Have you registered yet for a free virtual workshop to review Draft Southeast Blueprint 2023? Visit the workshop page to learn more and sign up!

As I mentioned in my blog last month, workshops to review the latest draft of the Southeast Blueprint are coming up in the last two weeks of May. Each workshop will be hosted on Zoom and last 1.5 hours. The focus will be on Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the deeper offshore waters of the Gulf and Atlantic marine environments–the areas where we are expanding consistent methods and indicators in this year’s update.

Just like last year, we’ll be using an interactive mapping platform that allows you to look closely at the places you know and record areas that look about right, areas that are underprioritized or overprioritized, and areas that you have questions about. The input we gather through workshops is super important for ensuring the Blueprint captures the shared priorities of the conservation community and accurately reflects conditions on the ground. It also helps SECAS staff prioritize the most important improvements to tackle next!

If you’re more interested in the inland and nearshore areas of the contiguous Southeast that we reviewed in last year’s workshop series, we aren’t planning to make major updates to those priorities this year. We expect to revisit that part of the Blueprint and hold workshops to review a draft of those updated priorities next year.

We hope to see you there! Contact me at hilary_morris@fws.gov if you have any questions.