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Conservation Planning Software: An index of common (open-source) tools to achieve a systematic conservation planning exercise.

Use of Population Viability Analysis and Reserve Selection Algorithms in Regional Conservation Plans: Current reserve selection algorithms have difficulty evaluating connectivity and other factors necessary to conserve wide-ranging species in developing landscapes. Conversely, population viability analyses may incorporate detailed demographic data, but often lack sufficient spatial detail or are limited to too few taxa to be relevant to regional conservation plans. We developed a regional conservation plan for mammalian carnivores in the Rocky Mountain region using both a reserve selection algorithm (SITES) and a spatially explicit population model (PATCH).

Systematic Conservation Planning: The realization of conservation goals requires strategies for managing whole landscapes including areas allocated to both production and protection. Reserves alone are not adequate for nature conservation but they are the cornerstone on which regional strategies are built. Reserves have two main roles. They should sample or represent the biodiversity of each region and they should separate this biodiversity from processes that threaten its persistence. Existing reserve systems throughout the world contain a biased sample of biodiversity, usually that of remote places and other areas that are unsuitable for commercial activities. A more systematic approach to locating and designing reserves has been evolving and this approach will need to be implemented if a large proportion of today’s biodiversity is to exist in a future of increasing numbers of people and their demands on natural resources.

Planning for Biodiversity Conservation: Putting Conservation Science into Practice: A seven-step framework for developing regional plans to conserve biological diversity, based upon principles of conservation biology and Ecology, is being used extensively by The Nature Conservancy to identify priority areas for conservation.

Incorporating Climate Change into Systematic Conservation Planning: The principles of systematic conservation planning are now widely used by governments and non-government organizations alike to develop biodiversity conservation plans for countries, states, regions, and ecoregions. Many of the species and ecosystems these plans were designed to conserve are now being affected by climate change, and there is a critical need to incorporate new and complementary approaches into these plans that will aid species and ecosystems in adjusting to potential climate change impacts. We propose five approaches to climate change adaptation that can be integrated into existing or new plans.

Conserving the Stage: Climate Change and the Geophysical Underpinnings of Species Diversity: Conservationists have proposed methods for adapting to climate change that assume species distributions are primarily explained by climate variables. The key idea is to use the understanding of species-climate relationships to map corridors and to identify regions of faunal stability or high species turnover. An alternative approach is to adopt an evolutionary timescale and ask ultimately what factors control total diversity, so that over the long run the major drivers of total species richness can be protected. Within a single climatic region, the temperate area encompassing all of the Northeastern U.S. and Maritime Canada, we hypothesized that geologic factors may take precedence over climate in explaining diversity patterns. If geophysical diversity does drive regional diversity, then conserving geophysical settings may offer an approach to conservation that protects diversity under both current and future climates.

Conservation Planning in a Changing World: Conservation planning is the process of locating, configuring, implementing and maintaining areas that are managed to promote the persistence of biodiversity and other natural values. Conservation planning is inherently spatial. The science behind it has solved important spatial problems and increasingly influenced practice. To be effective, however, conservation planning must deal better with two types of change. First, biodiversity is not static in time or space but generated and maintained by natural processes. Second, humans are altering the planet in diverse ways at ever faster rates.

The Science of Conservation Planning

White House Climate Data Initiative: Here you can find data related to climate change that can help inform and prepare America’s communities, businesses, and citizens. Initially, in this pilot phase, you can find data and resources related to coastal flooding, sea level rise, and their impacts. Over time, you will be able to find additional data and tools relevant to other important climate-related impacts, including risks to human health, the food supply, and energy infrastructure. Please share your feedback.

New Report: USFWS Habitat Restoration Programs Create 3,973 New Jobs, Pump $327.7 Million into Local Economies: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that a peer-reviewed analysis finds that the agency's habitat restoration programs are extraordinary engines for the U.S. economy.

OSMRE Appalachian Region Launches New Website: OSMRE's Appalachian Region has redesigned its website. The new site allows users to find information quickly and easily, and applies a consistent look and feel to the bureau’s web pages. The redesigned site incorporates several new features to make AR's website easier to navigate and user-friendly.

On Earth Day, U.S. Forest Service Seeks Applications for Wood to Energy Projects: As part of the national observance of Earth Day, the U.S. Forest Service today announced that it is seeking proposals that expand wood energy use and support responsible forest management. Also today, the Forest Service released a Wood Energy Financial App for use by community and business leaders seeking to replace fossil fuel with wood energy.

Ecology Team Improves Understanding of Valley-wide Stream Chemistry: A geostatistical approach for studying environmental conditions in stream networks and landscapes has been successfully applied at a valley-wide scale to assess headwater stream chemistry at high resolution, revealing unexpected patterns in natural chemical components.

Suggestions for Setting Population Objectives - CT River Watershed Pilot: Connecticut River Watershed Landscape Conservation Design Pilot: Suggestions for Setting Population Objectives (April 2014)

McCormick, John

Secretary Jewell Releases Landscape-scale Mitigation Strategy: The strategy, which will advance landscape-scale, science-based management of America’s public lands and wildlife. seeks to provide clarity and consistency to more effectively avoid, minimize and compensate for impacts on public lands. The strategy strongly aligns with the mission and goals of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives.

Putting the Nation on a Path for Climate Resilience and Preparedness: NOAA's Information and Expertise: Information seekers can turn to NOAA personnel on the ground to access and apply available information to specific questions and needs. NOAA provides a wide range of climate information through monthly, seasonal and decade forecasts and data tailored to the specific needs of different sectors. NOAA uses this same information to take direct action to increase the resilience and facilitate adaptation of the nation’s valuable marine and coastal resources and the people that depend on them.

Putting the Nation on a Path for Climate Resilience and Preparedness: NOAA's Information and Expertise: Information seekers can turn to NOAA personnel on the ground to access and apply available information to specific questions and needs. NOAA provides a wide range of climate information through monthly, seasonal and decade forecasts and data tailored to the specific needs of different sectors. NOAA uses this same information to take direct action to increase the resilience and facilitate adaptation of the nation’s valuable marine and coastal resources and the people that depend on them.