We’ve got some very exciting updates on the way for Southeast Conservation Blueprint 2026. While all the data and documentation won’t be out until later this year, I still wanted to give you a heads up on the indicator improvements on the way.

• Caribbean imperiled aquatic species - This new indicator covers both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It combines existing information and new survey data. It matches the indicator already available for the continent and we’re super excited to finally have the data to do it. Big thanks to Jacob Laurain for collecting the new data in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Bonnie Myers and Gus Engman for connecting us with Puerto Rico data collected by NC Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit legend Tom Kwak and his team, and Kat Hoenke/the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership for being the connector for all things aquatic.

• Fire frequency - This a major update for this indicator. The previous version simply counted how many times an area had been burned. With this new indicator, we’re now looking at how often an area should be burned and how far it has departed from that historic fire frequency. It was tricky to combine all that info into a single understandable indicator. Huge thanks to the 19 people on the indicator review team that helped with that and reviewed multiple iterations of the indicator! If you’re interested in learning more about some of the data that feeds into this new approach, register for the August 20th Third Thursday Web Forum.

• Gulf marine birds - This new indicator joins the Atlantic marine birds indicator to provide full coverage of the Gulf and Atlantic ocean areas of SECAS for marine birds. Big thanks to Jeff Gleason and Randy Wilson for help connecting with the big treasure trove of information from the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS). If you’re interested in learning more about the development of the underlying models, check out this recording of the May 21st Third Thursday Web Forum.

• Imperiled amphibians and reptiles - This indicator representing important areas for rare herps is now updated to 2023 landcover. We also improved some methods to make the legend easier to understand. Big thanks to Nathan Tarr, Steve Williams, and Curtis Belyea from the GAP program for working so hard to update the GAP species models we’re using in this indicator!

• Imperiled mammals - This indicator representing important areas for rare mammals also got the same update as imperiled amphibians and reptiles: 2023 landcover and an improved legend. Just like with imperiled amphibians and reptiles, huge thanks to the GAP folks that worked hard to update the underlying species models to 2023 landcover.