The Large Landscape Conservation Bulletin
A bi-monthly publication of the Practitioners' Network 
for Large Landscape Conservation
November 2016
Twent y-five years ago, I had the opportunity to work with a diverse group of people on the Northern Forest Lands Council - which considered ways of conserving the environment and economy across northern New York and New England. Our final report was entitled "Finding Common Ground," and I saw then, and I see now, all across the country a willingness of people in the private and public sectors to reach across all sorts of boundaries to conserve what is important to them about the landscapes where they live and work. In our terribly divided society, conservation in general and landscape conservation in particular is a place where we can once again begin to find common ground and common purpose, bringing people together in a country where the vast majority of Americans value the quality of our land, water and cultural resources. This issue of our Bulletin once again explores and celebrates the progress of landscape conservation across the country, continent, and globe. 

Bob Bendick,  Network Co-Chair
Director, Gulf of Mexico Program
The Nature Conservancy
In This Issue

The Practitioners' Network is actively growing our list of formal Partners -- we invite your organization to join as a Partner to support landscape conservation as an important vehicle for sustaining natural and human communities.

 

And stay tuned in the coming weeks and months for exciting developments as together we build this vibrant Network and community of practice around landscape conservation. 
Featured News
Complete our survey on landscape conservation initiatives 

The Network and Partners are surveying the landscape conservation community. Individual answers will be confidential, but the collective results will be used to:  
  • document the growth of landscape conservation; 
  • identify best practices and success stories; 
  • identify greatest challenges so the Network and others can develop programs, tools, and funding to surmount those challenges; 
  • and spotlight the critical importance of landscape conservation to help individual efforts and the community as a whole.  
Please fill out the survey for a chance to win one of two REI $100 gift cards. The survey builds upon past surveys, and we encourage you to complete the new survey even if you have responded previously; by creating one consistent survey and administering it every three years we aim to identify important progress and trends in the field.
Featured News
2016 Election Cycle shows strong support for land conservation

Conservation measures were on the ballot for many voters in this election cycle - the Trust for Public Land tracked the 86 local land protection measures, with 68 successfully passing (79% approval rate) and providing a combined $6.3 billion for conservation. This good news confirms the bipartisan nature of land conservation and the promise of local conservation support as a foundation for broader conservation at the landscape scale. The TPL LandVote Database allows you to see where and how conservation measures fared this election cycle, and how this tracks with historical efforts.
Featured News
New Report continues to underscore importance of landscape conservation in the Gulf of Mexico region

The Nature Conservancy has released a Migratory Marine Species Study for the Gulf of Mexico region, revealing that the Gulf is a globally important place for marine and bird migrations. The study reinforces a growing emphasis on a landscape approach for Gulf of Mexico restoration and conservation after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. The Gulf Coast Restoration Council's updated  Comprehensive Plan underscores collaborative and large-scale, ecosystem-level thinking. And the innovative collaborative, the Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation, a network of 26 local, regional, state, and national land conservation organizations to advance land and water conservation in the region, is working to achieve on-the-ground success. 
Featured News
The Appalachian Trail embraces a landscape conservation approach

In October, the nonprofit Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the National Park Service hosted the second annual gathering of an emerging initiative focused on conserving the broader landscapes of the Appalachian Mountains associated with the iconic Appalachian Trail. Although the A.T. footpath stretching 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine is protected, many sections of this buffer are only 1,000 feet wide or less. This new effort would protect the broader ecological, cultural, and visual landscapes, conserving a treasured recreational experience, connecting the culture of the eastern United States north and south, and providing a critical ecological corridor while we still have the chance. Read about the emerging initiative here, and contact Dennis Shaffer for more information.


Additional Landscape Conservation News

National Academy of Sciences review of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives affirming need for conservation at the landscape scale is now available in print

New Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC) story map showcases the 22 associated initiatives
View StoryMap here

Research suggests modeling ecological flow presents an analytical tool for strategic conservation efforts to maintain and enhance landscape connectivity
Read summary here and full article here

Open Space Institute and North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative release guide encouraging land trusts and others to pursue land protection as a critical strategy in the face of a changing climate 

Dynamic map visualizes likely migration paths in North and South America as species adjust to changing climate

Updated Forest Adaptation Resources: Climate Change Tools and Approaches for Land Managers, designed to empower land managers to incorporate climate change considerations into their work

Staying Connected Initiative draws attention for its efforts to ensure connectivity between large tracts of forested habitat in New England and eastern Canada by conserving nine key critical pathways
Read story here and view the identified critical pathways here

Partners for Conservation's collaborative, landowner-led approach to sustaining working landscapes for the benefit of people and nature highlighted in new video
Community Forestry Guidebook aims to improve understanding of federal policies and programs to facilitate "all lands" stewardship in the west
Puget Sound watershed recognized as priority ecosystem and a federal task force created to address multi-faceted threats and enhance collaboration at the ecosystem level
September South Atlantic Urban Conservation Summit focused on mega-regional thinking
The emerging IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group is actively growing its member network
The group facilitates global biodiversity conservation and the enhanced conservation, management and protection of protected areas and their values through the identification, retention and effective management of Areas of Connectivity Conservation.
Please contact Gary Tabor and/or click here to join the Specialist Group

Upcoming Conferences & Opportunities


The nomination period for the  2017 Climate Adaptation Leadership Award i s open through December 9th, 2016.  
Melbourne, Australia

Washington DC  

January 10-12, 2017 -- Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition Annual Meeting
Troutdale, Oregon

Norfolk, Virginia

Front Royal, Virginia

May 9-11, 2017 -- National Adaptation Forum 
Saint Paul, Minnesota 

May 14-18, 2017 -- International Conference on Ecology and Transportation: Beyond Boundaries: Building on Common Ground 
Salt Lake City, Utah


Webinars & Additional Resources

A weekly podcast that explores the challenges presented by adapting to climate change and the approaches the field's best minds believe are already working.

A Conservation Biology Institute webinar
December 1, 2016

A National Park Service "Scaling Up" webinar
December 7, 2016

A Conservation Biology Institute webinar
January 5, 2017

The Practitioners' Network for Large Landscape Conservation is the community of practice for practitioners advancing collaborative, cross-boundary conservation as an essential approach to protect nature, community, and culture in the 21st Century.


Contact Emily Bateson, Network Coordinator, for more information. 
Contributions of news, upcoming events, and resources for future Bulletins are welcomed.