Following the success of last fall’s SECAS Summit, the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) Lead Coordination Team met March 22-23 at the JC Ralston Arboretum in Raleigh to continue improvement and refinement of the Southeast Blueprint and to increase the diversity of engagement and participation in the SECAS initiative. The meeting included participation from Ed Carter, Director of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Gordon Myers, Director of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and additional experts in human dimensions and communications from state agencies and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The additional emphasis on human dimensions and communications focused on development of an engagement strategy for SECAS to address the use of social science across the Southeast in implementing the SECAS vision.

The coordination team also discussed the technical aspects of improvement to the Southeast Blueprint including a focus on how partners are using the Blueprint in their conservation decision making.

The SECAS team also proposed a symposium for the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) 2017 meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. The symposium will focus on improving the integration of state priorities, including state wildlife action plans, into future refinements of the Southeast Blueprint. The team will work closely with the SEAFWA Wildlife Diversity Committee to develop the specific components of the symposium—stay tuned!