Resources

RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES

Below we list upcoming trainings, seminars, and conferences happening in the southern US, as well as headline stories, reports, and funding sources pertinent to Southern Conservation Partners' mission and interests.

Photo by Mike Dunn

Upcoming Conferences and Events

Upcoming regional conferences of interest in the Southern U.S. We invite you to provide us with information about other conferences concerning protection and enhancement of environmental resources.

15th Biennial Longleaf Conference on October 8-11, 2024 at the Sandestin Resort in Miramar Beach, Florida. Registration details and link on conference WEBSITE.

78th Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies delayed by hurricanes and rescheduled for December 9-13, 2024 in Augusta, Georgia, hosted by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Visit the EVENT WEBSITE for details and registration options.

2025 Southeast Land Conservation Conference scheduled for March 26-28, 2025, in Asheville, NC. Sponsored by the Land Trust Alliance www.lta.org

Conservation News Headlines and Featured Resources
- see also the DEFENSE section of this website -

The latest update to the Southeast Conservation Blueprint is now available!
The Blueprint is the primary product of the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS). It is a living, spatial plan to achieve the SECAS vision of a connected network of lands and waters across the Southeast and Caribbean. The Southeast Blueprint is regularly updated to incorporate new data, partner input, and information about on-the-ground conditions. Across 15 states of the Southeast, the Blueprint identifies priority areas based on a suite of natural and cultural resource indicators representing terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. A connectivity analysis identifies corridors that link coastal and inland areas and span climate gradients. This portion of the Southeast Blueprint is referred to as the “Base Blueprint”. To provide more complete coverage of the SECAS geography, the Blueprint incorporates two additional input plans in the Florida marine environment and in Puerto Rico: the Florida Marine Blueprint and the Caribbean Landscape Conservation Design.

Note that with release of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint 2022, it replaces the older South Atlantic Blueprint and the last South Atlantic resources have been passed over to the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) partnership. The old South Atlantic Conservation Planning Atlas (CPA) gateway has been redirected to the new SECAS Atlas mapping platform. With 2022 data made available in the Southeast Blueprint Explorer, the old South Atlantic Blueprint Simple Viewer will be replaced in the Southeast Blueprint Explorer. The old South Atlantic website has been closed. Note: new features added in 2023 to the Blueprint Explorer viewer.

The Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy consortium set a goal of a 10% or greater improvement in the health, function, and connectivity of Southeastern ecosystems by 2060. One of the near-term metrics for that goal was a 1% improvement every 4 years. How are we doing so far? The 2022 report on SECAS goal progress, "Recent Trends in Southeastern Ecosystems," is now online. It integrates results from 10 different assessments covering the Southeast and estimates trends based on the most recent 3-6 years of data available. The goal is to create an updated progress report every year. Read more HERE.

NatureServe network's resources:
Learn about your local biodiversity with NatureServe tools!
Have you ever wondered what kind of biodiversity lives around you? Do you ever wish you had tools at your disposal that would provide information about the natural world?
NatureServe is the network of U.S. states' and Canadian provincial natural heritage and biodiversity inventory programs, and is a powerhouse in assembling biodiversity data collected by its network partners.  Two of its tools, NatureServe Explorer and NatureServe Explorer Pro, are free to use.
Nature Service offers two videos, each of under two minutes length, that provide a step-by-step tutorial on how you can use the tools to learn about the biodiversity in your backyard!

NatureServe Explorer Tutorial
This tool is best for finding biodiversity on the state you live in or individual species. Watch Video

NatureServe Explorer Pro Tutorial
This tool is best for finding biodiversity in a specific area. Watch Video
Watch a broadcast of NatureServe’s February, 2024, webinar: Protecting North America’s

Biodiversity: What it takes to know where and how to act and learn more about the impact NatureServe and state and provincial natural heritage programs are having on biodiversity protection across North America. Watch Recording

Exceeding 1.5°C Global Warming Could Trigger Multiple Climate Tipping Points
A report published in Science (Sept. 9, 2022) asserts that even the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to well below 2°C, and preferably 1.5°C, is not safe because temperature 1.5°C and above risks crossing multiple tipping points. Crossing these Climate Tipping Points can generate positive feedbacks that increase the likelihood of crossing other CTPs. These changes may lead to abrupt, irreversible, and dangerous impacts with serious implications for humanity. READ MORE.
(Image below from article by Armstrong McKay et al.)

Once-in-a-Generation Investment: Federal Legislation Passed by Both Houses of Congress!
Among landmark elements of the recently enacted federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), are great advances toward reducing the nation’s impacts on the Earth’s climate. The legislation includes tax breaks for electric vehicles and incentives to ramp up carbon-capture facilities, urge green hydrogen production, and boost U.S. manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, and next-generation batteries. There is $369 billion in climate- and energy-related funding — much of it aimed at high-tech solutions to help nudge the world’s biggest historical emitter toward a greener future.

Beyond those headline-making investments, the legislation acknowledges another essential part of the effort to combat climate change: nature—that given a chance, nature can be a profound ally in the fight against climate change. “It’s historic, without a doubt,” said Tom Cors, director of North America policy and government relations at The Nature Conservancy, who called new funding to protect forests and boost climate-friendly agriculture practices a “once-in-a-generation investment.”

The money set aside for “nature-based” climate solutions includes about $20 billion for agricultural conservation and $5 billion to safeguard forests around the country, according to the Congressional Research Service. While those numbers pale in comparison to other big-ticket items, many environmental advocates say such investments are critical in giving the nation a better shot at hitting long-term climate goals, and will serve as a reminder that taking care of the land has added benefits to wildlife and human health.

The IRA also includes $20 billion for Farm Bill land conservation programs. According to the Land Trust Alliance, this will fund critical Farm Bill conservation programs: Land trusts and the landowners they work with will have access to an additional $1.4 billion for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program to be allocated across four years, and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program will be increased by $4.95 billion during that period. The Conservation Stewardship Program ($3.25 billion) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program ($8.45 billion) will also receive huge investments, and there is $1 billion in technical assistance for landowners who use these programs to reduce climate-related emissions. This increase in funding of Farm Bill conservation programs is a clear acknowledgment of the critical role that private landowners will continue to play in addressing climate change and its impacts.

New Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap
The U.S. Department of the Interior in partnership with the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment have produced an online tool that pulls together implementation strategies, project planning resources, and successful example projects to support the accelerated implementation of nature-based solutions. Explore the Roadmap

Future of Conservation
The Network for Landscape Conservation in late January 2022, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society to convene a national forum on "The Future of Conservation.” Building upon the 2020-21 virtual policy forum series, this Forum was intended to generate recommendations for changes in policies, programs, and partnerships to improve and accelerate conservation. Almost 200 people participated in the forum and broke into working groups to think critically about where the conservation movement needs to evolve in the face of systems-level challenges like the interconnected climate, biodiversity, and environmental justice crises. WATCH the opening plenary and final panel discussions, which brought forward visions for the future of conservation and restoration of North America’s landscapes from a variety of differing perspectives.

National Old-Growth Forests Inventory
The Biden administration in April 2023 announced identification of more than 175,000 square miles (453,000 square kilometers, or about the size of the state of California) of old growth and mature forests on U.S. government land and plans to craft a new rule to better protect the nation’s woodlands from fires, insects and other side effects of climate change. READ MORE

Climate Resiliency Analysis of Appalachian Trail Corridor
For nearly a century, the Appalachian Trail has existed as a backbone of conservation in the eastern United States. The footpath traverses a natural network of connected mountains, forests, rivers, and streams that is critical to adapting to a changing climate. Over the last two years, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, members of the Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership, and dozens of other climate and conservation experts have convened to explore ways to enhance the climate resiliency of the Appalachian Trail landscape. These conversations have culminated in a REPORT released in late July 2022: "Conserving an Intact and Enduring Appalachian Landscape: Designing a Corridor in Response to Climate Change." This report builds awareness of climate change threats and highlights climate action opportunities to safeguard the region’s public safety, economic stability, and ecological health. It is a tool to integrate climate-smart actions into conservation strategies and strategic planning efforts, and demonstrates the potential within the Appalachian landscape to help achieve ambitious goals set by the U.S. government related to conservation, environmental justice, and the climate crisis. The report includes examples of programs that are advancing climate resiliency in the Appalachians, and a set of recommendations for improving ecosystem integrity and connecting people to nature. What emerges is an inspiring vision for an Appalachian Climate Corridor: a connected and conserved landscape that protects the Appalachian Mountains so people and nature can thrive in an era of climate change. The Network will be hosting a Landscape Conservation in Action webinar on this vision in September—stay tuned for more details. LEARN MORE.

President Biden's Climate Change Response Executive Orders call for conserving 30% of America's land and waters by 2030
President Biden in his first month in office released an executive order calling for conservation of 30% of the U.S. land base and public waters by 2030. "This bold '30x30' vision is firmly rooted in science, given that protected land is key to a healthy and secure future for all Americans. It will provide pure drinking water, healthy food, clean air, habitat for wildlife, and places for people to reflect, recreate, hunt and fish. Conserved land also provides protection from natural disasters, such as floods and droughts, and absorbs and keeps carbon from the Earth's atmosphere." (Andrew Bowman, President & CEO of the Land Trust Alliance. More HERE.) After President Biden set the goal of conserving 30 percent of the nation’s land and waters by 2030, an interagency team in early May laid out broad principles — but few details — for achieving that vision. Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful , the 22-page document from the Commerce, Interior and Agriculture Departments, highlights one of the Biden administration’s central challenges: Having committed to bold environmental goals during the Administration's early days, officials faced the more uncertain and contentious task of figuring out how to follow through on those ambitions. The America the Beautiful report outlines steps the U.S. could take to safeguard key areas on land and in the sea to  restore biodiversity, tackle climate change and make natural spaces more accessible to all Americans.

Release of America the Beautiful seemed an inflection point, with clarity around the scope of the conservation challenges we as a society face being met with ambitious visions for how to respond—see for instance the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, the High Ambition Coalition for People and Nature. As these visions have emerged, it’s become ever-clearer that landscape conservation—working collaboratively with landscapes and across boundaries—is essential for moving from vision to action.

In early 2024 Biden Administration released the third annual progress report on its America the Beautiful Initiative. Read the blogpost from Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and explore the full report.

Federal Governmental Funding Sources for Nature-Based Conservation
The National Wildlife Federation has compiled a DATABASE of federal funding sources for wildlife, land, water conservation.

What Could 30×30 Look Like for Wildlife Habitat? Which 30% of the U.S. Should We Protect?  "When we join ecosystems together, the sum of conservation value is greater than the parts—more species can be protected, especially keystone species like wolves and mountain lions and grizzly bears," writes Wildlife Network chief scientist Dr. Ron Sutherland. READ his response to President Biden’s executive order.

Saving the Wild South
“Saving the Wild South: The Fight for Native Plants on the Brink of Extinction,” by North Carolina author Georgann Eubanks (UNC Press, 2021), focuses on a dozen imperiled Southern plant species and the people striving to protect them and restore viable populations. The book is written for a lay audience and attempts to overcome the public’s “plant blindness” by explaining “why care.” Survival of the profiled plants is threatened by a combination of land development and habitat degradation, criminal poaching, exotic pests, effects of changing climate, and public indifference. To gain an introductory impression of this book, VIEW a recording of an interview with the author conducted by the Island Wildlife Chapter (Wilmington NC area) of the NC Wildlife Federation. (The focus is two of the plant species featured by Eubanks: Alabama canebrake pitcherplant and green pitcherplant.)

Guidelines for Land and Water Conservation
Defenders of Wildlife's “Getting to 30x30: Guidelines for (land conservation) Decision-makers” is a new (2020) resource for where to focus greater efforts to reach the goal of 30% of America’s land and marine areas being protected by 2030. The analysis incorporates NatureServe’s 2020 map of Biodiversity Importance priority areas and uses the USFS Gap Analysis Project’s Protected Areas Database. As of now about 12% of the lands in the U.S. and 26% of its marine zones are protected at levels consistent with the 30x30 biodiversity and climate goals. We have a long way to go to reach the 30x30 goal ideal – particularly in the southern U.S. This REPORT underscores the urgent need for accelerating land and water conservation efforts in our region.

Wetland and Water Protection Resource Guide
The US Council on Environmental Quality in early 2024 released a Wetland and Water Protection Resource Guide for Tribes, States, Territories, local governments, private land owners, and non-governmental organizations to advance water resource protection. The Resource Guide highlights technical assistance and funding opportunities available across the federal government.

Economic Benefits of Intact Natural Ecosystems Validated
A recent analysis validates that economic benefits of sustaining natural ecosystems outweighs human-dominated landscapes. READ HERE.

Outdoor Recreation Plays Increasingly Significant Role in U.S. Economy
A new government report showcases the significant impact of outdoor recreation on the U.S. economy. According to the data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, outdoor recreation generated $826 billion dollars and 4.5 million jobs in 2021. This adds up to 1.9 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) for the U.S. This data is proof that the outdoor recreation industry plays a vital role in both local economies and the national economy. READ report.

Explore Hidden Aquatic Worlds of Native Fish and Mussels of Southern Appalachian Streams
Freshwaters Illustrated's recently released documentary film, "Hidden Rivers of the Southern Appalachians," features efforts by Conservation Fisheries and others to save and repopulate the aquatic biodiversity of Southern Appalachian streams. We recommend watching this beautiful and fascinating documentary film. (Excerpt trailers: The Hidden World of Native Fish, The Hidden World of River Mussels).

Forest Stewards Guild's Strategic Plan for Southern Blue Ridge Mountains Forests Conservation
The Forest Stewards Guild and the multi-party Sustainable Forestry Initiative in late 2020 issued a final report and strategies for forest conservation management in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains region spanning 9.4 million acres in parts of five southern states. Southern Conservation Partners was a member of the collaborative group contributing advice for this plan.
            Forests of the southern Blue Ridge Mountains comprise 136 defined natural forest community types (90 percent of which are unique to this ecoregion) and host some of the richest biodiversity in North America. These forests provide a wide range of benefits and services: public recreation, aesthetics, ecosystems services, as well as wood products.
            The primary goal of this strategic plan is to connect forest conservation efforts so as to wisely manage forest landscapes based on ecological and social needs. Central strategies for conserving and sustaining the forests embrace water quality, best management practices, landowner education and outreach assistance, economic incentives, prescribed fire, and collaborative restoration. Contact the Forest Stewards Guild to obtain a pdf copy of the report.

Ghost Forests are Spreading across US Coastal Regions--especially on North Carolina Coast
Encroaching saltwater is turning forests near the coast into haunting landscapes with tens of thousands of acres of dead and dying forests. READ MORE.

Half-Earth Ecosystems Protection Map Produced
The world’s population has tripled since 1950 but roughly half of the land on the planet is still in a natural or semi-natural state. A new map, released Sept. 2020, shows exactly where that land is, and why it’s critical to protect. READ MORE.

Healing Nature's Wounds
In the 21st century our highest priorities are shifting to restoration and repair of our world's ecosystems and environmental health. Check out The ReWilding Institute's "Healing Nature's Wounds."

Landscape Conservation--New Approaches
The Network of Landscape Conservation early in 2021 released its report “Weaving the Strands Together," which charts a new course for land conservation. Given the public health and political storms of the past year, there has never been a better time to take a clear-eyed assessment of how the conservation movement will need to evolve to succeed into the future. It is critically important that the principles of inclusion and equity, which have not often been central to conservation work, are integrated into conservation at all scales. Through the Network for Landscape Conservation’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group, the interagency network wants to be part of the needed changes, starting with their “Weaving the Strands Together” report. The Network partnered with the Salazar Center for North American Conservation to produce this important work. The stories shared in the report capture just a few examples of the profound work under way in all corners of the country. The Landscape Conservation Network invites you to share your own stories and to learn and explore together what it means to shape an authentic, transformative, and enduring landscape conservation movement that centers justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States
According to new data from the Rhodium Group analyzed by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, warming temperatures and changing rainfall will drive agriculture and temperate climates northward, while sea level rise will consume coastlines and dangerous levels of humidity will swamp the Mississippi River valley. This ARTICLE on ProPublica.org provides a graphic look at projected changes for 2040-2060--under two emissions scenarios--in heat, humidity, sea level, farm crop yields, catastrophic fires, economic damage from climate.

New Tool to Assess your Risk of Flooding
To determine the flooding risk just enter the place location HERE. Simply plug-in the address and see the risk of flooding over the next 30 years with high resolution maps.

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy study calls for holistic landscape conservation
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy issued a white paper, Toward Holistic Landscape Conservation in the 21st Century, written by Michael Whitfield (conservation biologist and retired executive director of the Northern Rocky Mountain Initiative and coalition). The study makes a compelling case that in the face of the environmental and social crises that we are facing across the world, a deeply collaborative, holistic approach to landscape conservation is essential for appropriately confronting the daunting challenges of the 21st Century. We need to move beyond protecting individual sites to a broader, holistic landscape and ecosystems conservation approach. The white paper expands upon themes that Whitfield explored in a Perspectives piece in the March 2018 Landscape Conservation Bulletin. He underscores the importance of grounding efforts in the needs of wild nature and natural systems and in the individual dignity of people within our human communities. Whitfield previously joined an International Land Conservation Network webinar to further explore his white paper topic more broadly. As Whitfield notes, through an embrace of such a holistic perspective, we as landscape conservation practitioners have a vital role to play in preserving the natural world around us—and in revitalizing our humanity.  Read the White Paper

Gulf Partnership Releases Reports, Highlights Progress on Strategic Land Conservation in Gulf of Mexico Region
The Gulf Partnership for Land Conservation released two reports: "Recommended Best Practices in Land Conservation for the Gulf of Mexico Region" (READ) and "Celebrating Five Years of Success with the Gulf Coast Project Assistance Fund" (READ). The Recommended Best Practices report, produced with support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, is designed to be a practical aid to funders and other leaders of the Deepwater Horizon Gulf ecosystem restoration, as well as land trusts and land conservation practitioners as they work together to invest in efficient and cost effective land protection. The report summarizes eight recommendations for implementing landscape scale conservation.
The Gulf Partnership's report provides an overview of an innovative matching grants program that has enabled land trusts to protect more than 27,000 acres of critical habitat. It describes how small grants for due diligence activities allowed land trusts to implement successful conservation projects across a range of habitat types. The Gulf Coast Project Assistance Program is administered by the Galveston Bay Foundation. In its first five years, land trust partners utilized $386,152 in due diligence funds to leverage more than $53 million in conservation funding and completed 18 land conservation projects.

Bird Numbers Fall Dramatically
The number of birds in the United States and Canada has fallen by 29 percent since 1970. The journal Science REPORTS there are 2.9 billion fewer birds taking wing now than there were 50 years ago. The analysis is the most exhaustive and ambitious attempt yet to learn what is happening to avian populations. The results have shocked researchers and conservation organizations. David Yarnold, president and chief executive of the National Audubon Society, called the findings “a full-blown crisis.” Experts have long known that some bird species have become vulnerable to extinction. But the new study, based on a broad survey of more than 500 species, reveals steep losses even among such traditionally abundant birds as robins and sparrows. READ MORE.

Chesapeake Conservation Partnership reflects on decade of collaborative progress in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Since 2010, the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership has been bringing partners together in collaboration around a shared long-term, landscape-scale vision for the Chesapeake Bay watershed—and this fall, a major new report, Marking Milestones: Progress in Conserving Land in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, captures the impressive progress and success of the Partnership. Based on 2018 data, 1,358,456 acres of land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have been permanently protected from development since 2010. This is an achievement of attaining nearly 68 percent of the land conservation goal adopted in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and brings the total amount of protected land in the watershed to 9.16 million acres. The Partnership is striving to accelerate its efforts to conserve 30% of the watershed area by 2030.

National Audubon Society Responds to Catastrophic Losses of Birds
Two-thirds of North American bird species are threatened with extinction from climate change. That’s the alarming conclusion of the National Audubon Society's new report "Survival by Degrees: 389 Bird Species on the Brink." "SURVIVAL BY DEGREES" looks forward and predicts a frightening future for birds. No one has assembled a larger data set of bird observations for North America, from as many diverse sources, to assess the impacts of climate change on birds. Audubon scientists spent five years analyzing 604 bird species using 140 million bird records and the same climate models that the world’s leading climate experts rely on. National Audubon says "This somber report is a resounding call to action—and we’ll be asking our members to join us in mobilizing in communities across the country. From town halls and statehouses to Washington, D.C., we will speak with a clear voice: The time for inaction on climate change is over." Many were shocked to read the recent headlines showing that North America has lost three billion birds in the past 50 years. "Along with our report, we’re rolling out a suite of tools and resources to empower both individual and collective action. This includes the Audubon Birds and Climate Visualizer—a first-of-its-kind tool—that allows you to enter your own location to see which impacts from climate change are predicted for your area and how birds near you will be affected." Read more in NEW YORK TIMES, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, and CNN.

National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaption Strategy
The multi-party Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies early in 2021 issued an extensive update of its 2012 report, intending for the strategy to be integrated and implemented in conservation practices at all national to local levels, and to be used as a roadmap to prepare and respond to the impacts of a changing climate on America’s natural resources. READ MORE.

Priorities for Species Conservation in Southeastern States Identified
The National Wildlife Federation recently released its list of Southeastern US “Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need." Intended to provide greater clarity and focus for regional conservation and multi-state collaborations, the new “RSGCN” list was prepared by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), as part of the Vital Futures project funded by the U.S. Geological Survey. The process identifies a set of regional-priority species from the very large number of species collectively identified as priorities in the 15 Southeastern State Wildlife Action Plans. To see the list of RGSCNs and learn how the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy is already using them, READ THIS guest blog post by John Kanter and Bruce Stein with NWF.

Safe Passages for Wildlife
There is no more deadly stretch of highway for wildlife mortality than the Interstate 40 passage through the Pigeon River Gorge in western North Carolina and east Tennessee. There every year hundreds of animals -- including bear, elk, deer, and many other species-- are struck and killed, with consequent casualties for the drivers and passengers of the colliding vehicles. I-40 bisects pristine natural forest habitat and wildlife corridors between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the National Forest and wildlife refuges on both sides of the highway, which has no functional wildlife passages over or under the road. A consortium of about twenty wildlife conservation groups and agencies are advocating for construction of wildlife over- and under-passes along the I-40 corridor in locations of prime wildlife movement and greatest numbers of vehicular collisions.  READ MORE.

Some of World's Oldest Trees Discovered in North Carolina!
The Nature Conservancy in May 2019 unveiled findings of research confirming that ancient bald cypress trees on North Carolina's coastal Black River surpass 2,600 years in age, making the stand of 2000- to 2624-year-old cypress some of the world's oldest surviving trees. Read more HERE and and watch THIS VIDEO featuring Dr. David Stahle (Univ. Arkansas), whose used dendrochronology to date the ancient bald cypress on the Black River. The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 100,000 acres in southeastern North Carolina, including over 17,000 acres in the Black River basin. We believe the Black River would make a great NPS National Monument! (Also, watch this VIDEO in which Southern Conservation Partners Board member Julie Moore appears.) See also the WEBSITE for Friends of the Black River NC.

Urgency to Protect More of Earth & Save Ourselves from Climate Catastrophe
Scientist are warning that only when 50 percent of the Earth’s terrestrial areas are protected, along with substantial cuts in fossil-fuel use and major increases in renewable energy, will we have a good chance of meeting the Paris climate target of less than 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) of warming. The National Geographic Society as part of the Campaign for Nature, in partnership with the Wyss Campaign for Nature, calls for the protection of 30 percent of the planet's natural areas, forests and grasslands by 2030. Authors of the new Global Deal for Nature study lay out how the 30 percent protection could be reached in 67 percent of Earth’s 846 terrestrial ecoregions by 2030. Other ecosystems would need some restoration. Although the Global Deal for Nature is focused on land, the study authors support the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its member organization’s call for 30 percent protection of the oceans by 2030. We are warned, “We have just ten years to save ourselves.” Read more HERE.

World's Oceans Historically Warm -- what happens next?
Ocean heat content reached a new record high in 2022 (and even hotter in 2023) a study found. The heat from human-caused global warming will persist in the deep ocean for centuries, scientists say. Seas dominate global weather patterns and the climate crisis is causing profound and damaging changes.

New academic research shows that oil giant Exxon’s own climate projections, dating back decades, consistently predicted how burning fossil fuels would cause global warming. The finding lends statistical rigor to the understanding that Exxon executives knew climate change was real, but the corporation publicly cast doubt on the science anyway.

Read Relentless Rise of Ocean Heat Content Drives Deadly Extremes by Bob Berwyn (Inside Climate News). The heat of global warming will keep penetrating deeper into the oceans for centuries after greenhouse gas emissions cease. More in The Guardian.

River Network Releases Drinking Water Guide
This new GUIDE is a fine resource to learn about drinking water, its sources and systems, how to ensure safe-clean-affordable-available drinking water, how water costs are calculated and what water bills pay for, and how climate change affects our water. River Network intends to springboard from this guide to build a larger network of water advocates around the country.

River Network provides Clean Water Training Resources
In the Southern US, the River Network provides training resources and convenes staff from watershed organizations and public agencies to discuss Clean Water Act implementation and enforcement. Communication and coordination on CWA strategies across the southeastern states has been strong for many years and continues today on streamflow and water quality policies and strategies.
READ MORE about River Network's current Southeast US work.

National Audubon Society Announces Comprehensive Gulf Restoration Plan
National Audubon in February 2019 released an extensive report, "Audubon's Vision: Restoring the Gulf of Mexico for Birds and People," which recommends an investment of more than $1.7 billion in restoration and conservation efforts. The report highlights projects and programs critical to help the region and its wildlife recover from devastating hurricanes, oil spills and other environmental and man-made disasters. Shortly after Audubon released its blueprint for Gulf restoration, it secured funding for five of the projects in the plan.

New Studies Show Benefits of Green Infrastructure
Recent studies in North Carolina, New Jersey, and the Gulf Coast region demonstrate that nature-based solutions can better protect communities from the impacts of coastal storms at a lower cost than traditional hardscape solutions. Michael W. Beck and colleagues conducted research across the Gulf region that found that the restoration of wetlands, oyster reefs and beaches are more cost-effective and have more co-benefits than traditional strategies. According to the April issue of Scientific American, protection of natural resources for protection against storm damage may finally be getting the attention it deserves. The Army Corps, which for decades has favored hardscape solutions, has launched an Engineering With Nature initiative—something many planners thought they would never see. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has made living shorelines a centerpiece of its coastal-resilience blueprint. Hundreds of projects have been completed or are underway around the country, ranging from shoreline stabilizations in Maryland to bulkhead removal in Puget Sound. Most are small, community-based efforts, but larger ventures are becoming more common. READ MORE.

Our Earth: Underwater
The Union of Concerned Scientists has released “Underwater: Rising Seas, Chronic Floods, and the Implications for U.S. Coastal Real Estate," a detailed analysis of future flood risk that seeks to put the true peril of coastal real estate into perspective. “Underwater” predicts that 300,000 residential and commercial properties will likely face chronic and disruptive flooding by 2045, threatening $135 billion in property damage and forcing 280,000 Americans to adapt or relocate. If you think U.S. cities struggle with high housing costs now, and the sprawl that often results from high housing costs, imagine decades in the future, when wave after wave of climate-displaced Americans arrive searching for work and an affordable place to live.

Fifth National Climate Assessment
Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities. The impacts of global climate change are already being felt in the United States and are projected to intensify in the future—but the severity of future impacts will depend largely on actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the changes that will occur. The Global Change Research Act of 1990 mandates that the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) deliver a report to Congress and the President no less than every four years that “1) integrates, evaluates, and interprets the findings of the Program…; 2) analyzes the effects of global change on the natural environment, agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, human health and welfare, human social systems, and biological diversity; and 3) analyzes current trends in global change, both human-induced and natural, and projects major trends for the subsequent 25 to 100 years.” READ the Fifth National Climate Assessment.

Natural Climate Solutions—Landscape conservation is an essential component of climate mitigation [from Landscape Conservation Network]
Intact, healthy landscapes play a significant role in mitigating climate change and can help reach the goals of the Paris Climate Accord (see the landmark PNAS Natural Climate Solutions paper (2017) and a Science Advances account of the recently-released Natural Climate Solutions for the United States (2018). This recognition continues to reverberate across the funding and policy arenas. For example, in September, 2018, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation announced a new Natural Climate Solutions Initiative, a $20 million-dollar special fund designed to support work to bolster ecosystem ability to mitigate climate change. The fund will be focused primarily on the U.S., and seek to support new best practices, business models and markets, finance and policy approaches, and demonstration of projects that lead to accelerated carbon sequestration through landscapes across the country.

Climate Change Reshaping Our Environment Right Now
Climate change is reshaping many aspects of the environment that many thought were static — from where deserts begin and end, to what we can grow in backyard or community gardens. Read full story. Global warming is posing such wide-ranging risks to humanity, involving so many types of phenomena, that by the end of this century some parts of the world could face as many as six climate-related crises at the same time, researchers say. This chilling prospect is described in a paper recently published in Nature Climate Change, a respected academic journal, that shows the effects of climate change across a broad spectrum of problems, including heat waves, wildfires, sea level rise, hurricanes, flooding, drought and shortages of clean water.

Climate Experts: Global Warming Contributes to Extreme Weather Disasters
There is consensus that scientists can be more precise and forceful in connecting some extreme weather events to a warming planet. The southern U.S. continues to experience and demonstrate this disastrous trend. READ full story

Rethinking Land Conservation in Climate Change
Climate change will alter the composition of our land (and water)-scapes and the natural communities and species that inhabit them. Climate change has significant consequences for land conservation. A recent paper published in the Denver Law Review (Vol. 95:3, 2018) examined nearly 300 conservation easements in six states and conducted over 70 interviews to try to understand how private land conservation is responding to climate change and what we can improve. Government agencies and nonprofit land trusts rely heavily on perpetual conservation easements. However, climate change and other dynamic landscape changes raise questions about the effectiveness and adaptability of permanent conservation instruments like conservation easements. The paper, “Climate Change Challenges for Land Conservation,” builds on a study of 269 conservation easements and interviews with 70 conservation-easement professionals in six different states (South Carolina is the only southern state examined). The academic researchers studied the adaptability of conservation easements to climate change and outlines four potential approaches to enhance conservation outcomes under climate change: (1) Shift land-acquisition priorities to account for potential climate-change impacts. (2) Consider conservation tools other than perpetual conservation easements. (3) Ensure that the terms of conservation easements permit the holder to adapt to climate change successfully. (4) Provide for more active stewardship of conservation lands.

America's Land Uses: How does America use its land? Newly produced maps show a new way to look at the U.S. READ full story.

American Farmlands Threatened
The American Farmland Trust's recent report, "Farms Under Threat: The State of America's Farmland", showed that the loss of farmland is serious and accelerating. Almost 31 million acres was lost to development between 1992 and 2012, nearly twice the area of farmland was lost than was previously shown. "That's 3 acres a minute, 175 acres an hour, of America's farmlands gone forever. We need farmland to feed us and sustain our economy-but also to help restore our planet," says John Piotti, AFT CEO. LEARN more.

America's Forests: report on status of forests in America
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (Endowment) has produced an interactive website telling the story of America’s forests. The online multimedia guide puts relevant information related to our nation's forests in the hands of the public and professionals in intuitive ways never before accessible. Exploratory maps, graphs, charts, and videos will help users to better understand the value and importance of forests as a source of clean water, clean air, human well being, biodiversity, recreation, products, economic development, and many other benefits and services. The WEBSITE provides a number of tools and covers a variety of topics, including fire in our forests, the role forests play in providing clean water, forests insects and diseases, and invasive plants and animals . . . and . . .

trends in forestland area and ecological regions
forest ownership, tree growth, mortality, harvesting, and planting
communities at risk
forest fragmentation and housing development
protected areas

The State of America’s Forests is designed to provide decision makers and other users easy access and better understanding about the latest authoritative data. The tools available through the website bring together sources of relevant information from a variety of researchers and institutions, and inspire other scientist to contribute to open data sources and share information through interactive technology. All information included in the website is based on peer-reviewed studies and verified data.

States' Forests and Wildlife Action Plans are connected
Across the nation, state forestry agencies are preparing to publish their comprehensive Forest Action Plans. The purpose of Forest Action Plans is to determine the status of forest resources through assessment (e.g., what’s there, who owns it, how is it threatened) and to develop strategies and actions to address challenges facing forest resources. Several states are using the SECAS Southeast Conservation Blueprint to better integrate their Forest Action Plans with State Wildlife Action Plans and improve cross-agency coordination. To read more, >>see this blog

US Forest Service's Forest Resources of the United States, provides forest resource statistics and contributes to the 2020 Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment that provides current information on the nation’s forests. Forests and woodland areas in the United States cover 823 million acres and comprise over one-third of the U.S. landscape. National Forests, administered by the U.S. Forest Service, account for 35 percent of reserved forest land area, nationwide. Forest industry in the United States comprises 17 percent of global wood production.

While 67 percent of all forest land is legally available for harvest activities, tree cutting and removal occurs on less than 2 percent of forest land per year. Contrast that with the nearly 3 percent disturbed annually by natural events like insects, disease, and fire. Wildfire, insects, and disease are among the biggest threats to forests and woodlands in the nation.
Bioenergy is an increasingly important industrial forest product. Wood energy accounts for 20 percent of all renewable energy and 41 percent of all bioenergy in 2016. Most of the wood energy that was used was manufactured by the wood products industry. In fact, the United States accounts for 26 percent total wood pellet production worldwide.

Wood-processing facilities generated 4 million tons of mill residue in 2016, 99 percent of which was used for either fuel or fiber products like pulp and paper.

The value of trees outside of forests continues to grow in importance as economic and public health data show that trees in the urban setting can reduce energy use for heating and cooling by $5.4 billion annually while producing 67 million tons of oxygen per year and sequestering 37 million tons of carbon.

Economic Benefits of Conservation Reconfirmed
Yet another study confirms the economic benefits of conserving environmentally and historically important lands. A study produced for the American Battlefield Trust and Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation in 2018 documented that Virginia's heritage tourism industry provides over $1.3 billion in tax revenue and over 105,000 jobs annually in the Commonwealth.

Landscape Conservation Initiatives (see more about this subject and the Landscape Conservation Network in our Partnerships section)
A dialogue around the rapidly growing practice of collaborative landscape conservation has been building, as communities and practitioners across the continent (and world) grapple with working across geopolitical, sectional, and cultural boundaries. The Network for Landscape Conservation has released its 2018 publication--Pathways Forward: Progress and Priorities in Landscape Conservation . That report captures the insights of 200 conservation leaders from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico who convened in November 2017 at the National Forum on Landscape Conservation to strategize on the rapidly growing practice of collaborative conservation at the landscape scale. The report assesses the state of the field, showcases many innovative examples, and recommends ways to further advance transformative conservation approaches. The report has a two-fold purpose: to capture the current state of landscape conservation practice; and to suggest what we can do together to successfully conserve our irreplaceable cultural and natural landscapes. The report explores recent innovations, on-the-ground examples, and action-oriented strategies that are advancing landscape conservation. Each of the five chapters closes with five-year benchmarks that serve as aspirational targets for the landscape conservation community. Pathways Forward is intended to be an inflection point in an ongoing conversation, hoping to inspire strategic dialogue and concerted action going forward: what can we do together and in our own landscapes to increase the pace and scale of enduring conservation while we still have the chance?  READ THE REPORT.  VIEW DISCUSSION WEBINAR. JOIN THE NETWORK .

Landscapes Face Outsize Threats
It should come as no surprise that conserving large landscapes in the current political climate is a difficult task. There are near constant threats to public lands, including the de-funding of programs aimed at the preservation of cultural and natural resources. In addition, a systemic targeting of landscape-scale work is taking place at multiple departments across the federal government. What is going on and how has this affected efforts to collaborate across jurisdictional, agency, and even national boundaries?  Read about it.

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Longleaf Forests and Rivers Plan
NFWF’s recently approved Longleaf Forests and Rivers Business Plan will help inform grant investments through the Longleaf Stewardship Fund and Southeast Aquatics Fund over the next 10 years.  A PDF of the plan is on NFWF’s website.

National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Report Details America’s Looming Wildlife Crisis, Highlights Ways to Help Species in Trouble.
The report Reversing America’s Wildlife Crisis: Securing the Future of Our Fish and Wildlife, describes the threats to America's wildlife, including:

One-third of America’s wildlife species are at increased risk of extinction.
More than 150 U.S. species already have gone extinct.
Nearly 500 additional species have not been seen in recent decades and are regarded as possibly extinct.

The report describes success stories where concerted, collaborative efforts have been able to make a difference for at-risk species of wildlife. The report's authors demonstrate that increased funding and robust State Wildlife Action Plans can save important species and their habitats.

Sentinel Landscapes Partnership
The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of federal agencies, state and local governments, and nongovernmental organizations that works with private landowners to advance sustainable land management practices around military installations and ranges. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Defense (DoD), and Department of the Interior (DOI) established the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership in 2013 to strengthen military readiness, bolster agricultural productivity, preserve natural resources, and increase access to recreation. Its most recent report outlines accomplishments of the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership through fiscal year 2020. In total, federal, state, local, and private contributions have permanently protected over 515,000 acres of land and enrolled 2.7 million acres of land in technical assistance programs. READ MORE.

Vision for Landscape Conservation and Wildlife Corridors in Eastern North America
As conservationists, we know countless threats face our natural world today. And while these challenges can sometimes feel insurmountable, we also recognize that there are things we can do – partnerships we can forge, actions we can take, and policies we can implement – to help protect and restore wild places. Most recently, E.O. Wilson called for the conservation of half the world’s land and sea in order to save 85% of biodiversity. He described this vision in his 2016 book Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life. While Wilson’s theory wasn’t a new concept for those working in conservation, it was the call to action we needed to implement theory on the ground. The Wildlands Network, through its Eastern Wildway Network, seeks to map out and implement this call to action in eastern North America. For the past year and a half, Wildlands Network has evaluated data, met with conservation leaders, and crafting a visionary map of what Half-Earth would look like in the East. The result is the draft Eastern Wildway map, called “Half-East” map. See the draft map and read more:
Feedback needed for continental conservation vision in the East

Videos Highlight Forest-Water Connection
Seven high quality videos demonstrating the forest and drinking water connection have just been released. The videos were produced by Texas A&M Forest Service with support from US Forest Service and Southeastern Partnership for Forests and Water. The purpose of the videos is to educate a wide audience (including utilities, forestry professionals, land conservation professionals, and the public) about the important connection between forests and drinking water, as well as the critical work utilities and forest landowners do to ensure safe, reliable drinking water and healthy forest landscapes. A major focus of the videos is to put a human face on forests and drinking water, and to show the people who are dedicated to keeping forests as forests and protecting our water supply.

Wildlife Corridor Protection Guidelines
IUCN has released new "Guidelines for Conserving Connectivity through Ecological Networks and Corridors". Here's a great OVERVIEW by one of the authors of the IUCN document. The article links to the IUCN page where you can download the document.

Wildlife Habitat Conservation Starts at Home
Recommended by a reader: "Creating a Wildlife Habitat in Your Backyard." Principal sources of home wildlife habitat enhancements are the National Audubon Society and National Wildlife Federation.

Mapping the South’s Protected Forests of the Future
If you are trying to build a nest egg, you need to know two things: how to eliminate losses in your portfolio and the predicted rate of return on your investments. This is not unlike planning for the future of Southern forests. We need to know both how to slow down the rate at which forests are being lost from the landscape as well as where and how much protected forest acreage is likely to be added in coming decades. The latter issue has been the focus of the Gulf Coastal Plain and Ozarks Landscape Cooperative's project, Mapping the South's Protected Forests of the Future. In this project the GCPO LCC worked in close partnership with Mississippi State University (MSU) under a grant co-sponsored by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The project focal area was expanded to include the entire Southeast region encompassed within the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS). Much information is now available on how economic and climatic trends will affect southern forests, most notably through the USFS Southern Forest Futures Project. This project ties together the efforts of the U.S. Forest Service to predict the extent of the South’s future forests and the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy in identifying areas across the entire Southeast U.S. landscape that maximize ecosystem integrity. It is guided by a steering committee of representatives from state and federal agencies, forest products companies or trusts, and non-profit conservation organizations.

Why track forest conservation? The Southern Forest Futures Report predicts up to 23 million acres of forest could be lost in the Southern U.S. by 2060. Loss will be driven primarily by four interacting factors: population growth, climate change, timber markets, and invasive species. “Our primary purpose in developing this future protected forest data layer is to help visualize what the Southeast landscape will look like if conservation groups are successful,” explained Peter Stangel, COO of the South Carolina-based US Endowment for Forests and Communities. “We can not only identify gaps in protection, but also must look at potential centers of sustainable forestry, priority habitat for at-risk species, important recreation areas, and many other key values.” As the goal of the Keeping Forests as Forests is to conserve 70% of historic forestland cover across the region, all data - including those underlying the LCC Conservation Blueprints - will be important. The SECAS Blueprint combined with other data resources will help inform decisions on where to focus conservation efforts and where points of leverage exist for identifying areas throughout the Southeast for forest conservation efforts.

Partnerships Combat Climate Change
Promising partnerships are forming to combat consequences of climate change and to reduce its acceleration by curtailing emissions and sequestering carbon dioxide and methane. The Open Space Institute (OSI) and the Land Trust Alliance (LTA) in partnership have launched a major new Land Trust Climate Change Initiative (overview can be found on OSI’s website HERE). With global temperatures crushing records each successive year, the initiative represents a critical and timely program that puts land trusts and land conservation front and center in efforts to respond to climate change.  The Land Trust Climate Change Initiative, launched with seed funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, seeks to equip land trusts with the information, tools and training they need to adapt to and mitigate climate change through their land conservation work. As part of the initiative, OSI will expand our efforts to translate and help land trusts incorporate relevant climate science into their conservation plans and acquisition priorities. The partnership with LTA builds upon and extends OSI’s growing work with land trusts on climate change. With funding from the Jane’s Trust and Doris Duke Charitable Foundations in New England and the Merck Family Fund and Z Smith Reynolds Foundation in the Southeast, OSI has to date supported efforts by 22 land trusts and coalitions of land trusts to incorporate climate science into conservation plans covering all or part of nine states. With support from Doris Duke and the Lyndhurst and Benwood Foundations, OSI has also supported the acquisition of almost 20,000 acres of climate resilient lands in the eastern US, including most recently on the Southern Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee (see the press release HERE).
OSI in partnership with the Land Trust Alliance and the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative, has released Conserving Nature in a Changing Climate, which synthesizes the latest climate-resilience science and shows how land trusts can apply it to their work. This guide highlights the critical role land trusts and land conservation can play in mitigating and adapting to climate change. The Guide walks users through the characteristics of a network of resilient sites, introduces data sets and tools that can be used to plan, and provides a detailed case study of how these data sets can be used to identify land protection priorities by land conservation organizations. The Guide is posted on LTA’s Climate Change website.

Report on threatened ecosystem services of forests in Southern Appalachian region
The U.S. Forest Service and the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative released the first phase of the ongoing study assessing benefits of and risks to the region’s “ecosystem services” — natural assets valued by people, such as clean drinking water, outdoor recreation, forest products, and biological conservation. A wealth of data, maps, and other knowledge on ecosystem services and risks to their sustainability are now available. The Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Center website provides regional resources and tools for planners, managers, and the interested publics across the Appalachians.

Southern Wetlands/ Bottomland Forests protection and restoration initiative
Recognizing and responding to the concentration of timber cutting and conversion in river bottomlands and other wetlands of the southern U.S., initiatives are being formulated to champion protection and restoration of these critical ecosystems, to increase public awareness, and to provide more assistance and education to private landowners and foresters. One element of the initiative is the publication of "Ecological Forestry Practices for Bottomland Hardwood Forests of the Southeastern U.S.," guidelines by the Forest Stewards Guild of professional foresters.

Virginia Eastern Shore Study Documents $230 Million in Annual Economic Benefits of Land Conservation.
A 2017 study by the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University and Urban Analytics Inc. showed conserved lands on the Virginia's Eastern Shore were associated with more than $230 million in economic activity in the region the previous year. The study looked at three sources of economic activity — organizations involved in land conservation; the aquaculture industry; and tourism focused on outdoor recreation. The study's objective was to research how land conservation programs and practices on the Eastern Shore of Virginia affect the local economy.  About one third of land on Virginia's Eastern Shore is conserved, with another 10 percent in conservation easements, according to the study. Organizations involved in land conservation on Virginia's Eastern Shore generated nearly $22 million in economic activity, $355,000 in local taxes, $329,000 in state taxes and 226 jobs in the region in 2016. Tourism spending associated with conserved land resulted in more than $51 million in economic activity, and about $2.2 million in tax revenue to the two Shore counties, along with another $1.4 million in state taxes. It was also associated with 655 jobs.  While Accomack and Northampton counties forgo thousands of dollars in taxes each year due to conservation easements because the lands have a lower land use value tax assessment.  The amount forgone in Accomack County last year was around $79,000; it was almost $284,000 in Northampton County, according to the study. However, the study found for every $1 spent in Accomack County to provide public services for land in conservation easement, an estimated $2.38 in revenues came to the county. In Northampton County, revenues to the county were estimated to be $1.15 for every $1 spent to provide public services to support land in conservation easement.  The findings of the fiscal impact model indicate that lands with conservation easements do not place a fiscal burden on either county. The study was funded by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program at the Department of Environmental Quality. Read entire study.

Walk in the Woods Engages Public on Issues of Forest Stewardship
Just as any walk in the woods offers surprises around the bend in the path or over the next hill, learning how to become more flexible and interactive in how we talk about forests is a journey full of wonder. More than two years of discussions and research has yielded a first-of-its-kind pathway for the people who steward or enjoy North America’s forests to actively engage with their families, neighbors, friends, and others in talking about the importance of the continent’s forests and their many values. “Walk in the Woods" uses the power of social media for those who work in, make a living from, care about, or benefit from forests – that’s all of us – to share their own experiences and views about the bounty of forests and their myriad uses,” said Carlton Owen, President & CEO of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities. The Endowment has partnered with over 110 organizations, including state and federal natural resources agencies, forest products producers, conservation organizations, and universities, to create the North American Forest Partnership (NAFP). The Partnership seeks to have all within the greater forest sector engaged by highlighting their experiences and knowledge about forests. In addition to the Walk in the Woods website, NAFP seeks seek to have participants share via various social media platforms.

More Resources

American Forest Foundation (www.forestfoundation.org ) supplies helpful guidance to America's 22 million family forestland owners and their management advisers. AFF operates a FREE web-based resource for forestland owners who want to apply good forest, land, water and wildlife conservation practices on their properties; it is used by as many as 10,000 landowners monthly ; see www.MyLandPlan.org. AFF promotes Project Learning Tree and other youth environmental education programs. We encourage you to sign-up for AFF's FREE "Week in Trees" e/newsletter. AFF encourages and advises private forestland owners to establish forest management plans on their properties.

AppalachianTrail.com offers extensive information relating to the longest hiking-only trail in the world. Thousands of AT trail hikers have shared their advice, photos, and stories for others. Visit HERE.

Birth of Forestry in America (in western North Carolina)
We recommend the PBS documentary, "Americas First Forest: Carl Schenck and the Asheville [NC] Experiment." The 1-hour documentary film, produced for the Forest History Society (based in Durham, NC) tells how the German forester Carl Schenck was recruited to America in 1895 to manage forests at the Vanderbilt family's Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. Schenck not only helped restore the forests and land there, he established the country's first professional forestry school and contributed to the launch of America's conservation movement. The documentary examines the effects of harmful logging during the Industrial Revolution and establishment of Schenck's school of forestry in response.
Another excellent source from the Forest History Society is the book, "American Forests: A History of Resiliency and Recovery," by Douglas W. MacCleery, which traces the history of American forests from before European settlement to today. This newly revised and updated edition (part of the Forest History Society's Issue Series) examines how Americans' uses of forests continue to affect woodland conditions. It can be purchased on the website, where it is available for free download (PDF) for non-commercial use only.

Chesapeake Bay Conservation Priority System
A partnership of over 90 agencies and non-profits fosters collaborative action to conserve natural and cultural landscapes and safeguard a healthy environment and economy in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.   That coalition has developed a shared conservation priority system for the watershed. Go to www.LandScope.org/Chesapeake to find and map shared priorities for strategic conservation, to see and share conservation success stories, and track and report progress toward land protection goals.

Climate Change Explainer
Here's a well-prepared, easy to understand explainer that you can offer to folks who still don't understand the significance (or reality) of global, human-caused climate change.

Climate Change Response and Building Community Resilience
Climate change is real and happening. The Southern U.S. is experiencing the negative effects of global climate change and is hugely vulnerable to its consequences. Equally important to recognize is that climate change is intensifying other ecological and environmental problems: natural habitat loss and fragmentation, disease and invasive species, water quality and quantity, and more. Multiple collaborative responses for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and minimizing impacts are taking place.
We recommend examining the many new resources and guidelines helpful in climate change adaptation, conservation planning, and devising community resiliency responses. For example resources are available through EcoAdapt. The Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange is an innovative community website for those working to manage natural and human environments in the face of climate change. The Land Trust Alliance furnishes another source of assistance at www.climatechange.lta.org.
We recommend that you examine an impressive set of short video interviews with "regular" people who are witnessing profound effects of climate change on their personal ways of life, businesses, and on the natural resources, wildlife, and agricultural systems around them: www.ClimateStoriesNC.org produced by the University of North Carolina's Institute for the Environment.   Such stories can be expanded and told regionally across the South.
For a fascinating study on American public opinions about Climate Change see the Climate Opinion Map. Drill down on public opinions presented by state and counties.
The US Forest Service's Climate Change Center is another prime source of information. The Climate Change Resource Center has released a new interactive online education module on climate change adaptation responses. The module, “Responses to Climate Change: What You Need to Know,” provides a brief overview of adaptation options for resistance, resilience, and transition, and how to incorporate these ideas into natural resource planning and activities. Interactive features allow users to control their learning experience, with opportunities to explore outside links and see examples of how managers are adapting to climate change on the ground. Learn more and see a 1-minute trailer.
NatureServe (www.natureserve.org) and the Ecosystem-Based Management Tools Network (www.ebmtools.org ) offer Tools for Coastal Climate Adaptation Planning: a new online guide to tools assisting with ecosystem-based climate planning which included detailed information and visualization modeling, instructive case studies, and a process for selecting tools appropriate for climate adaptation.
A resource described in the national River Network's River Voices, is the Community Resilience Building Workshop process developed by Nature Conservancy scientists is an inclusive community-driven process, rich with information, experience, and dialogue, where participants identify top hazards, current challenges, strengths, and priority actions to equitably improve resilience to natural and climate-related hazards. After a decade in development, the CRB Workshop has been tried and tested and is trusted by over thirty-five communities. The CRB Workshop Guide provides clear instructions on how to lead communities towards resilience as well as the “before” and “after” steps to help ensure immediate goals, outcomes, and strategic direction are realized. It provides instructions on how to lead communities towards resilience as well as the “before” and “after” steps to help ensure immediate goals, outcomes, and strategic direction are realized.
The Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments (CISA) is one of ten National Oceanic and Atmospheric agency (NOAA)-funded Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) teams working nationally to integrate climate science into decision-making processes.
We also recommend examining the resources offered by the South Central Climate Science Center, which is now in a significant planning effort to improve and increase what the U.S. Geological Survey calls “co-production of knowledge” about climate change and response to its effects.
The Nature Conservancy's expanded conservation planning resources can be found at www.ConservationGateway.org. In particular, the Conserving Nature’s Stage initiative addresses planning for conservation strategy in the face of climate change-driven shifts in species and ecosystems. View progress in identifying and mapping a representative, connected network of climate resilient sites, which if conserved, could help sustain biodiversity into the future as it moves and changes. This network promises to also protect the source water, carbon stocks, oxygen, and recreation space that people depend on. Also see The Nature Conservancy's dynamic migration map, which allows scientists and the public to see the continent-wide impact of climate change on animals and visualize corridors they will need to move.

Coastal Protection Tools offered by NOAA
Digital Coast is a set of online tools developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric agency's Office of Coastal Management to help use data on sea level rise, coastal flooding and the benefits of wetlands into information useful for coastal communities. The multi-faceted website is organized in sections: introductory summary, data, webinars, other training, tools, stories and other resources intended to help coastal communities plan and cope with sea level rise, flooding, and other impending threats to coastal environmental resources and community security.

Coastal Blue Carbon: new incentives for coastal conservation, restoration and management
Coastal Blue Carbon refers to new market-based tools and initiative to help mitigate climate change and offset GHG emissions. Coastal wetlands science is developing methods and models to help land managers quantify greenhouse gas mitigation values and benefits through conservation and restoration of biogeochemical processes performed by coastal wetlands including salt marsh, mangroves, seagrasses, and other tidal wetlands. Coastal blue carbon is a newly recognized ecosystem service value of climate mitigation. Download an Introduction to Blue Carbon and a Blue Carbon Fact Sheet.

Cultural Resources Climate Change Strategy. The National Park Service CRCCS Strategy, released in January, 2017, addresses climate change across the National Park System and is aimed at helping park managers and scientists plan and implement responses. The NPS is the lead cultural resource agency for the federal government. In addition to the National Park System, it holds responsibility for programs including the National Register of Historic Places, National Scenic and Historic Trails, National Heritage Areas, and the American Battlefield Protection Program. It also administers the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program. For a link to the strategy, Visit Blog.

Future of the South's Coastal Plain Forests: the Next 50 Years Outlook for Coastal Plain Forests, by the US Forest Service Southern Research Station, considers what the Coastal Plain forests of the South will be like in 50 years -- considering rising temperatures, rising oceans, rising human population, urbanization, and resulting reduced forested land, greater demands on fresh water, decreasing biodiversity, and spread of invasive species. Situation grim. The Southern Forest Futures Project and this report are part of a multi-agency effort led by the USFS Southern Research Station. MORE.

The Coastal Plain region of North America’s Atlantic and Gulf Coasts is internationally recognized as one of the world’s biodiversity “hotspots.” The designation Global Biodiversity Hotspot is granted only to regions on Earth possessing at least 1500 endemic species and with greater than 70% loss of habitat. A total of 36 designated hotspots comprise only 2.3 of the Earth's land surface, but support more than half of the world's native plant species and nearly half of its native animal species. READ MORE . As one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth, the southeastern U.S. is also one of the most vulnerable areas for sea level rise and other consequences of current climate change. One might say the South is a world “hotspot” by measures of both biodiversity and rising temperature. How should natural resource conservationists respond? How do we enhance our conservation plans and strategies for the resilience and survival of the South’s ecological resources? READ MORE.

Conservation Connectivity initiatives and Resources
A new global organization of practitioners and advocated for connectivity of conserved areas is being formed. The IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Groups' purpose is to facilitate biodiversity conservation and the enhanced conservation, management and protection of protected areas and their values through the identification, retention and effective management of Areas of Connectivity Conservation (ACC). To accomplish these goals, the CCSG hopes to foster extensive membership and active participation of the international network of connectivity conservation participants to communicate the importance of, and spread essential information on effective management of connectivity connector areas. Building the CCSG into a global network requires the membership and support of diverse organizations and individuals. The Center for Large Landscape Conservation's Conservation Corridor collates recent research that looks at the effectiveness of urban habitat connectivity and provides new methods for planning and implementing connectivity corridors. See also this recent article explaining the importance of maintaining connectivity between habitats as a key strategy for conserving wildlife populations in face of changing climate.

Conservation Guide to America's Natural Places
LandScope America is the best available comprehensive online source of information about locations of highest priority natural areas and biological/ecological "hotspots" across our region and the continent. The program is a collaborative effort by the National Geographic Society and NatureServe. Additionally this site provides a listing by state of private and public organizations actively involved with land conservation projects. Remember that most states have their own publicly-accessible data and maps showing both protected places and locations of places with high conservation importance. Check out the LandScope America website.

Conservation Planning Resources
The Nature Conservancy (TNC), in association with the Open Space Institute (OSI), offer a tremendously hopeful resource for conservation planning and strategies. See the website: www.ConservationGateway.org. Private land trusts protect land for a variety of reasons: recreation, biodiversity, viewsheds, water quality or community values. TNC and OSI recently expanded conservation planning tools and resources aimed in response to climate change consequences, and to protect more resilient and connected landscapes and waterways. New science on climate resilience has highlighted the critical role land trusts play in ensuring ecological resources and wildlife can adapt to a rapidly changing climate. Using this science, land trusts over the next few years will be protecting over 37,000 acres and have climate-inclusive plans across the eastern U.S.
New data and regional maps developed by TNC with input from state natural heritage programs and other public agencies will serve to advance conservation planning and strategies focused on assuring changing climate resilience and connectivity of conserved wildlife habitat and natural landscapes. The data can be previewed here:

Maps

Datasets

A recording of the October 2016 OSI/TNC “Climate Resilience Data Update" webinar led by TNC chief scientist Mark Anderson” is available HERE.

Cumberland Mountains Protection Strategies
The Southern Cumberland Mountains Plateau of the Southern Appalachians is among the most biologically diverse landscapes of the southeastern United States are some of the most biodiverse in the country. It's pressurized layers of limestone, shale, coal and sandstone support habitat for species found nowhere else in the world — yet only 10 percent of the Plateau is protected. The Open Space Institute has partnered with other land conservation efforts In the Southern Cumberlands to protect nearly 40,000 acres since 2008. To honor the landscape, the Open Space Institute has created a multimedia ArcGIS Story Map (viewable here) that uses maps, narratives and video to illustrate conservation in the region, while showing the threats it faces. The Story Map focuses on the Fiery Gizzard area of Tennessee's South Cumberland State Park to demonstrate inspiring efforts save this natural area.

Documenting and Protecting Biodiversity on Conserved Lands
We recommend this Land Trust Alliance guide for applying conservation biology to land conservation projects. The handbook, authored by Christopher Wilson, explains biodiversity and how to use and apply biological information in land protection project selection, fundraising, design of conservation easement agreements, compilation of site baseline documentation, management plans, and assuring that a land conservation project meets IRS Treasury regulations and Land Trust Standards and Practices.

E.O Wilson Foundation's Biodiversity Preservation Resources
The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation is a nonprofit organization (based in Durham, NC) using education, technology, and business strategies to further the preservation of biodiversity. The organization has anchored its planning and efforts on the guiding vision of decades of Edward O. Wilson’s research, and eloquent speaking and writing. The foundation’s digital textbook, E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth, is available for free download from iTunes.
"E.O. Wilson - Of Ants and Men" premiered on PBS Primetime chronicling the life and ideas of E.O. Wilson (Harvard professor and Alabama native son), the guiding inspiration of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation. This film includes stories from his childhood and scientific career, and culminates with his work in Gorongosa National Park. The film documents his lifelong love for the natural world and the journey he took to bridge the connections between nature and humans.

Ecosystem Services Valuation on Conserved Lands
Scientists, governments, and businesses are gaining a greater understanding of the economic benefits derived from protecting and enhancing natural ecosystems. Landowners have a significant opportunity to derive additional revenue by selling credits from the natural benefits that conservation easements create into the ecosystem service markets. A recent webinar provided an introduction to this emerging area from leaders already active in the markets and address the questions land trusts should be asking, including: What tools are available to land trusts for assessing the economic benefits of conservation, and how credible is the valuation methodology? How can conservationists use ecosystem services to influence decision-making and negotiations? What are the benefits of quantifying the value of natural assets beyond ecosystem service markets? Listen to the recorded webinar.

Field Guide to Fish and Wildlife Conservation
The Farm Bill Field Guide to Fish and Wildlife Conservation is a tool intended to assist staff of federal and state fish and wildlife agencies, nongovernmental conservation organizations, joint ventures, and other conservation partners in implementing Farm Bill conservation programs established by the 2014 federal law. It is primarily designed for those who work collaboratively with private landowners and agricultural producers to improve soil health, water quality, as well as fish and wildlife habitat. Download the Guide.

Flora of the Southeastern U.S.--New Edition Released
April 2022: Alan Weakley and the greater Southeastern Flora Team have released the 2022 edition of the "Flora of the Southeastern United States." This open-access document, the first release since fall 2020, features 90 new keys, 700 new vascular plant species, and an expanded geographic scope.
The Flora has expanded greatly since Alan Weakley, director of the UNC Herbarium, first began compiling information for a flora in 1992. By 2005, Weakley’s complete working draft of the Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, encompassed descriptions and keys for 6,600 taxa. Since then, Weakley has released drafts of the Flora covering 7,000, 10,046, and 10,719 vascular plant taxa in the 2015, 2020, and 2022 drafts, respectively. The geographic extent of the FSUS has expanded substantially, covering the entire flora of 17 states with portions of eight other states
The Flora serves as a compendium of the 10,719 native and non-native vascular plant species that grow in the region. MORE HERE. (Free to download; donations to support the Flora Team's research are appreciated.)

Coastal Plain Region Recognized as World Biodiversity “HOTSPOT” Forest Conservation book -- Forest Conservation in the Anthropocene - highlights effects of climate change on America's forest ecosystems and explores adaptation strategies from ecological, managerial, and policy perspectives. More information.

Forest Conservation Easements: Business Rationale
The Wildlands Network, financially supported by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), produced this report to educate commercial forest landowners in the southern U.S. to understand potential economic benefits of conservation easements as potentially "win-win" partnerships. The report includes selected case examples located in AR, FL, TN, VA.
Download the report.

Forests Resources: State Inventory & Analysis Story Maps available
The U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program collects and analyzes data on America’s forests. FIA produces yearly reports at the state level on:

Status and trends in forest area and location;
Species, size, and health of trees;
Total tree growth, mortality, and removals by harvest and land-use change;
Wood production and utilization rates by various products; and
Forest land ownership.

Foresters and industry analysts use the information to make policy or investment decisions. For many years, FIA annual reports were printed; in the last few years, they’ve been made available online as PDFs. Now, FIA is excited to make annual reports available as story maps that provide important information about forests at the state level in an interactive format that’s attractive and accessible to a much wider audience. Story maps are web-based resources that – as the title suggests – lead a viewer through a narrative using an interface that can combine maps, text, videos, photos, and other media. Dynamic GIS-based map layers add multiple dimensions, allowing users to interactively find information for the locations they’re most interested in.
The Forest Inventory Analysis Annual Reporting website currently includes the latest FIA annual reports for 10 states from across the conterminous U.S.; more will come online as they become available. Developed by a team of research foresters with the Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) FIA unit, the new annual report website is the latest in a series of story map products developed to tell stories grounded in forest inventory data and the science of Forest Service Research and Development. View the annual report story map site.

Forest Loss in the Southern U.S.
Global Forest Watch is an interactive, online resource that depicts the vast scale of transformation of the forests of the southern U.S. by logging, clearance, and development. Forest disturbance in the southern U.S. was FOUR TIMES greater than that of South America's forests in the years 2000-2012. Data gleaned from the Global Forest Watch document that the South has lost 18 percent of its overall forest cover in the 15 years since the beginning of the 21st century! Multiple efforts are underway to provide guidance and assistance to private owners of woodlands: some are national initiatives, like those directed by the American Forest Foundation; and others are locally focused, for example in the Chesapeake Bay Basin where the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay uses the Woods in Your Backyard program as a tool for reaching out to owners of small acreage forested parcels and helping them to manage their woodlot and enhance natural areas. Visit the Alliance’s Forests for the Bay website.

Land Uses across America Mapped
Eighty percent of the U.S. population lives in "urban" areas, over 250 million people. Yet urbanites live in just 3 percent of the country's 2.3 billion acres of land. Most of America's land cover are forests (30 percent), pasture and ranges (27 percent), and crops (18 percent), with water bodies, wetlands other undeveloped areas making up the rest. England-based designer Michael Pecirno produces images of America that illuminate all land use patterns, type by type. "Minimal Maps" uses 2014 USDA data to explore in rich detail how forests, grasslands, crops, and water spread across the contiguous states—each with its own map. See Minimal Maps .

Longleaf Forest of Southern U.S.: America's Most Threatened Forest Ecosystem. The loss of most of the 90 million acres of longleaf pine forests that once dominated the coastal plain and large parts of the Piedmont region of the southern U.S. is heartbreaking, but the story of collaboration to recover and restore that forest legacy is most encouraging. We recommend that you become acquainted with efforts of Longleaf Alliance and view a documentary film about longleaf pine. The future of the Southeast's longleaf pine forests, and the endangered species dependent on that ecosystem, may rest in the hands of the U.S. military. LEARN MORE.
There are a number of ongoing efforts to thoroughly inventory remaining stands of longleaf pine forests and areas that offer superior opportunities for ecosystem restoration. Among them are the North Carolina Longleaf Pine Preservation Coalition decision support tool http://www.nclongleaf.org/maps.html (contains information about longleaf ecosystems locations and management in NC, SC, and VA) and the Florida Longleaf Pine Geodatabase,  created by the Florida Forest Service and Florida Natural Areas Inventory, which house data for almost 2 million acres of existing longleaf pine in Florida. Click to view Florida’s Longleaf Web Map: www.fnai.org/longleafGDB.cfm . The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) is building the longleaf ecosystems occurrence database in close conjunction with the America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative including the Longleaf Partnership Council mapping committee, The Longleaf Alliance, and other partners. These approaches are being expanded to develop an inventory database for longleaf pine ecosystems regionwide.

National Academy of Science report on Large Landscape Conservation
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in late 2015 released a report "An Evaluation of the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives", which concluded that a landscape approach is needed to meet the nation's conservation challenges and that the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) provide a framework for addressing that need. The NAS undertook the study pursuant to a Congressional directive to evaluate the LCC program. Read More.

National Conservation Easement Database
This collaborative, inter-agency attempt to maintain a single nationwide system for identifying, accessing and managing data on the locations of conservation easements across America has so far identified and mapped an estimated 2/3s of all the conservation easements. Nationally, the NCED identifies 114,216 conservation easements protecting 23,349,840 acres. The NCED was recently updated with more information from individual states.This resource is intended to provide reliable data for conservation inventory and planning. See this seriously large-scale application of conservation easements on private and public lands on the NCED Website.

NatureServe Public Database of Rare and Special Concern Species:
Discover Plants and Animals in the Places You Care About
With just one click, Nature Serve enables you to discover which plants and animals are at-risk in your county or watershed. Knowing where at-risk species reside is an important starting point for understanding both national and regional conservation needs and priorities. It’s also fun to understand what lives in your own backyard. START DISCOVERING.

The North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) report The State of North America’s Birds 2016 is the first comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of all bird species that occur in Canada, the continental U.S., and Mexico. More than one-third of North American birds are in trouble! NABCI was created by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico as a tri-national commitment to protect birds and their habitats.
The report evaluates the conservation status of all native North American bird species across all major habitats —nine key ecosystems. It is based on the first-ever conservation vulnerability assessment for all 1,154 native bird species that occur in the continental U.S., Canada and Mexico, and reflects a collaboration between experts from all three countries. The overall conservation status of each species takes into account its population trend, population size, extent of breeding and nonbreeding ranges, and severity of threats to populations.
The State of North America’s Birds Report was released during the Centennial year of the Migratory Bird Treaty, an agreement between the U.S. and Canada that promised collaborative conservation to protect the migratory birds of North America. This report reflects a groundbreaking collaboration to evaluate bird populations across the continent. It calls for a renewed commitment to continental bird conservation agreements to keep our shared birds safe and healthy for the next 100 years.
For more information and to read the full report, visit www.stateofthebirds.org.
Learn more about the Migratory Bird Treaty Centennial celebration at www.fws.gov/birds/MBTreaty100.
More ideas about how to support bird conservation: www.stateofthebirds.org/change

North Carolina Green Growth & Conservation Planning Tools:
models for use in other states
The NC Wildlife Resources Commission and NC Natural Heritage Program have established impressive guidance and informational tools helpful to local communities, land use planners, developers, and conservation/environmental advocates wanting to implement conservation-design principles and nature-friendly, responsible land use planning and growth management. Check out these interconnected websites: Green Growth Toolbox, NC Conservation Planning Tool, NC Natural Heritage Program, and the NC Natural Heritage Data Explorer. We believe that all southern states replicate this approach for providing better frameworks and guidance for decisions about future growth and conservation of important natural resources.

Old-Growth Forest Network (www.oldgrowthforest.net ) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying and recognizing premiere examples of surviving old-growth forests and advocating for their protection and for recovering intact mature forests across the U.S. Go to its website to nominate old-growth forest sites for inclusion and certification.

OSI Promotes Conservation Planning & Protection in Three Southeast Resilient Landscapes
The Open Space Institute (OSI), with new scientific research undertaken by The Nature Conservancy, has identified climate-change resilient landscapes and sites within three selected areas in the southeastern states: the Southern Cumberland mountains in Tennessee; the Southern Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee; and the Greater Pee Dee River basin in parts of North Carolina/South Carolina. At a time when climate change has created uncertainty about the role of land conservation, OSI is dedicated to working with partners to use the best science available to protect the places that will endure over the long term. To learn more about climate resilience science and OSI/TNC Resilient Landscape Initiative’s goals see the Program Overview.
In addition to supporting land transactions that protect climate resilient lands, OSI assists land trusts in playing a pivotal role in protecting biodiversity as the climate changes. Over the past three years, OSI’s Resilient Landscapes Initiative Catalyst Program has made $150,000 in grants to assist land conservation organizations to protect lands that will remain resilient as the climate changes. In 2016, OSI broadened assistance to land trusts through two new partnerships with organizations that have experience in educating and supporting land trusts: the Land Trust Alliance (LTA) and Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC). These partnerships will provide more intensive coaching and mentoring to a select group of land trusts, assisting them in mastering the knowledge and tools for developing climate-responsive conservation plans, implementing land protection on the ground, and building the network needed to sustain this work.

Property Ownership national database. The website propertysearch.net connects you with government offices in every state and local government to obtain information for property titles and deeds, tax records, unclaimed property, and appraisals, and these records are available for free! It makes searching for titles and deeds super easy by simply typing in a specific county or state. It’s all very convenient and directs you to the right local government contacts to get these records for free.

Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (www.SECASsoutheast.org ) [described above in more detail] was established in response to the dramatic changes affecting the environmental conditions of the southeastern U.S. and Caribbean -- including urbanization, extreme weather events, sea-level rise, climate change, competition for water resources -- which combine to pose unprecedented challenges for sustaining the natural and cultural resources of the region.  Six Landscape Conservation Cooperatives across the Southeast joined forces with state agencies, the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to create a website for the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS). The SECAS purpose is to bring together the conservation community (people and organizations) to design and achieve a connected network of landscapes and seascapes that supports thriving fish and wildlife populations and improved quality of life for people across the southeastern U.S. and Caribbean. The SECAS Blueprint stitches together the work of multiple Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) into a map of shared conservation and restoration priorities across the Southeast and Caribbean. This Blueprint serves as a plan for making the SECAS vision a reality.

Southeastern Partnership for Forests and Water
is a collaborative effort to enhance forested watershed protection that benefits public water and local economies in the southeastern U.S. This project is jointly funded by the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities and by the US Forest Service. Goals include developing cooperative relationships among state and local agencies, forestry and conservation organizations, and other river and watershed protection associations to design pilot projects and funding to implement creative protection strategies in high priority watersheds. MORE.
Contact the coordinator of this partnership by email (Kitty.Weisman 'at' icloud.com)

Southern Exposure Films - inspiring model for the rest of the South
Check out beautiful and inspiring short films focused on Alabama's premiere natural environment and conservation efforts offered by Southern Exposure film fellowship (www.SouthernExposureFilms.org ) and financially sponsored by the Southern Environmental Law Center. We recommend the films "Sharing the Secrets of Caves" and an exclusive interview with Alabama native and Pulitzer-prize winning biologist, E.O. Wilson.

States' Natural Area Protection Programs
The Natural Areas Association report describes natural areas programs currently active in 35 states, which for over 50 years have been identifying, inventorying, and conserving key elements of the nation's natural heritage, and have been in the forefront of conserving America's critical habitats for native plants and animals, and the best and last remaining examples of rare ecosystems. Download the report.

States' Wildlife Action Plans
All states since 2001 have been required by Congressional legislation (as prerequisite for federal state and tribal wildlife program grants) to prepare comprehensive plans to guide conservation of nongame (non-hunted) species. These State Wildlife Action Plans (or SWAPs) must be updated every 10 years at minimum, and so most states have recently or are currently updating their comprehensive wildlife conservation plans and strategies. To meet federal funding requirements state wildlife management agencies must include in their SWAPs: a description of their planning process and database, how their existing SWAP has guided conservation in their state over the previous decade, distribution and identified priority habitats of species of greatest concern, problems adversely affecting species and their habitats, conservation strategies and actions focused on species of concern, and the procedures for coordination with allied partners in developing and implementing conservation projects. The new Tennessee SWAP has been identified as a model for incorporating climate change response and resilience strategies in its wildlife conservation plans.

Science of Open Spaces: helpful book
In 2015, Island Press released Charles Curtin's book, The Science of Open Spaces: Theory and Practice for Conserving Large, Complex Systems. In it, he lays the foundation for a new kind of science that can deal with "wicked" problems and vast ecosystems, although his book does not focus on southern U.S. ecosystems.

Watershed Wisdom: a new interactive, free unit on PBS Learning Media
The "Watershed Wisdom" online educational program (with hands-on classroom activity options) was developed in partnership with UNC-Public Television and is aligned with North Carolina's Essential Standards for fourth and fifth-grade science students. Its activities incorporate science topics with language arts, social studies and math. Use one component, a few portions or the entire lesson unit – whatever works best for your classroom’s needs. This new, free lesson is available online for both formal and informal educators to use. To start, visit and subscribe to PBS Learning Media at pbslearningmedia.org and search for "Watershed Wisdom." Or, click on this link to start exploring a robust toolbox of engaging activities and projects to teach your students about watersheds, including the watersheds where they live and go to school!  Find the Watershed Wisdom Lesson here

Watershed Approach for Wetlands and Stream Restoration
The Environmental Law Institute has published a guidebook demonstrating how a watershed approach in wetlands and stream restoration will better contribute to goals of improved water quality, reduction of flooding, improved quality and quantity of natural habitat, and increased ecological services and benefits. A watershed approach offers a science-information mechanism for improving site selection for wetland and stream restoration and protection projects. Contact ELI to obtain a copy of the "Watershed Approach Handbook: Improving Outcomes and Increasing Benefits Associated with Wetland and Stream Restoration Projects."

Water Resource Protection
The Nature Conservancy's Beyond the Source report analyzes 4,000 cities to demonstrate the health, climate and biodiversity benefits of source water protection.

Wetland Plants Guide for NC
The new 2021 edition of the Guide to Common Wetland Plants of North Carolina contains valuable information for identifying wetland plants from the mountains to the coast. A full color PDF of the book is available. MORE HERE.

Wildlife Habitat Council (www.wildlifehc.org ) promotes and certifies habitat conservation and management on corporate lands through partnerships and education. The Council is supported by some of America's major landholding corporations.

Wildlands Network - Eastern US
Once as wild as anywhere on Earth, eastern North America is now a patchwork of protected lands within a human-dominated landscape. Conservationists have long aspired to restore a vast network of connecting wildlands in this region, from the Acadian forests of Maritime Canada to the subtropical Everglades of Florida and further along the Gulf of Mexico coast. Wildlands Network is the national organization leading the quest to achieve this dream. The Easterm Wildway, as envisioned, would contain some of North America’s most beloved national parks, preserves, scenic rivers, and other wild places, from the wilderness of Quebec, the Adirondacks, and the Shenandoah Valley, to the Great Smoky Mountains and Everglades National Park. Protecting and expanding these and other key core areas is crucial to rewilding the East. The Eastern Wildway traverses a wide array of ecoregions and climates, with the latter ranging from arctic to tropical. An equally broad diversity of wildlife inhabits these ecoregions. Many resident plants, birds, fish, salamanders, and butterflies are found nowhere else on Earth—particularly those in the southeastern U.S., which was recently identified as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. Establishing an Eastern Wildway and "rewilding" the eastern U.S. will require ambitious, bold and collaborative action at many levels. From creating new conservation lands, reforming policies, and providing incentives for private land stewardship to working with transportation agencies to construct wildlife underpasses and overpasses, incorporating smart growth into local planning, and passing new legislation to confront growing challenges.

Photo by Johnny Randall

Tips for Nonprofit Conservation Organizations

ONLINE CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT GUIDANCE RESOURCES for LANDOWNERS
There is a great and unmet need to provide private landowners guidance and assistance to design natural resource conservation plans and implement good, productive, restorative practices on their conserved properties.

We recommend the USDA Natural Resources and Conservation Service local office as the first place for a landowner to go for help in preparing and implementing a conservation plan to manage and restore natural resources on the landscape. To learn more and identify your local USDA Service Center visit www.nrcs.usda.gov . Establishing a Conservation Plan qualifies a landowner to receive financial and technical assistance to implement land, water, and wildlife conservation actions.
Another dependable source of assistance is from professional staff at your local Soil and Water Conservation District.

American Forest Foundation (“we grow stewardship every day”) supplies helpful guidance to America's 22 million family forestland owners and their management advisers. AFF operates the FREE web-based resource for forestland owners who want to apply good forest, land, water and wildlife conservation practices on their properties. The AFF website is used by as many as 10,000 landowners monthly ; see www.MyLandPlan.org.

Resources First Foundation (“Connecting People to Conservation”), a nonprofit organization, operates the Private Landowner Network, a nationwide directory of more than 27,000 conservation resources, articles, and professionals, helping landowners to navigate the complex choices of good land stewardship and conservation. The online library provides access to a suite of online resources that encourage and help private landowners (who own more than 60 percent of America’s landscape) to participate in good land stewardship and implement conservation practices on their land. Instructions on how to add information and profiles of other sources of land management assistance to landowners HERE.

Photo by Mac Stone

The care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and . . . most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope.
--Wendell Berry