g., Key Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites) Regions of conservation importance (e.g., Endemic Bird Areas, Biodiversity Hotspots, High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas) 2 points are available for this credit if the institution owns or manages land that includes or is adjacent to any of the above. 1 point is available for this credit for all other institutions. Close

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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:

Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation has identified 2 wetland boundaries within the central campus area. The first wetland has been delineated to be 1.76 acres, the second is 0.11 acres. These areas are regions of conservation importance.

Tennessee Tech's Center for Appalachian Craft, located on Center Hill Lake, resides on a 500 wooded acre property managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Endangered and vulnerable species

Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify endangered and vulnerable species (including migratory species) with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution?:

Yes

A list of endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution, by level of extinction risk:

Physaria globosa, Globe Bladderpod, Endangered (U.S. Endangered species list, 8/1/2014)

Areas of biodiversity importance

Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution?:

Yes

A brief description of areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution:

The Tennessee Tech Biology Department and the Field Botany 3240 course maintain a Native Plant Garden located in the middle of campus, each garden has a theme that represents the most common habitats in Tennessee. These habitats are prairie, rocky outcrop, wetland, mesic woodland, cedar glade, pasture/roadside, and health balds. Along with a variety of different plant species, there are insect homes located around the garden as well.

Methodologies

If yes to either of the above, provide the following:

The methodologies used to identify endangered and vulnerable species and/or areas of biodiversity importance and any ongoing assessment and monitoring mechanisms:

Tennessee Tech owns and maintains 1.87 acres of wetlands protected under Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). This area was surveyed by Tennessee Tech University Wetland Delineation.

The associate professor of Biology, Dr. Shawn Zeringue-Krosnick, heads the research lab in charge of understanding the natural history of Physaria globosa and the native plant garden which holds Physaria globosa specimens.

A brief description of the scope of the assessment(s):

The assessment of importance and methods to identify and manage the endangered species was taken from the Federal Endangered Species listing and recommendations from the draft recovery plan via federal register documents (84 FR 33962 33963).

A brief description of the plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats, and/or ecosystems:

In Summer of 2019, Tennessee Tech received certification for Bee Campus USA. Upon receiving this certification, Tennessee Tech implemented a habitat plan that is safe and friendly for pollinators and also developed gardens with native plants around campus to help pollinators. The Department of Biology at Tennessee Tech maintains their commitment to up keeping our native plant garden on campus. We have various pollinator gardens located around campus that can be identified on our Sustainability Map. On Tennessee Tech's website, there is information on Bee Campus USA including classes related to pollinators and our IPM Plan.

Optional Fields

Estimated percentage of areas of biodiversity importance that are also protected areas :

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Website URL where information about the institution’s biodiversity initiatives is available:

https://www.tntech.edu/sustainability/bee-campus-usa.php

Additional documentation to support the submission:

tennessee-tech-becomes-the-75th-bee-campus-usa-in-the-nation1_7J1mgrW.php

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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