The Landscape Conservation Bulletin
|
|
A bi-monthly service of the Network for
Landscape Conservation
|
|
|
Dear Network Friends and Partners,
Happy Thanksgiving! As we ready ourselves for this most American holiday, I am very thankful for all the work you do to conserve our North American landscapes, and those far beyond. And I am thankful for the foundations, organizations, and individuals that support the work of the Network as we continue to go to bat for conservation at the landscape scale, providing you with the best resources and programs possible to succeed.
We do not ask for formal dues to provide these services, but it will take all of us to sustain and build a vibrant network where we work together to advance this vital field.
Please consider an end of year gift to the Network. It will make an enormous difference to our work, and future generations will thank you.
|
Emily M. Bateson
Network Director
|
|
Connectivity and Corridors
|
Perspectives:
A decade of collaborative progress in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
|
Additional Landscape Conservation News
|
Webinars & Additional Resources
|
|
Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash
|
|
Featured News
Progress continues to build on connectivity and wildlife corridors
|
|
Connectivity across landscapes and safe, intact wildlife corridors are essential components of ecological integrity and biodiversity conservation. A
Conservation Corridor
article
spotlights
new research
around connectivity planning, with a systematic assessment of connectivity conservation plans across the globe identifying essential factors that improve implementation success.
|
|
|
Elsewhere, the Western Landowners Association has published a
new report
on working with landowners to achieve the conservation of wildlife migration corridors. Though the report is focused on the Upper Rio Grande region of Colorado and New Mexico, many of the recommendations are applicable across geogrphies. Finally, policy advances continue in this realm as well. U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) have introduced the
Tribal Wildlife Corridors Act of 2019
to support the use of wildlife corridors on Tribal lands across the country. The Pew Trusts offers
an update
on many of the actions underway at the state level to conserve critical wildlife migrations and improve motorist safety on America’s increasingly busy roads and highways. And in Mexico, the state of Sonora has passed
a connectivity law
to include wildlife migration corridors in regional planning ordinances.
|
|
Featured News
Distilling strategies and lessons learned from collaborative approaches to water conflict
|
|
Of the many values that landscapes provide, water is one of the most visible and tangible. Perhaps as a result, in arid landscapes access to water often becomes a highly contentious topic that, historically, has divided communities. Increasing work in this realm though is suggesting that the collaborative processes central to the landscape conservation approach can be particularly beneficial in bridging divides and in moving toward futures that benefit nature and people. For instance, a
High Country News
article
explores a self-governance experiment underway in the San Luis Valley of Colorado around water management. Farmers and ranchers are working to develop a sustainable water use system as an alternative to state regulatory action. A
post from the Environmental Dispute Resolution program at the University of Utah
builds on this case study and others around the state of Colorado to explore insights and lessons learned around collaborative approaches to water conflict. The post distills out powerful strategies for successful collaboration around water governance—strategies that resonate beyond just water governance and are applicable in all collaborative conservation efforts at the landscape scale.
Photo of the San Luis Valley and the Sangre De Cristo range by Christian Collins
|
|
Perspectives: Landscape Conservation in Action
|
|
Reflecting on a decade of collaborative progress in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Since 2010, the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership has been bringing partners together in collaboration around a shared long-term, landscape-scale vision for the Chesapeake Bay watershed—and this fall, a major new report,
"Marking Milestones: Progress in Conserving Land in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed,"
captures the impressive progress and success of the Partnership while renewing the call to action to continue to accelerate the collaborative efforts. In this month's
Perspective
column, Partnership steering committee member Jonathan Doherty highlights how this report—and the progress achieved in the landscape to date—is inspiring renewed urgency and effort, with the Partnership striving to accelerate its efforts to conserve 30% of the watershed by 2030.
|
|
A direct and compelling headline
|
|
Additional Landscape Conservation News
|
|
The Land Trust Alliance launches the Common Ground Initiative—a listening and learning endeavor intended to empower land trusts and conservation advocates to integrate and elevate community voices into conversations about shaping the future trajectory of our landscapes—and the communities that depend on the values these provide.
Landslide 2019: Living in Nature
, a new report from The Cultural Landscape Foundation, highlights cultural landscapes from around the nation that are facing immediate threats from human-induced climate change.
The Conservation Fund launches a Green Bond initiative, raising $150 million to drive investments into accelerating the conservation of working forests that mitigate climate change, strengthen rural economies and protect natural ecosystems.
The Aspen Institute releases findings on its study of “Regional Development Hubs,” showcasing the value of regional, systems-level, cross-sector, and collaborative approaches to leveraging the assets of rural landscapes to secure a better future.
The Wildlands Network releases an Eastern Wildway map—a bold vision for reconnecting and restoring wildlife habitat across eastern North America.
Post from the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network presents their network evaluation model—offering up an instructive case study that will be of value to any networked effort.
A
New York Times
article highlights new research on a dramatic reduction in bird populations across North America—with a separate opinion piece underscoring the importance of conservation of healthy, functional natural landscapes at scale to counteract this loss.
The Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation releases a new report exploring successful landscape conservation partnerships and framing land conservation best practices for its members operating in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ensia
article highlights the importance of Indigenous peoples and traditional knowledge in conserving global biodiversity.
In Canada’s Northwest Territories, the Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation creates one of the largest terrestrial protected areas in North America.
Yale E360
article explores the currently underway systematic remaking of U.S. federal policies toward public lands.
Conservation Corridor
article highlights new research around managing biodiversity as species ranges shift under changing climatic conditions—underscoring the importance of cross-border partnerships.
The Christain Science Monitor
article highlights the value of restoring coastal prairies in the city of Houston as a natural solution to unnatural flooding.
|
|
A direct and compelling headline
|
|
Upcoming Conferences & Opportunities
* * *
Silverton, OR
Tampa, FL
Davos, Switzerland
Fort Collins, CO
Jaipur, India
Barcelona, Spain
Miami, FL
Toronto, ON
Marseille, France
New Haven, CT
|
|
A direct and compelling headline
|
|
Webinars & Additional Resources
* * *
A Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center Actionable Science Webinar
December 3, 2019
A Conservation Impact webinar
December 4, 2019
A Connected Conservation webinar
December 10, 2019
A Forest Adaptation Webinar
December 11, 2019
A Forest Adaptation Webinar
January 16, 2020
A Forest Adaptation Webinar
February 27, 2020
A new podcast from Wildlands and Woodlands that features stories from New Englanders about why and how they conserve land.
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.
|
|
The Network for Landscape Conservation is the community of practice for practitioners advancing collaborative, cross-boundary conservation as an essential approach to protect nature, culture, and community in the 21st Century.
Contributions of news, upcoming events, and resources for future Bulletins are welcomed. We also welcome inquires for future "Perspectives: Landscapes Conservation in Action" stories;
please be in touch
if you are interested in sharing stories and insights from your work.
|
|
The Network for Landscape Conservation is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, P.O. Box 1587, Bozeman, MT 59771
|
|
A direct and compelling headline
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
