Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	65.17
Liaison	Taylor Smith
Submission Date	July 26, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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:

UMBC is home to several delineated Federal wetlands and a conservation easement.

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:

1) Northern Long-eared Bat Myotis septentrionalis (Threatened)
2) Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus (Candidate)

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 Conservation and Environmental Research Areas (CERA) of UMBC, were created to support environmental education and conservation at UMBC. At present, CERA covers about 50 acres of the UMBC landscape, and is located in two different areas. The larger tract, covering approximately 45 acres of the south end of the main campus, is comprised of a wide variety of ecological conditions: mature upland forest, early- and mid- successional forest, and riparian and wetland environments. The second, and much smaller CERA area (about 3 acres), surrounds Pigpen Pond. There are also several areas within CERA where evidence of previous human occupancy and use can be found. In addition to teaching opportunities for faculty, CERA offers a wide range of opportunities for students and faculty to undertake short and long term research projects in a variety of disciplines. Management of CERA is guided by the need to maintain these landscapes as natural areas to be preserved and protected for approved uses in education, research and wildlife observation.

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:

US Fish and Wildlife Service IPaC Tool. IPaC is a project planning tool which streamlines the environmental review process by providing information on the location of listed species and other USFWS trust resources which could potentially be affected by a project.

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

Scope includes all of main campus.

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

Management of ecological important/sensitive areas is guided by the need to maintain these landscapes as natural areas to be preserved and protected for approved uses in education, research and wildlife observation.

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:

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Additional documentation to support the submission:

IPaC__Explore_Location_resources.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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