The Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) was highlighted in several ways at the recent SEAFWA conference in Mobile, AL.

Our exhibit table provided an excellent platform to show off some of the recent SECAS accomplishments, including:

• Update of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint to Draft Version 3.0
• Discussion of new threat layers for the southeast region, including sea level rise, urbanization, and a new solar layer depicting areas suitable for solar development
• SECAS website update including the most up to date information
• SECAS fact sheet and user support contact info card
• Scrolling informational slides describing recent uses of the Southeast Blueprint

Conference attendees engaged in in-depth discussions of the Southeast Blueprint, the SECAS initiative, and the relevance of collaborative conservation to their individual programs over the course of two days at the conference.

Additionally, an overarching goal and supporting metrics for SECAS were adopted by the board of Directors of SEAFWA in official action at their business meeting. Developing a SECAS goal had been identified as a high priority by SECAS participants in 2017, and the SECAS points of contact worked throughout 2018 to define and revise a recommendation.

The final goal was approved by the SEAFWA Wildlife Diversity Committee and passed on to the SEAFWA Directors for official adoption. The goal of “a 10% or greater improvement in the health, function, and connectivity of southeastern ecosystems by 2060” was recognized as both ambitious and achievable. It provides several significant outcomes, including:

• Easily communicating what SECAS does, and linking to the SECAS Vision
• Attracting funding and other resources and support to the Southeast
• Improving connections with non-traditional conservation partners
• Measuring progress toward the vision using a number of existing, data-driven, ecosystem assessments

For more specific information on implementation and shorter-term metrics for the SECAS goal, see Rua’s blog here.