Collaborative Workflow for Multi-Species Recovery Planning
The Conservation Footprint Manager is a web application designed to support collaborative refinement and long-term management of species recovery zones generated by optimTFE. The tool enables land managers and conservation biologists to propose edits, review changes, and coordinate adjustments across multiple taxonomic working groups through a structured review-and-approval workflow.
The system serves both immediate fine-tuning of optimization outputs and ongoing tracking of conservation footprints as recovery efforts progress across the Maui Nui landscape.
The Problem
Spatial optimization tools such as optimTFE generate efficient recovery zones for threatened species. However, algorithmic solutions require field-based refinement. Biologists may recognize that a proposed location is unsuitable due to site-specific conditions not captured in habitat models, or that alternative locations would be more practical for management.
For the Maui Nui recovery effort—spanning dozens of plant and bird species across multiple working groups—coordination posed several challenges:
- Tracking proposed footprint edits across taxa
- Recording justification for changes
- Preventing unauthorized or undocumented database edits
- Maintaining version history and accountability
- Supporting multi-user collaboration at scale
Email-based coordination and ad hoc spreadsheets proved insufficient.
The Solution
I developed a Shiny-based web application supporting collaborative review and controlled modification of conservation footprints.
The system includes three primary components:
Interactive Footprint Viewing:
- Selection of taxonomic groups to display species recovery zones
- Interactive Leaflet maps showing target population locations
- Import and sharing of auxiliary spatial layers (trails, land ownership, accessibility)
- Persistent user-specific layer preferences
Collaborative Editing:
- Relocation of target populations to alternative planning units
- Addition or deletion of target locations
- Required justification notes for all edits
- Option to save edits privately or publish for working group review
- Alternative location filtering by bioregion and habitat suitability
Review & Approval Workflow:
- Searchable edit table displaying source, destination, affected taxa, and notes
- Map-based preview of proposed changes
- Administrator approval or rejection controls
- Persistent update of conservation footprint upon approval
- Full edit history with user attribution and timestamps
The application integrates directly with optimTFE outputs and builds on structured expert feedback principles used earlier in the planning process.
Technical Architecture
The application was built using R Shiny with the golem framework for modularity and long-term maintainability. The interface leverages shiny.semantic and Leaflet for structured UI components and spatial interaction.
Key architectural components include:
- Spatial datasets and conservation footprints stored in Amazon S3
- Role-based authentication (user vs. administrator permissions)
- Edit tracking and workflow state management via AWS DynamoDB
- Structured status states (saved, proposed, approved, rejected)
- Interactive edit tables built with reactable
The system separates optimization outputs from governance logic, ensuring that algorithmic recommendations can be refined collaboratively without compromising reproducibility or data integrity.
Outcome
The Conservation Footprint Manager is deployed for the Maui Nui Landscape Conservation Planning project, where conservation biologists across multiple working groups refine species recovery zones.
The structured review workflow enables:
- Field-informed adjustments
- Cross-taxonomic coordination
- Accountability and documentation
- Long-term tracking of recovery zone evolution
The tool extends spatial optimization into a managed decision-support system, ensuring that conservation footprints evolve transparently from algorithmic recommendation to field-validated implementation.