Blog
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Timeline of recent efforts to promote regional alignment of State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs). Summary of SWAP alignment survey results
If you want to know how Southeastern states or territories approach their State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs)—what tools and resources they use, what elements they find most challenging—click here to find out! SECAS staff work to clear barriers to conservation actions across jurisdictional boundaries and have been working with the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) Wildlife Diversity Committee (WDC) to develop potential opportunities to align State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) in the Southeast. You can check out some of my previous blogs that describe this effort and share the raw results of the survey.
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Southeast Blueprint 2021. Southeast Blueprint 2021 now available
The latest update to the Southeast Conservation Blueprint, version 2021, is now available! This year’s Blueprint is a stepping stone to the bigger improvements in store next year, as we move toward consistent methods and indicators across most of the region.
The major improvements over the last version include:
- Incorporating the newest South Atlantic Blueprint data
- Correcting a scoring issue in the Middle Southeast
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Estimated percent change in indicator over 4 years based on most recently available data, from the 2021 SECAS goal report. 2021 SECAS goal report is now ready
The 2021 SECAS goal report is now up on the website. It looks at recent trends in Southeastern ecosystem indicators and whether they’re on track to meet the SECAS goal.
This year’s report includes updated data for:
- Bird indicators
- Coastal condition
- Prescribed fire
It also has new indicators for:
- Working lands conservation
- Salt marsh area
- Undeveloped land in corridors
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Left photo of longleaf pine stand by Randy Browning, USFWS. Right photo of Piedmont prairie by Rua Mordecai, USFWS. Chance to join Blueprint indicator teams - Southeast grasslands and longleaf pine
We’re making good progress on the new approach for the 2022 Southeast Conservation Blueprint. A big focus right now is on expanding and improving indicators for use in the new Blueprint. For some indicators, we’re only working directly with data providers and a select group of experts. With others, we’re also opening up the review teams to anyone who’s interested. The first two of those are indicator teams for Southeast grasslands and longleaf pine.
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SECAS map. 2021 Report to the SEAFWA Directors
Each year at the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) annual conference, SECAS provides a briefing to the SEAFWA Directors on achievements for the past year and directions for the upcoming year. I wanted to share the 2021 report to SEAFWA Directors that was presented by SECAS Steering Committee Chair Robert Boyles last month. Excerpts from the full report are below.
SECAS achieved several notable accomplishments in the last year, contributing to a national focus on the partnership and SEAFWA as a model for voluntary, collaborative, landscape scale conservation for the 21st century.
Perhaps most notable was the establishment, by the SEAFWA Directors at the 2021 Spring Director’s meeting, of the SECAS Executive Steering Committee as an official “Directors Committee” of SEAFWA. The purpose of the Steering Committee is to provide oversight and strategic direction to the SECAS partnership. This is a unique governance arrangement that formalized a state-federal oversight board, with participation from 5 State Directors and 1 Federal agency Regional Director to help guide, direct, and sustain the efforts and accomplishments of this important landscape scale conservation initiative.
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Aerial view of Chandeleur Islands in Louisiana. Photo by Erik Zobrist, NOAA Restoration Center. CC BY 2.0. The Water Institute of the Gulf releases final reports for suite of SECAS projects
Last month, the Water Institute of the Gulf wrapped up a series of projects funded by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service entitled “Advancing the goals of SECAS: A program to improve Southeast Conservation Blueprint utility in the Gulf of Mexico.” The broader goal of this effort is to increase the utility and application of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint in the Gulf by collecting, improving, and coordinating existing datasets. This work meets a need in the northern Gulf of Mexico for actionable, science-based tools due to both natural and anthropogenic threats to key habitats and ongoing large investments in land management, conservation, and restoration.
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The number of states that reported planning to use these datasets to identify Conservation Opportunity Areas, from the SWAP alignment survey. The SWAP survey says...
One of the aims of SECAS is to clear barriers to conservation actions across jurisdictional boundaries. This is why SECAS staff are working with the SEAFWA Wildlife Diversity Committee (WDC) to help develop potential opportunities to align State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) in the Southeast. This follows guidance and recommendations from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) President’s Task Force on Shared Science & Landscape Conservation Priorities and the AFWA State Wildlife Action Plan & Landscape Conservation Work Group. The WDC, the AWFA Task Force, and the AFWA Work Group recognize that aligning SWAPs is an efficient and effective way to support cross-jurisdictional conservation actions and sustain Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN).
The SEAFWA WDC established a subcommittee to help identify potential recommendations for Southeastern states to align their SWAPs. As I mentioned in my previous blog, the subcommittee sent a survey to each SWAP coordinator in the Southeast region (15 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). The survey sought to elicit information about how each state or territory (the states) approaches their SWAP, what tools they use, and what elements of SWAP revision they find most challenging.
And the results are in!
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Screenshot from the virtual keynote presentation featuring Sara Parker Pauley with the Missouri Department of Conservation. A brief summary of the SECAS symposium at SEAFWA
SECAS sponsored a special symposium at the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) annual conference titled SECAS and 30x30: Identifying opportunities and defining outcomes in the Southeast. More than 85 virtual attendees participated in the first formal and inclusive dialogue among fish and wildlife agencies and other conservation professionals in the Southeast around potential outcomes of the America the Beautiful campaign. The symposium set the stage for further examination to align priorities to take advantage of momentum created through this national initiative.
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Sunrise at Appalachicola National Forest. Photo by Matthew Paulson/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Fall 2021 updates to the Southeast Blueprint and SECAS Goal Report - Webinar on November 18th
Webinar details
- Title: Fall 2021 updates to the Southeast Blueprint and SECAS Goal Report
- Speakers: Rua Mordecai, Coordinator, Southeast & South Atlantic Conservation Blueprints
- Date: Thursday, November 18th
- Time: 10:00 am Eastern
- Connection information: Join the Microsoft Teams meeting (Note - no registration required, just click to join the webinar when the time comes!)
Fall is upon us, and that means it’s time for an update to the core products of the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS)! We’ve already released the 2021 SECAS Goal Report, which uses the most recent 3-6 years of data from existing monitoring programs to tracks progress toward the SECAS Goal: a 10% or greater improvement in the health, function, and connectivity of Southeastern ecosystems by 2060. A 2021 update to the Southeast Conservation Blueprint is coming soon, and will incorporate the latest priorities from the 2021 South Atlantic Blueprint.
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2021 SEAFWA Annual Meeting logo. October 18th SECAS symposium at SEAFWA now fully virtual - Don't forget to register!
Make plans to attend the virtual SECAS symposium at the upcoming Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (SEAFWA) annual conference, on Monday, October 18 from 1:20 - 5 pm Eastern. The symposium, SECAS and 30 by 30: Identifying Opportunities and Defining Outcomes in the Southeast, examines the potential of the America the Beautiful conservation initiative and the national goal to conserve 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030. The symposium format features key conservation leaders and practitioners seeking common understanding and demonstrating complementary approaches for conservation achievement in the Southeast. A concluding session with facilitated breakouts will identify next steps and recommendations for scaling up collaboration to achieve common conservation goals through SECAS.
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Black seabasses and sponges at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary. Photo by Greg McFall, NOAA. Characterizing spatial distributions of Southeast Atlantic deep-sea corals and hardbottom habitats - Webinar on October 21st
Webinar details
- Title: Characterizing spatial distributions of deep-sea corals and hardbottom habitats in the U.S. Southeast Atlantic
- Speakers: Matt Poti and Arliss Winship, NOAA National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science
- Date: Thursday, October 21st
- Time: 10:00 am Eastern
- Connection information: Join the Microsoft Teams meeting (Note - no registration required, just click to join the webinar when the time comes!)
The October South Atlantic Third Thursday Web Forum is coming up on October 21st! Matt Poti and Arliss Winship with the NOAA National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science will present on an exciting project to develop spatial predictive models for deep-sea corals and hardbottom habitats in the U.S. Southeast Atlantic to inform and support environmental risk assessments, environmental impact statements, and other decision documents related to the review of proposed offshore energy development in the region.
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SECAS map. SECAS is hiring a new coordinator
SECAS is hiring a new coordinator! Our current coordinator, Mallory Martin, plans to retire at the end of this year. Please check out the job posting below and circulate with anyone who might be interested.
Announcing an EXCITING career opportunity in collaborative landscape conservation working in regional partnership to advance the vision and goals. of the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS).
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The loggerhead sea turtle is identified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) in ten Southeast and Caribbean State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs). Photo by Becky Skiba, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, taken at Blackbeard Island in Georgia. Aligning Southeast State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs)
When working with state partners to get conservation actions on the ground, there is no better place to start than with State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs). Since 2005, SWAPs have been required for states to receive federal funding for conservation actions designed to sustain states’ Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN).
SWAPs are based on science, research, monitoring, and public input. They also represent each state’s unique landscape, opportunities, and challenges. And while each SWAP adheres to eight required elements laid out by the U.S. Congress, each SWAP within the Southeast is different. Because many of the impacts to species are caused by landscape-level changes, like climate change and urbanization, it is important for states to find ways to work together across jurisdictions. This helps ensure that important conservation actions recommended in SWAPs are conducted at scales that are meaningful for sustaining species and appropriate for conservation goals to be achieved.
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Michelle Moorman monitors a Surface Elevation Table (SET) station in coastal NC. Photo by USFWS. Will the marsh stay or will it go? September 16th webinar co-hosted with Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center
Webinar details
- Title: Will the marsh stay or will it go? Coastal wetland transformations in the South Atlantic Basin
- Speakers: Michelle Moorman, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S. FWS)
- Date: Thursday, September 16th
- Time: 10:00 am Eastern
- Connection information: Register for the webinar via Zoom (Note - advance registration is available but not required; if you register at the time of the webinar, you will join the meeting automatically)
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In 2022, the Base Blueprint will take the place of 6 different subregional plans currently stitched together in the Southeast Blueprint. The Base Blueprint will use consistent methods and indicators across 12 states. Progress toward a more consistent Southeast Blueprint in 2022
You might remember the blog from a few months ago where I talked about the more consistent approach for the Blueprint in 2022. We’ve been making good progress since then. We’re starting to get a better idea of timelines, methods, potential indicators, etc. We’re calling this new Southeast Blueprint input, which uses consistent methods and indicators across 12 states of the SECAS geography, the “Base Blueprint”–because it will form the base of the Southeast Blueprint.
This winter, you’ll get a chance to be part of indicator teams, which help review and provide feedback on draft indicators. A draft of the Base Blueprint using the indicators should be ready for workshops by May 2022. Getting your thoughts–in the workshops, on the indicators teams, or both–is super important for making the best possible Blueprint in 2022.
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Big Bend National Park, Texas. Photo by turcottes78/Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. SECAS - Getting the word out...across the Southeast and beyond
In the last six months or so, SECAS staff have presented well over a dozen briefings and overviews to various agencies, organizations, and partners interested in the SECAS approach to landscape conservation. Typically we provide a high level overview of the SECAS vision, purpose, and goal, followed by a deeper discussion of the Southeast Blueprint and Blueprint user support functions that help inform conservation decisions. These briefings help spread the word about SECAS and the Southeast Blueprint, and help educate and inform existing and future partners about how SECAS can contribute to landscape conservation accomplishments in the Southeast. Downstream outcomes include establishing new relationships and collaborative pathways with professionals and organizations, and identifying potential new uses of the Southeast Blueprint for conservation decision-making. It’s exciting to see this surge of interest in collaborative conservation across the region.
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The July 15th South Atlantic Third Thursday Web Forum will cover the new SEFireMap data. July 15th webinar on using fire regimes as ecosystem indicators
Webinar details
- Title: Using fire regimes as ecosystem indicators: SEFireMap, Southeast Conservation Blueprint, and other applications
- Speakers: Joe Noble and Eli Simonson, Tall Timbers Research Station, and Rua Mordecai, South Atlantic and Southeast Blueprints
- Date: Thursday, July 15th
- Time: 10:00 am Eastern
- Connection information: Join Microsoft Teams meeting (Note - no registration required, just click to join the webinar when the time comes!)
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2021 SEAFWA Annual Meeting logo. 2021 SECAS symposium update
Make plans now to attend the SECAS symposium at the upcoming SEAFWA annual conference to be held October 17-20, 2021 in Roanoke, VA. The symposium is titled SECAS and 30 X 30: Identifying Opportunities and Defining Outcomes in the Southeast and is intended to be the collaborative forum for examining perspectives and guiding directions related to the “America the Beautiful” initiative and the 30 X 30 national goal in the Southeast. The annual conference is expected to be an in-person event with additional online options for attendees, creating the opportunity for very wide exposure. Stay tuned to the SEAFWA website for further developments.
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Flow chart depicting the current SECAS organizational structure. SECAS organizational factsheet now available
Ever wonder how SECAS is organized, who the partners are, or how the information flows? To help answer some of these questions, SECAS developed a one-page factsheet detailing the organizational structure of the SECAS partnership, including descriptions and roles of the executive steering committee, SECAS staff, and designated Points of Contact.
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Corridors in the current 2020 South Atlantic Blueprint. What should corridors look like in the future? Join conversation about the future of Blueprint corridors in June 17th webinar
Join the conversation on June 17th @ 10 am Eastern time to talk about many interesting issues related to corridors in the 2022 Southeast Blueprint.
Next month’s South Atlantic Third Thursday Web Forum will discuss some options and ideas for corridors to inform the 2021 version of the South Atlantic Blueprint (which will serve as an input to the 2021 Southeast Blueprint, coming this fall). Even if you don’t work in the South Atlantic region, you’re welcome to participate if you want to get a head start talking about some issues that will also be important for next year’s larger Southeast Blueprint update using consistent methods and indicators across 12 states.
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SECAS map. SECAS Steering Committee update
The SECAS Steering Committee met this week to consider a number of SECAS activities and accomplishments and to employ its charge of providing oversight and strategic direction to the SECAS initiative.
Leading the agenda was an overview of progress to date on several overarching recommendations coming from last year’s SECAS Futures Project. The five recommendations address immediate improvements in SECAS governance by strengthening core processes, improving communications, and broadening engagement. Progress has been made in each category, and the Steering Committee will continue to be engaged in supporting the implementation.
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What is Blueprint user support? Breaking down barriers to conservation action - The role of Blueprint user support
We need more–more people, groups, and organizations putting conservation actions on the ground. We’ve lost too much, and there’s more to lose if we don’t take advantage of our biggest resource to connect lands and waters, which is people. Conservation tools, especially spatial plans, help us organize actions so we can make progress towards connecting lands and waters to support ecosystem function, connectivity, and health. But sometimes those tools fail to be accessible, equitable, and actionable.
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A striking visual of 2060 urban growth projections. Figure from Rob Dunn’s blog post on Your Wild Life, The Rise of Charlanta. Adapted from the paper The Southern Megalopolis, Using the Past to Predict the Future of Urban Sprawl in the Southeast U.S. The Southeast Blueprint helps inform local planning in the heart of the Southern megalopolis
In the conservation world, we often think of urban growth as a threat, a stressor, a driver of land-use change. And it undoubtedly is. But that expanding urban frontier also represents an opportunity to work with communities who want to grow sustainably, protect their natural resources, and ensure their residents have access to green space.
The predicted emergence of the Southern megalopolis really illustrated the magnitude of urbanization we’re facing in our region, with its map of “Charlanta”, a giant city linking Charlotte, NC to Atlanta, GA along the I-85 corridor. Based on more recent real estate and development trends, urbanization is showing no signs of losing its momentum, even during the pandemic. So how does Charlanta fit into the ecologically connected network of lands and waters called for in the SECAS vision? How can SECAS confront this challenge and seize the corresponding opportunity to plan for a future that leaves room for people and critters and ecosystems and everything in between?
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The Blueprint helped strengthen a successful proposal for $5 million over 3 years to assess aquatic habitat and restore 34 priority catchments in and around Cherokee National Forest (pictured here). Photo by Appalachian Centrist/Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Southern Appalachian Blueprint User Support Team hits the ground running
In 2020, the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy added five new Southeast Blueprint staff throughout the region. Three of those team members–Emily Granstaff, Daniel Adams, and Chris DeVore–were placed in Cookeville, TN to be co-located with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tennessee Ecological Services Field Office. The new Cookeville team was put in place to improve Southeast Blueprint user support and GIS capacity in areas of the Southeast with plenty of opportunity to meet SECAS goals and priorities. The team’s primary focus areas in 2020 were the Southern Appalachians (KY, TN) and Middle Southeast (MS, AL) geographies.
Despite the atypical work environment of the last year, the Southern Appalachian team hit the ground running and formed valuable relationships in the region to support several projects. The team’s goal for this first year was to start by complementing existing efforts in the region or helping guide new efforts in need of landscape-scale direction.
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The beta viewer is an easy-to-use online interface for exploring the Southeast Blueprint. Explore the Southeast Blueprint in the new beta viewer!
Have you ever wanted a quick and easy way to explore the Southeast Blueprint and learn more about the underlying data for your area? The online viewer for the Southeast Blueprint is designed to help you do just that, and a beta version is finally ready for public release!
You can access the beta viewer here. It’s mobile friendly, so you can even check it out on your phone! It’s linked from the Blueprint and Resources pages of the SECAS website. Here are some of the things you can do with this beta viewer!
- Get a detailed pdf report including custom maps and analysis of the Blueprint, underlying plans, indicator datasets, threats, and protected lands information—just upload a shapefile!
- Learn what subregional plans are driving conservation value in your area. In some subregions (Florida, South Atlantic, and Nature’s Network), you can dig deeper into the underlying indicators that are driving those priorities.
- See how urbanization and sea-level rise are predicted to impact your area, as well as the conserved status and ownership of protected lands.
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Aerial view of Chassohowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Photo by Joyce Kleen, USFWS. SECAS evaluation report now available
The final report from a comprehensive evaluation of the SECAS partnership is now available for download here. “SECAS Futures: Structuring Governance to Achieve Landscape-scale Conservation Outcomes” is the product of a year-long effort to examine how SECAS is adding value to partner organizations and sustaining progress toward meeting its vision and goal.
The SECAS Futures project was requested by the interim SECAS Steering Committee in 2019 to evaluate existing governance structures, operational processes, and to make recommendations that will sustain and enhance delivery of value from the partnership into the future. While existing structures and processes were found to be effective as a regional forum for collaboration and as an information hub for science delivery and decision support, a number of overarching and complementary recommendations for sustaining value were identified in three main areas:
- strengthening core governance and process elements
- improving communications and outreach
- broadening and deepening engagement
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Southeast FireMap (SE FireMap) is a fire mapping tool for the southeastern U.S. that enables resource managers to improve their regional or local approaches to managing wildfire risk and fire management needs through targeting of prescribed burn implementation and training. SE FireMap 1.0 now available
There’s some great new mapping data on fire across the 9-state longleaf range now available. It’s what we’re using for the 2021 update to the regularly burned indicator used in the South Atlantic Blueprint, which will be incorporated into Southeast Blueprint 2021 this fall. While it’s certainly not perfect, it’s a big improvement over what we had before for fire. In some early test runs of the 2021 South Atlantic Blueprint, this new data is helping highlight some great longleaf on private and public lands that was missed in the current Blueprint.
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Zonation is the modeling software program being used to create the 2022 Southeast Blueprint. May 20th webinar will explore modeling process for Southeast Blueprint 2022
Webinar details
Spatial conservation planning with Zonation
Thursday, May 20th
10:00 am Eastern
»Join Microsoft Teams meeting (Note - no registration required, just click to join the webinar when the time comes!)Next month’s South Atlantic Third Thursday Web Forum will focus on Zonation, the modeling software program used to create the South Atlantic Blueprint, one input to the Southeast Blueprint. Rua has already blogged about the new approach planned for the Southeast Blueprint in 2022. Starting next year, we’ll start using Zonation to prioritize a larger swath of the Southeast using a consistent suite of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine indicators. This approach draws on data, best practices, and lessons learned from the South Atlantic Blueprint, Appalachian NatureScape Design, and Middle Southeast Blueprint, as well as the Oklahoma and Texas CHAT and Gulf Hypoxia Blueprint. This webinar presents a great opportunity to learn more about the technical details of the modeling approach for Southeast Blueprint 2022–how the algorithm prioritizes, how indicators are weighed, and more. There will be plenty of time to discuss and ask questions.
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Did you know that we put a man on the moon before we put wheels on a suitcase? User-centered design can help find simple solutions to everyday problems. Photo from pxhere.com, CC0. We're here to help--wait, come back!
Science is something that we hope can help us do better tomorrow what we couldn’t do today. The Southeast Conservation Blueprint is a science product, a tool, meant to help us create a specific future outcome–a connected network of lands and waters that supports thriving fish and wildlife populations and improved quality of life for people. But to get to that future place, we need to not just solely focus on the tool and the science that drives it, but also the people who will use it.
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Subregional blueprints used in the Southeast Conservation Blueprint. Those in solid colors are the subject of "Mechanics of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint." Mechanics of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint
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In collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Water Institute of the Gulf has led development of a collaborative report entitled “Mechanics of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint.” The report discusses the overall framework of SECAS and the Southeast Conservation Blueprint and examines the history, governance structure, framework, and methodology that underpin five of its subregional blueprints. The blueprints examined are those which include the geography of the northern Gulf of Mexico coast: Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool (Texas), Middle Southeast Blueprint, South Atlantic Blueprint, Florida Conservation Blueprint, and Florida Marine Blueprint. -
Mark your calendars for three upcoming webinars - including this Thursday's preview of the new beta viewer for the Southeast Blueprint! Upcoming webinars include preview of new beta viewer for the Southeast Blueprint - this Thursday March 18th
The next three webinars scheduled for the South Atlantic Third Thursday Web Forum are particularly relevant to the SECAS community! Mark your calendars!
THIS THURSDAY, March 18th: Preview the new beta viewer for the Southeast Blueprint
10:00 am EasternLouise Vaughn & Hilary Morris, User Support for the Southeast and South Atlantic Blueprints
A beta version of an online viewer for the Southeast Blueprint is nearly ready for public release! This easy-to-use online viewer will allow you to explore the Southeast Blueprint, learn what underlying data is driving the priorities in different subregions, and generate a custom report with maps and analysis for your area of interest. Tune in this Thursday for an overview and live demonstration of the current beta viewer, and a preview of new features in the works. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback!
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SEAFWA logo. SECAS Steering Committee now a permanent committee of SEAFWA
At their March 2nd business meeting, the Directors of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) took formal action to establish the SECAS Steering Committee as an official committee of the Association. This action formalized a state-federal oversight board for the SECAS partnership working across jurisdictions among Southeastern state fish and wildlife agencies, federal agencies with natural resource management responsibilities in the Southeast, and nonprofit organizations and other conservation partnerships in the region. The committee was charged to provide oversight and strategic direction to SECAS to strengthen collaboration for landscape scale conservation across the Southeast.
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Ask me anything
At some point in our lives, we learn that just because something is free doesn’t mean we should take it. Sometimes it means there’s a different kind of price to pay. I once had a roommate try to convince me that a decrepit couch was really a well-made piece of furniture. It was not. It was ugly, uncomfortable, and covered in a fabric that looked like the consummation of burlap and cigarettes. But, it was free.
Many years later, I find myself advertising about a free service – help using the Conservation Blueprint. Along with what we provide on our website, spatial data viewers, webinars, etc., there are actual people whose job is to help others use the Conservation Blueprint. And the Blueprint–with its underlying datasets, connectivity analysis, and regular updates–can be overwhelming. Sometimes people don’t have the time to dig into large amounts of information and tease out what they need, or sometimes they do and still have questions.
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Cole et al. (2011) foresee “the future elimination of Joshua tree throughout most of the southern portions of its current range,” thus invalidating a past premise of stability of the Joshua tree as a climax species. Photo by NPS / Emily Hassell. Resist-Accept-Direct - A framework for the 21st-century natural resource manager
National Park Service news release cross-posted with permission
News Release Date: January 19, 2021
Contact: Jeff Olson
The National Park Service and several federal land management agency partners recently published a report titled Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD)—A Decision Framework for the 21st-century Natural Resource Manager. The report presents and explores a simple set of distinct management options that decision makers can consider when responding to ecosystems facing the potential for rapid, irreversible ecological change. In so doing, the report provides a framework that encourages natural resource managers to consider strategic, forward-looking actions, rather than structure management goals based on past conditions.
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The 2022 Southeast Blueprint will use a consistent modeling approach for the area currently covered by the Texas CHAT (pink), Okalhoma CHAT (dark green), Middle Southeast Blueprint (light green), Gulf Hypoxia (light blue), Appalachian NatureScape (yellow), and South Atlantic Blueprint (purple) plans. New approach to Southeast Blueprint in 2022
More consistency in methods and indicators is one of the most requested improvements for the Southeast Conservation Blueprint. This is becoming increasingly important as more people are now wanting to use the Southeast Blueprint across large multi-state areas. In 2022, there’s going to be a big leap forward in that consistency. We’re going to use the same indicators and methods across most of the Southeast.
The new approach will build off of lessons learned in the Middle Southeast Blueprint, Appalachian NatureScape, Texas and Oklahoma CHAT, Gulf Hypoxia Blueprint, and the South Atlantic Blueprint. In 2022, the area covered by all those inputs will all be run with consistent indicators and methods. Collectively those inputs cover the entire Southeast with the exception of Virginia, West Virginia (covered by Nature’s Network), Florida (covered by the Florida Blueprint), and Puerto Rico (covered by the Caribbean Landscape Conservation Design).
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Water trail at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Michael Lusk/Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0. Preliminary recommendations from the SECAS Futures Project
Over the last 12 months, considerable effort has been directed toward a formal examination of the SECAS partnership, known as the “SECAS Futures Project.” The need for this examination has been building for several years, notably due to changes in partnership governance that occurred following changes in Landscape Conservation Cooperatives back in 2017. The need was also underscored last fall in a report by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Task Force on Shared Science and Landscape Conservation that emphasized the importance of periodic examination of structure and function of landscape partnerships to maintain their effectiveness.
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SECAS map. Welcoming new SECAS staff
Over the past year, several new staff members have joined the SECAS team to help support the Southeast Blueprint. Here you can learn a little bit more about them and their work!
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Mark your calendars for two upcoming webinars! Two upcoming webinars - Evaluating the economics of game lands and results of the SECAS Futures project
Two upcoming webinars hosted by the South Atlantic Blueprint team as part of the Third Thursday Web Forum series may be of interest to the SECAS community.
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Southeast Blueprint uses by year. 2020 - This year in review
2020 has been a challenging year in a lot of ways. I think it’s safe to say that most people won’t spend much time fondly reminiscing about it. It’s been the kind of year that makes me want to look forward, not back. Nevertheless, SECAS accomplished some great things in 2020, so let’s review some of the highlights!
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Draft map of regional recreation and connectivity assets around Marianna, FL. Habitat corridors (shown in green hatching) are based on the Southeast Blueprint. Panhandle rising - How small cities in Florida are working together to rebuild for resilience
An update on Louise’s blog, “The Blueprint and building resilience”, from September 2020
From face masks to flooding, 2020 has changed our ideas of what’s normal. As the this year’s record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season ends, many coastal communities find themselves preparing for a climate future that shares few resemblances with the past. While some larger coastal cities are already employing strategies to mitigate rising seas and more intense storms, other towns don’t have the resources to invest in expensive actions like building sea walls or protecting hundreds of acres of marshlands. But storms don’t care about who has resources or the best-laid plans.
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Southeast Blueprint 2020. Southeast Blueprint 2020 now officially complete
It’s October, and that means an updated version of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint.
Significant improvements over the last version include:
- Major improvements to the inland area covered by the South Atlantic Blueprint including finer resolution and a more connected network of priorities.
- Improvements to the area covered by the Middle Southeast Blueprint including updated data and an approach to overall area prioritized that will make comparisons across the Southeast more consistent.
- Better integration in areas where the South Atlantic Blueprint overlaps with the Florida Blueprint and with Natures Network.
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Estimated percent change in indicator over 4 years based on most recently available data. Recent trends in Southeastern Ecosystems (2020) now available
This year’s report on progress toward the SECAS goal, Recent trends in Southeastern Ecosystems (2020), is now complete.
Significant improvements over the last version include:
- A new indicator for areas without invasive plants
- An improved approach for water quality trends based on state data
- Updated data for bird indicators and the prescribed fire indicator
- New maps and summaries showing bird indicator trends by Bird Conservation Region
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SEAFWA logo. SECAS at the 2020 Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Make plans to attend the virtual SEAFWA Annual Conference in two weeks – October 25-28, and in particular the special SECAS Symposium: Recent Progress – Future Directions on Tuesday, October 27 at 2 pm central.
The symposium will feature specific presentations on recent improvements to the products and tools of SECAS, including:
- recent updates to the Southeast Conservation Blueprint
- a viewer to explore underlying Blueprint indicator condition
- reporting feature to help summarize specifics of Blueprint priority areas
- implications of climate change on prescribed fire
- and much more
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Hurricane Laura approaches the Gulf Coast. Photo by NOAA Satellites/Flickr. The Blueprint and building resilience
The sheer number and magnitude of the natural disasters in 2020 is breathtaking. While choosing just one catastrophe out of the cornucopia of calamities is hard, the record-breaking hurricane season must surely be toward the top of the list.
For the first time in recorded history, two hurricanes formed in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time in late August. For only the second time on record, the National Hurricane Center burned through its regular list of 21 names for tropical storms and hurricanes and began assigning names based on the Greek alphabet. But as bad and historic as this year’s hurricane season has been, previous years’ storms were just as devastating to many of our coastal communities.
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SECAS map. Updates from the SECAS Coordinator
Back in July, I reported on new membership for the SECAS Steering Committee, and since change is the constant in life, the Steering Committee is adjusting once again. I’m pleased to announce Robert Boyles, Director of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources was appointed to replace Chuck Sykes, who withdrew from the Steering Committee due to numerous prior commitments. Following almost a year of interim service, Robert was appointed SC DNR director in February 2020. He brings a strong management and marine science perspective to the SECAS Steering Committee. Robert is also an enthusiastic SECAS supporter due to South Carolina’s long record of participation and success in landscape conservation action.
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Cedars of Lebanon State Park in Tennessee. Photo by Michael Hicks/Flickr. CC BY-ND 2.0. Connecting Forest Action Plans to State Wildlife Action Plans
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 an assessment (e.g., what’s there, who owns it, how is it threatened) and develop strategies and actions to address challenges facing forest resources. Forest Action Plans set the foundation for how state forestry agencies can leverage internal resources to develop strategic partnerships and procure external funding. Forest Action Plans are analogous to State Wildlife Action Plans in that these plans have a ten-year planning horizon, establish places and actions of priority, and enable state agencies to be eligible for a number of federal grants.
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South Atlantic Blueprint 2020 will be used as an input to this year's Southeast Blueprint update. 2020 and 2021 updates to the Southeast Conservation Blueprint
It’s almost October and that means an updated version of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint is coming soon!
Here’s what’s new for this year.
- Big improvements to the inland part of the South Atlantic Blueprint - Improvements include better indicators, finer resolution, new methods for a more connected network of land and water, better cross-ecosystem integration, and better integration with other neighboring inputs into the Southeast Blueprint. Learn more and access the new data https://www.southatlanticlcc.org/blueprint/.
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Poplar leaves at Pine Knob Conservation Partnershp Area. Photo by Gary Peeples, USFWS. Stakeholder analysis of the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy
As the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) continues to prepare for the future, it is important to take a look and create a baseline of stakeholders’ thoughts and opinions in order to continue serving them in a thoughtful, intentional manner. As part of a formal examination of governance and conservation outcomes, the SECAS Futures project focuses on what the stakeholders of SECAS see as important, identifying potential improvements, and describing current and future needs for supporting the partnership.
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SECAS map. SECAS Steering Committee membership changes
Many of you are aware of the tremendous contributions to conservation made by former TN Wildlife Resources Agency Director Ed Carter. One of Ed’s significant accomplishments was his strong and unwavering support for the SECAS initiative. Ed was one of the initial champions in the Southeast for collaborative landscape-scale conservation, and provided compelling reasons and support for the creation of SECAS by the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) in 2011. Ed continued his support and guidance for SECAS, including service on the SECAS Steering Committee, until his retirement last month.
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Webinar schedule through July. Visit the series website for more information. Last Summer Science Series webinar - Perspectives on prescribed fire management in longleaf pine ecosystems
As you probably know by now, the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center and the South Atlantic Blueprint team have been collaboratively hosting a webinar series on the third Thursday of each month.
The final webinar in this series is coming up on July 16th at 10 am Eastern! It will feature Dr. John Kupfer with the University of South Carolina presenting on “Perspectives on prescribed fire management in longleaf pine ecosystems: The context of landscape transformation and anthropogenic climate change”. Registration is open:
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Sandhill Crane Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi. Photo by Toby Gray, Mississippi State University. Where the wild things
arewill be - Mapping the South’s future forest landscapes & the wildlife that depend on themAs development pressures increase, climatic patterns shift, and sea levels rise, the South’s forest resource is increasingly faced with fragmentation, degradation, and loss from land use conversion. Forestlands play a critical role in providing clean drinking water, wildlife habitat, and recreation opportunities, and in supporting rural economies based on traditional and non-traditional forest products. To conserve and sustain forestlands, a multitude of conservation action, recovery, and prioritization plans have been developed by federal and state agencies, land trusts, public-private partnerships, and others. The Keeping Forests as Forests initiative developed the “Mapping the South’s Forests of the Future” project to examine spatial priorities of these myriad plans in consultation with more than 50 conservation-minded entities.
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Samworth Wildlife Management Area. Photo courtesy of Emily Purcell, Ducks Unlimited. Three organizations in SC use the Blueprint to support successful grants!
One of the most common ways folks often use the Blueprint is to strengthen their grant proposals. Often, funders want to know how a proposed project contributes to regional objectives and partner priorities, and the Blueprint can serve as that shared strategy! The underlying data can also help tell a compelling story about what makes an area special.
Several organizations in South Carolina recently found out that they received funding from grant proposals supported and informed by the Southeast Blueprint!
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Webinar schedule through July. Visit the series website for more information. Third Summer Science Series webinar - Clarifying science needs for Southeastern grasslands
Lately, I’ve been blogging about the SE CASC & South Atlantic Spring/Summer Science Series of webinars. The Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center and the South Atlantic Blueprint team are hosting them on the third Thursday of each month at 10 am Eastern, through July.
The third webinar is coming up on June 18th at 10 am Eastern! It will feature a team of presenters discussing “Clarifying science needs for Southeastern grasslands: The Piedmont, Coastal Plain, and beyond”. Registration is open:
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Photo by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FL FWC). Register for Gulf coast adaptation course!
Register for this free online course by June 1st
Adapting to a Changing Gulf Region: An Online Course
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Learn to apply key concepts, science, and tools in climate change adaptation to your regional conservation work through a new interactive course hosted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Limited spots are available and applications for registration will be reviewed on a rolling basis and by geographic location. Registration closes on June 1st! -
Webinar schedule through July. Visit the series website for more information. Second Summer Science Series webinar - Building adaptive capacity in a coastal region experiencing global change
Last month, I mentioned the SE CASC & South Atlantic Spring/Summer Science Series of webinars. The Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center and the South Atlantic Blueprint team are hosting them on the third Thursday of each month at 10 am Eastern, through July.
The second webinar is coming up on May 21st at 10 am Eastern! It will feature Southeast CASC researcher Mitch Eaton as he presents on “Building adaptive capacity in a coastal region experiencing global change.” Registration is open:
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This project explored landowner compliance with wildlife-friendly mowing recommendations and management to reduce woody encroachment in grasslands. Grassland photo by National Park Service. Landowner compliance with management incentives
A recent paper from Kentucky provides a really interesting look at landowner compliance with terms of a grassland conservation program. We talk about landowner adoption rates of programs quite a bit, but there are less often estimates of the rate at which landowners follow the terms of the incentives.
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Pelicans on the Chandeleur Islands. Improving the utility of the Southeast Blueprint in the Gulf of Mexico
In support of the SECAS goal of improving the health, function, and connectivity of southeastern ecosystems by 10 percent in the next 40 years, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is working with The Water Institute of the Gulf through a cooperative agreement titled, “Advancing the goals of SECAS: A program to improve Southeast Conservation Blueprint utility in the Gulf of Mexico.”
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Webinar schedule for April, May, June, and July. Visit the series website for more information. The Southeast CASC & South Atlantic Spring/Summer Science Series
The team that develops the South Atlantic Blueprint is partnering with the wonderful folks at the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center (SE CASC) to put on a great webinar series this April through July! These webinars will take place in the usual South Atlantic Third Thursday Web Forum Series time slot, on the third Thursday of every month at 10 am Eastern time.
In light of that, we’re calling it the SE CASC & South Atlantic Spring/Summer Science Series! How’s that for alliteration?
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The South Atlantic Blueprint, one of the inputs to the Southeast Blueprint, is moving to a finer resolution this year. This image compares versions of an indicator at the previous 200 m resolution and the new 30 m resolution. SECAS products in the works for 2020
As you probably know by now, we try to have updated or new products ready in October for the Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) meeting. Here are the things we plan to have ready for this October:
- Update of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint: There are lots of cool improvements in the works for the various regional Blueprint inputs, including finer resolution in the South Atlantic, improved marine indicators in Florida, and much more.
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Water trail at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Michael Lusk/Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0. SECAS is more than the Blueprint
Personal note from Mallory: During these extremely unusual times, I want to acknowledge the far-reaching breadth of challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I also want to send my best wishes for safety and health to you and your families, organizations, and communities. We’re all in this together.
If you’ve been involved in SECAS very long, you’re probably aware that the SECAS partnership is more than the Blueprint. Most SECAS partners recognize the Southeast Conservation Blueprint as the primary product of SECAS, but it’s not the only product. In fact, there are a number of other products of SECAS that add to the value of the partnership.
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SECAS map. SECAS for the future
Last October, the SECAS Steering Committee endorsed a research project to examine governance structures and clarify direction of the SECAS initiative to sustain the partnership’s value and benefits into the future. This “SECAS Futures Project” is now underway with expected completion in Fall 2020.
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Common buckeye butterfly at a Piedmont prairie in McDowell Nature Preserve, Charlotte, NC. Video still courtesy of Piedmont Prairie Partnership. New short videos on Piedmont prairies ready to share
I’ve always been a sucker for the Piedmont. It’s constantly overlooked in favor of the mountains and the coast. It’s an underdog with a really interesting and poorly understood ecological history.
The fact that most people don’t know what the Piedmont used to look like is limiting conservation action in the Blueprint and is a barrier to achieving the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy goal. The first report on progress toward the SECAS goal showed that one of the biggest places we were off-track is in grasslands outside of the longleaf range. Most people think that uplands in the Piedmont are supposed to be the thick forests we see today. They don’t realize that before European arrival, Piedmont uplands were mostly grasslands, some mixed with trees and some without, that were maintained by regular fire and grazing by bison and elk.
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Distribution of four 2019 Blueprint uses. Who used the Blueprint in 2019 - A Southeast Blueprint user roundup
Let’s ring in the new year by looking back at who used the Southeast Blueprint in 2019! We’ll get into a few stories in detail, but first, as NPR’s Kai Ryssdal says on Marketplace, “let’s do the numbers.”
So far, over 150 people from 70 different organizations have used, or are in the process of using, the Southeast Blueprint—and that’s just the folks we know about! That gives me the tough job of choosing a few highlights, since I can’t squeeze them all into one blog post. I narrowed it down to four that span the Caribbean, Middle South, South Atlantic, and Appalachian subregions.
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Three new Points of Contact representing nonprofit organizations. New representation for SECAS Points of Contact
The SECAS Points of Contact (POCs) fill a vital role in the function and success of the SECAS initiative. Although the time commitment is minimal, POCs have a large influence on helping direct SECAS core functions including prioritizing staff effort, refining and improving the Southeast Blueprint, and tracking and revising the SECAS Goal report. Until now, SECAS POCs were appointed by and represented the Directors of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) and the Principals of the Southeast Natural Resource Leaders Group (SENRLG) of federal agencies having natural resource management responsibilities.
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Gopher tortoise is one of five at-risk herps modeled in new habitat suitability maps. Habitat suitability maps for at-risk herpetofauna species in the longleaf pine ecosystem
New data release!
Through a massive, collaborative effort with Federal, State, and other partners, we have completed range-wide habitat suitability models (also called species distribution models) for five at-risk species of herpetofauna associated with the longleaf pine ecosystem. These species are the gopher tortoise, gopher frog, striped newt, southern hognose snake, and Florida pine snake.
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Upcoming webinars of interest to the SECAS community. Upcoming webinars in the new year
The team that develops the South Atlantic Blueprint (one of the subregional inputs to the Southeast Blueprint) hosts a webinar series on the Third Thursday of each month. The next two webinars are particularly relevant to the broader SECAS community!
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Marsh on Bulls Island at Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge in SC. Photo courtesy of the USFWS. The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Coastal Sites for Conservation in the South Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico
Our coastal and estuarine environments are key areas to build and sustain resiliency in the face of climate change. These places provide important habitats for wildlife and provide vital ecosystem services like shoreline stabilization, water filtration, food production, and recreational opportunities. Estuaries also contribute to the national, state, and local economies. Yet our coastal and estuarine systems are rapidly changing and transitioning due to sea-level rise, flooding, and extreme storm events. If extreme predictions for sea-level rise prove true, 77% of the South Atlantic region’s tidal habitats could be lost to rising waters, along with 98% of tidal habitats in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Southeast Blueprint 4.0 identifies important areas for conservation and restoration. Southeast Blueprint 4.0 finalized
Update: Looking for the latest Southeast Blueprint data? Visit the Southeast Blueprint 2020 Data Gallery.
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Southeast Blueprint Version 4.0 is now finalized! It was presented and reviewed at the Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) annual meeting a couple of weeks ago. Since no one raised any concerns or caught any mistakes, it’s officially ready to use. -
Gordon Myers (Executive Director of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission) and Ed Carter (Executive Director of the TN Wildlife Resources Agency) review the draft of Southeast Blueprint 4.0.. SECAS at the Southeastern Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA)
The Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) was featured prominently at the recent SEAFWA conference in Hilton Head, SC.
Most notably, a half-day symposium attended by more than 75 people focused on in-depth discussion of the SECAS 10% Goal, current conservation accomplishments, baseline status of ecosystem conditions, and trends for reaching the goal by 2060. Much of the background for the symposium’s panel- and facilitated-discussions came from the SECAS goal 2019 progress report entitled Recent Trends in Southeastern Ecosystems: Measuring Progress toward the SECAS Goal, which provides an initial assessment of ecosystem condition using data from existing monitoring programs.
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This changelog documents the major changes and improvements made in each version of the Southeast Blueprint. A changelog for the Southeast Blueprint
We’ve added something new to the release of Southeast Blueprint 4.0—a changelog. As always, we like to borrow best practices from the tech world to make the Blueprint more useful. A changelog is an easy-to-read document that captures the significant changes made in each version of a project or software program. So, the Southeast Blueprint changelog captures the major changes and improvements made in each version of the Blueprint. We always provide an overview of the improvements in a blog when each Blueprint is released, but the changelog goes into a lot more detail.
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Estimated percent change in indicator over 4 years based on most recently available data. Report on recent trends in Southeastern ecosystems now online
You may remember that, last year, SECAS officially adopted 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. So, how are we doing so far?
The 2019 report on SECAS goal progress, Recent Trends in Southeastern Ecosystems, is now online.
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Draft Southeast Blueprint 4.0 identifies important areas for conservation and restoration across the Southeast and Caribbean. Draft Southeast Blueprint 4.0 now available
This year’s draft update of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint is now up and ready for you to explore. We made lots of great improvements this year, including:
- Fixed the overprioritization in Texas, Oklahoma, and the mountains of West Virginia and Virginia
- Improved priorities in the Lower Mississippi Valley, Louisiana marshes, and the Southern Appalachians
- Updated inputs from Florida and the Middle South
- Expanded marine coverage to fully include state and federal waters around Florida
- Hubs and corridors layer now includes all of Florida
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Florida pine snake is one of the RSGCNs identified in this project. Photo by Kevin Enge, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Flickr. CC BY-CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Priorities for conservation in Southeastern states - Newly created list of “Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need”
To provide greater clarity and focus for regional conservation and multi-state collaborations, a new “Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need” list is now available for use in the Southeast and in support of SECAS. The National Wildlife Federation (NWF), as part of the Vital Futures project funded by the U.S. Geological Survey, initiated a process for identifying 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. Over the past year, the Wildlife Diversity Committee of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) collaborated with NWF and other partners to evaluate these species and produced a list of 960 regional priority species, or “Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need” (RSGCN).
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Controlled burns clean up forest fuels, and help maintain an open canopy with benefits for forest water quality and quantity. Photo by Dennis Hallema. Strategic forest and wildland fire management is necessary to safeguard urban water supplies
Forest landscapes are key resource areas for urban water supplies. All forests combined generate an estimated 57% of runoff worldwide, and provide water for more than 4 billion people. Water supply is one of several critical water services provided by forests—other water services are hydropower, providing cooling water for electric power plants, water for irrigation, and reducing flood risk. But forests are at the same time vulnerable ecosystems, and their ability to provide clean water is experiencing increased pressure from urbanization and the effects of human encroachment on the forest.
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Swallow-tailed kite is one of the forested wetland bird species included in the goal report. Photo by Andy Morffew/Flickr, CC BY 2.0. Recent trends for forested wetland birds
This is a sneak peek at the draft report titled Recent Trends in Southeastern Ecosystems: Measuring progress toward the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) Goal. Forested wetland birds is one of the 12 indicators covered in the report. There’s more background about the goal on the goal page of the SECAS website.
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Piedmont prairie at Mason Farm Biological Reserve in Chapel Hill, NC. Photo by Rua Mordecai. New partnership focused on Piedmont prairies
More and more people seem to be talking about Piedmont prairies lately. It’s another ecosystem that has gone through huge declines, but is starting to come back—thanks to the work of many dedicated people throughout the Piedmont. With all the interest in pollinators, history, and greenspace, it’s also great way to connect with the growing urban communities of the Piedmont.
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AR GFC logo. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission drafts Conservation Opportunity Areas using the Southeast Blueprint
Identifying Conservation Opportunity Areas
In their Best Practices for State Wildlife Action Plans, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies recommends spatially depicting “Conservation Opportunity Areas” that offer the best opportunities for conserving Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Not all states have followed this recommendation, but that is changing for Arkansas! The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission intends to use the Conservation Opportunity Areas, or COAs, to guide allocation of State Wildlife Grant funds.
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SECASC logo. Sharing science to support climate adaptation
On November 13-15, 2019 the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center will be hosting a Regional Science Symposium in New Orleans, Louisiana. This symposium is intended for researchers and managers working in the southeastern United States, including the U.S. Caribbean, on climate impacts and adaptation for fish, wildlife, habitat, and cultural resources. Decision makers and practitioners from state fish and wildlife agencies, federal organizations, Tribal Nations and Tribal organizations, and NGOs are encouraged to attend.
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Flooding caused by Hurricane Florence. Photo by the South Carolina Air National Guard. NFWF Emergency Coastal Resilience Fund
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is hosting a webinar next month about their new Emergency Coastal Resilience Fund. It aims to increase the resilience of coastal communities within federally declared counties impacted by hurricanes Florence and Michael and wildfires in 2018 (as well as Typhoon Yutu, but that’s not as relevant to the South Atlantic region). On the webinar you can learn about the funding opportunity and how to submit a competitive grant proposal.
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Guess how marine fisheries have been doing! Guess some trends in Southeastern ecosystem indicators
I’ve been having a great time synthesizing recent trends in Southeastern ecosystem indicators. It’s part of this year’s report on progress toward the SECAS 10% goal, which is a major part of the upcoming symposium at SEAFWA this fall. There are lots of interesting results that you’ll hear about soon.
In the meantime, here’s a fun activity based on two of those indicators. Hopefully, you’ll see two different graphs below. You start by guessing the trend, then you can see what the data say, and then what other folks guessed.
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Flyer for SECAS symposium at 2019 SEAFWA annual meeting. Don’t miss the SECAS goal symposium at SEAFWA!
The fall SEAFWA annual conference is right around the corner: October 27-30th in Hilton Head, SC. The Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) will be featured in multiple ways throughout the meeting. If you’re planning to attend, you won’t want to miss the special symposium on the SECAS goal called “The SECAS 10% Goal: How Do We Get There?”. This symposium will focus on recent trends and progress toward the goal, as well as strategies for integration with existing conservation initiatives. Mark your calendar for Tuesday, October 29th from 8 am – 12 noon.
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Ed Carter, Executive Director of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, speaks about the history and importance of SECAS at the 2016 SEAFWA annual meeting. A brief history of SECAS
In case this is your first time reading about SECAS with the launch of the newsletter, here is a quick recap of where SECAS has been and where it’s going. Read on to catch up on the history of this initiative!
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SECAS is starting a monthly newsletter. The first SECAS newsletter
This month marks the start of the SECAS newsletter! The newsletter combines all the blogs written here on the SECAS website during the previous month. It’s intended to share the latest information about SECAS and upcoming opportunities to get involved. You can expect it to arrive in your inbox toward the middle to end of each month. We’ve started out with a pretty simple design and format, but we may add more bells and whistles in the future. If you have suggestions for how to improve the newsletter, contact me at hilary_morris@fws.gov!
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The draft of the next Blueprint update includes new marine priorities around Florida. Southeast Blueprint improvements in the works this year
Here are a few improvements we’re working on getting into the next update of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint. We’re hoping to have a draft of Version 4.0 of the Southeast Blueprint in October and finalize it by the end of the year.
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GOMA logo. The Southeast Blueprint will be showcased at the 2019 Gulf of Mexico Alliance all-hands meeting
The All Hands meeting for the Gulf of Mexico Alliance is coming up next week in Gulf Shores, AL. The Southeast Blueprint is one of the mapping tools that will be showcased at a Tools Cafe session during the conference. The Tools Cafe is scheduled for Monday, June 10 from 5:30-8:30 PM.
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SERPPAS logo. Improving the Blueprint and user support through the SERPPAS Good Map
Last month, Addie’s blog talked about the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS) Good Map project. The idea is for the Good Map to serve as a visual way for diverse partners to identify overlapping interests and areas for collaboration where they could get mutual benefits. Sounds familiar, right? Mallory and I have been involved in SERPPAS for awhile, but this project in particular seemed like a perfect fit for the Blueprint. Addie already mentioned that the Blueprint is being included in the Good Map, but I thought I’d follow up with some more detail on the benefits to the Blueprint and Blueprint users.
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SEAFWA logo. SECAS special symposia at the fall SEAFWA annual conference
This fall’s SEAFWA annual conference will be held from October 27-30th in Hilton Head, SC. This year, the conference will include three special symposia with connections to SECAS. If you’re thinking of attending, consider marking your calendar!
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Henry Horton State Park in Tennessee, where the workshop was held. Photo by Michael Hicks/Flickr. CC BY-ND 2.0. Workshop - Aligning conservation priorities in Tennessee
written with support from:
Greg Wathen, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Mallory Martin, Hilary Morris, & Todd Jones-Farrand, U.S. Fish & Wildlife ServiceTennessee’s forestry and wildlife agencies are tasked with managing the state’s forest and wildlife resources to meet a list of increasing demands for a growing population. Both the Tennessee Division of Forestry and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency have developed statewide assessments and action plans. These plans identify a number of shared priorities, and collaborative actions can result in synergistic accomplishments that neither agency would be able to achieve on its own.
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SEAFWA logo. SECAS governance - Refining an organizational model to sustain collaborative conservation in the Southeast
The SECAS initiative has achieved a noteworthy record of conservation accomplishment since its inception in 2011, including the Southeast Conservation Blueprint v.3.0, adoption of an overarching goal and step-down metrics, and successful completion of a number of symposia, workshops, and technical sessions advancing collaborative conservation across the Southeast.
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SERPPAS logo. Developing the Good Map for the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability
The Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (better known as SERPPAS) has been collaborating at the intersection of protecting military readiness, conserving natural and working lands and sustaining communities for the last 14 years. The critical equation for accomplishing this mission in the Southeast region (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC) has been to build effective working relationships between the partners, which include State and Federal agencies that have responsibilities for natural resources, working lands and military readiness. This means cultivating relationships built on mutual interest, mutual gain and mutual trust. In addition to these important relationships, the Partnership also utilizes good data and good maps to ensure that good decisions are made to advance the missions of all partners. All of this equates to the identification of overlapping priorities where multiple and mutual benefits can be found for all the partners. This is where SERPPAS finds success.
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AFWA logo. Next steps for the AFWA Landscape Conservation Working Group
The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) Landscape Conservation Working Group held a special session on Collaborative Landscape Conservation as part of the North American Fish and Wildlife Conference this week in Denver. This session followed an active year for the Working Group, which included completion of a white paper and an AFWA resolution on collaborative conservation at the landscape scale.
The session brought together leaders from non-governmental organizations as well as federal, state, and private partners to focus on the following critical elements:
- Learn about past and current landscape conservation initiatives
- Provide an opportunity for diverse partners to share expertise and insights
- Identify elements of a work plan for AFWA’s landscape conservation working group
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Cover of the Online Guide to Using the Southeast Blueprint. Hot off the press: User guide for the Southeast Conservation Blueprint!
A new online user guide is available to help you use the Southeast Blueprint to support grants and inform decision-making. A companion guide is also available for the South Atlantic Blueprint, one of the subregional inputs to the Southeast Blueprint. While this blog will focus on the Southeast guide, if you want to learn more about the South Atlantic guide, check out this blog post on the South Atlantic website.
The user guide compiles different examples of real Blueprint uses to provide new ideas about how to connect to this larger strategy. For the last several years, staff have been helping individuals and organizations in the conservation community use the Blueprint. We’ve learned a lot about the types of approaches, wording, and maps that work best in different situations, and we want to share those lessons with you. The guide showcases a range of case studies, grouped into a few themes that summarize the primary ways people have used the Blueprint.
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Southeast Blueprint Version 3.0 identifies high value areas for conservation and restoration across the Southeast and Caribbean. Southeast Conservation Blueprint Version 3.0 officially released
Southeast Conservation Blueprint 3.0 data are now final and ready for you to use. The major improvements in this version include:
- Integration of new data from the Texas Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool (CHAT): This fills in a gap in Texas and completes full coverage of the Southeast region.
- New data layer depicting Blueprint input and overlap areas: This will help you figure out which of the subregional Blueprint inputs cover your area of interest. Each of the inputs has more detailed information than what’s captured in the Southeast Blueprint. This layer can help identify where to look for more detailed information.
- Integrated hubs and corridors layer for the South Atlantic and Appalachian subregions: This brings together the hubs and corridors from each of these assessments into a single integrated layer. Work is underway to expand this layer to cover a broader area of the Southeast in a future update.
- Threats and land use change layers: This release includes solar energy suitability, urban growth, and sea-level rise inundation
- Improved documentation: We’ve greatly improved the detail in the documentation on how the Blueprint was put together. That includes both a pdf detailing the Blueprint development process and formal metadata used by various systems and databases that host and link to the Blueprint.
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A blog is now available on the SECAS website. Image CC 0 1.0 Starting a SECAS blog
Up until now, news about the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) has been scattered across multiple websites. We’re starting a SECAS blog so future updates will all come from the same place—right here! This adds a new dynamic element to the SECAS website, enabling it to capture not only static information about the initiative and the Blueprint, but also the latest progress and opportunities to get involved.
This is a fresh start for SECAS news, so if you want to take a trip down memory lane to learn more about past events, check out these archived blogs originally posted on the South Atlantic LCC website:
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SECAS exhibit booth at SEAFWA. From the archive - SECAS at the Southeastern Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) annual meeting
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
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Image by Tumisu from Pixabay. Pixabay license. From the archive - Goal for Southeastern ecosystems approved by state wildlife agency directors
A couple of weeks ago, the directors of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) unanimously approved an explicit goal for Southeastern ecosystems. This was a high priority improvement in the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS). I’ve been talking about the steps leading up to this goal in my last few blog posts.
The Goal
Long-term
- 10% or greater improvement in the health, function, and connectivity of southeastern ecosystems by 2060
Near-term
- 1% improvement in the health, function, and connectivity of southeastern ecosystems every 4 years
- 1% increase in conservation actions within the Southeast Conservation Blueprint every 4 years
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Image by Tumisu from Pixabay. Pixabay license. From the archive - Identifying ambitious but achievable ecosystem goals for the Southeast
Setting goals for the future is hard. It never feels like we have enough data and the future is so uncertain. That said, goals can be a powerful way to bring in new resources and stay focused on outcomes. A couple of months ago, I talked about assessing the state of the Southeastern ecosystems. This month’s post will be about some data being used to identify an ambitious but achievable goal for Southeastern ecosystems.
A major focus for the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) this year has been to identify an explicit long-term and near-term goal. That leads to a big question: What’s possible in the Southeast?
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Salt flats at Cabo Rojo National Wildlife refuge in Puerto Rico. Photo by USFWS. From the archive - Updated website for the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy
You might remember my post back in August covering an update to the “SECAS in Action” story map. I’m happy to say the rest of the website wasn’t far behind!
The website keeps the same look and feel. We’ve just refreshed the content to reflect the most current information about SECAS, the Southeast Blueprint, how to get involved, and more. We’ve listed the user support lead for each state in the Southeast, so everyone across the region knows who to talk to if they’d like help using the Blueprint. And you can see a list of the organizations who have already used, or are in the process of using, the Blueprint!
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The updated SC Conservation Vision. From the archive - The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina uses the Southeast Blueprint to identify their statewide priorities
Earlier this year, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in South Carolina started using the Southeast Blueprint to inform an update of their South Carolina Conservation Vision, which is their statewide map of conservation priorities. The state of South Carolina contains two different Blueprints—the South Atlantic Blueprint and the Appalachian NatureScape Merged Design. The Southeast Blueprint provided the seamless statewide coverage TNC needed because it already integrates those subregional priorities into one priority layer.
TNC’s South Carolina Conservation Vision hadn’t been updated since 1998, so it was due for a refresh to incorporate advances in conservation planning, threat projections, and connectivity modeling. The timing of this update also coincided with the reauthorization of the SC Conservation Bank, a major funding source from the SC state legislature. An early draft of the new vision was used to help support the reauthorization, which was finalized in May.
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The SECAS in Action story map. From the archive - Updated story map for the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy
We talk a lot about how folks are using the South Atlantic Blueprint, but what about other examples throughout the Southeast? As you may already know, the South Atlantic Blueprint integrates with other regional priorities to create a Southeast-wide Blueprint as part of the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy, or SECAS.
Rua and I have been working on an update to a story map on the SECAS website entitled “SECAS in Action”. It combines the latest success stories highlighting how the Southeast Blueprint and other cross-boundary products of SECAS have helped inform strategic decision-making and bring in new resources for conservation. You’ll recognize lots of great stories from the South Atlantic, as well as other parts of the Southeast and Caribbean!
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Icon of trend graph by Daouna Jeong from the Noun Project. From the archive - The state of Southeastern ecosystems
How are the ecosystems of the Southeast doing? How is that changing over time? I’ve been working on integrating ecosystem assessments across the Southeast to get at those key questions, primarily to support a major task this year for the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS): developing an explicit and near-term goal.
The big idea is trying to use existing assessments to create a yearly assessment of ecosystem condition and trends. Some of these existing assessments are yearly, while others are every five years, but every year there’s some new information about how ecosystems are doing. So far, I’ve been integrating a range of assessments using broad ecosystem types and a 0 – 100 condition score based on the data-driven scores in each assessment. While this is still a work in progress and there are many ways to slice up these data, it seemed like a good time to share with you some of what I’ve found so far.
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Sunrise at Appalachicola National Forest. Photo by Matthew Paulson/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. From the archive - Coming this fall in the SECAS update…
Here are a few of the updates and new resources planned for the fall Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) update:
- Update of the Texas part of the Blueprint using new information from the Texas Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool (CHAT). With this update, the Blueprint will provide seamless coverage over most of the United States.
- Integrated threat layers covering the full Southeast.
- Integrated hubs and corridors layer covering Peninsular Florida, South Atlantic, North Atlantic, Appalachians, and possibly the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks.
I’ll be talking about these updates and more on the August South Atlantic Third Thursday Web Forum.
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Water trail at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Michael Lusk/Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0. From the archive - SECAS - A model for collaborative conservation
A special session on the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) was presented last week at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Norfolk, VA. The conference was held jointly with the National Military Fish and Wildlife Association. This national meeting of two major conservation audiences was the ideal venue for presenting the conservation vision for the future of natural resources in the southeast. A stellar and diverse lineup of presenters, led by Ed Carter, Director of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and Susan Gibson of the Department of Defense Southeast Division, emphasized the momentum and success of the SECAS initiative since its inception in 2011.
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Version 2.0 of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint. From the archive - Aligning conservation capacity and need in the Southeast
Many of you are aware that Science Applications is the organizing home of LCCs within the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). In the southeast region, Science Applications includes the South Atlantic, Peninsular Florida, Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks, and Caribbean LCCs. Given continuing uncertainty about the status of LCCs in the federal budget, Science Applications in the southeast is examining the focus of resources and capacity in support of large-scale conservation throughout the region. Supporting the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) has been a focal area of the southeast LCCs since 2011, and continuing to support and participate in SECAS remains a regional FWS priority.
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Map of the LCC Network used as Figure 1 of the paper. From the archive - Paper in BioScience on the future of landscape conservation
A recent article in the journal BioScience makes a case for the importance of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, and suggests ways LCCs can improve into the future. In particular, the paper references the South Atlantic Conservation Blueprint as an example of the power of focusing on a mission of systematic conservation planning, saying “in retrospect, LCCs that focused on landscape-scale planning (e.g., Pickens et al. 2017) have made the biggest impact.”
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Version 2.0 of the Southeast Conservation Blueprint. From the archive - 2017 SECAS symposium at SEAFWA annual conference
The Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) was featured last week at a symposium in conjunction with the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) annual conference in Louisville, KY. The symposium, titled Aligning Actions for Success, focused on integration of State Wildlife Action Plan objectives into the Southeast Blueprint, a spatial depiction of priority areas for implementing conservation actions across the 15-state southeastern United States.
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SEAFWA logo. From the archive - Upcoming Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy symposium
The Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) and the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) Wildlife Diversity Committee are developing a symposium entitled: The Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy: Aligning Actions for Success, to be held this fall at the 2017 SEAFWA Conference in Louisville, KY. The focus of the symposium is a deeper dive into how the SECAS Blueprint and various tools are being utilized. The symposium will include lots of opportunity for interactive discussion and solicitation of ideas – please do try to attend. More information on all the symposia for the SEAFWA Conference can be found online at: http://www.seafwa.org/conference/program/symposia/.
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Version 1.0 of the Southeast Blueprint. From the archive - A conservation blueprint for the nation?
Wouldn’t it be great if the South Atlantic Conservation Blueprint hooked into similar products across the entire United States? There’s already a version that covers most of the South thanks to the Southeast Conservation Blueprint. Why stop there? There’s now progress in the Northeast, Midwest, and West toward similar “blueprints”.
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The SECAS Lead Coordination Team meets in Raleigh, NC. From the archive - Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) coordination
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.
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Version 1.0 of the Southeast Blueprint. From the archive - Southeast Blueprint now on the Southeast Conservation Planning Atlas
Version 1.0 of the Conservation Blueprint for the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) is now available on the Southeast Conservation Planning Atlas. This spatial plan integrates the input data from 8 different LCCs to identify the highest priority areas for conservation across the Southeast. It will be updated annually to incorporate the most current information from each LCC. It currently uses the most recent version of the South Atlantic Blueprint, Version 2.1.
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The 2016 SECAS leadership summit at the SEAFWA annual meeting. From the archive - The SECAS Leadership Summit
The Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) Conservation Leadership Summit was held in conjunction with the 2016 Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) Conference in Baton Rouge on October 17th. The summit was well attended by state fish and wildlife agency representatives, federal agencies providing leadership through the Southeast Natural Resource Leaders Group (SENRLG), and other interested partners across the southeast.
The purpose of the summit was threefold: (1) to roll out Southeast Blueprint Version 1.0 and solidify support for its continued improvement, (2) to solicit an affirmation of continued support and engagement from the SEAFWA and SENRLG leadership, and (3) to demonstrate the breadth of engagement and accomplishment of the SECAS initiative to date.
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The six Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) within the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) region that are helping develop SECAS. From the archive - The Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy emerges
During the past several months, much emphasis has been focused on the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy, referred to by its acronym, SECAS. This initiative is nothing new; in fact, it began in 2011 at the urging of the Southeastern state fish and wildlife agency directors (SEAFWA) and the principal members of the federal Southeast Natural Resources Leadership Group (SENRLG). These visionary leaders understood that the scope and scale of challenges facing fish and wildlife conservation required a bold and new collaborative approach in order to define the conservation landscape of the future – and the newly-formed LCCs were just the right partnerships to help define and deliver that future landscape.
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SECAS map. From the archive - Check out SECASsoutheast.org
Six Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) across the Southeast have joined forces with the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to create a website for the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS). SECAS is bringing together 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 United States and the Caribbean. The website explains the need for SECAS, explains the “Blueprint” conservation design processes being carried out across the 6 LCCs, features a storymap of example projects, and more.
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Flyer advertising the 2015 SECAS symposium at the SEAFWA annual meeting. From the archive - Reflections on the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy symposium
Wow–what an exciting SEAFWA conference! As you probably heard, the Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies hosted its 69th annual conference earlier this week in Asheville, NC. The theme was “conserving large landscapes”, and with the support of the conference host (the NC Wildlife Resources Commission), your South Atlantic LCC staff, Steering Committee members, and Blueprint users had plenty of fabulous opportunities to showcase the Conservation Blueprint.
A symposium on SECAS, the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy, was held on Wednesday, highlighting the ways that conservation practitioners in the Southeast, working through the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, are developing a shared vision for sustaining fish and wildlife into the future. SECAS provides the framework to develop not only that shared vision, but a shared understanding of the threats we face, a shared approach for prioritizing conservation action to address those threats, and shared responsibilities for accomplishing our conservation goals.
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SEAFWA logo. From the archive - Upcoming symposium on the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy at the 69th Annual SEAFWA Conference
Mark your calendars – there will be a special symposium on the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) at this year’s Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA).
This symposium will present recent progress and identify important next steps for key elements of this shared conservation adaptation strategy, including network of landscapes and seascapes, conservation collaboration, and landscape change information.
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