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Assessing Vulnerability of Species and Habitats to Large-scale Impacts: CCVA: New vulnerability assessments for 41 species and 3 habitats in the Appalachians are now available. The conservation community can view and search each of these assessments by relative raking or vulnerability scores, conservation status ranks, state and subregion of assessment, and higher taxonomy. In addition, principle investigators NaturServe compiled the results of 700 species assessments previously completed by other researchers as well as assessments on several habitats.

Videos: A selection of videos that highlight biodiversity, environmental and cultural issues, and other developments.

Assessing Future Energy Development across the Appalachians: The Nature Conservancy - with support from the Appalachian LCC - has completed a study to assist policy makers, land management agencies, and industry in assessing potential future energy development and how that may overlap with biological and ecological values.

Assessing Future Energy Development: Assessing Future Energy Development across the Appalachian LCC uses models that combine data on energy development trends and identifies where these may intersect with important natural resource and ecosystem services to give a more comprehensive picture of what potential energy development could look like in the Appalachians. A web-based mapping tool allows policy makers, land management agencies, industries, and others to see where development may likely occur and intersect with important natural values to inform regional landscape planning decisions. Ultimately this information is intended to support dialogue and conservation on how to effectively avoid, minimize, and offset impacts from energy development to important natural areas and the valuable services they provide.

Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership SARP: The Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP) is a regional collaboration of natural resource and science agencies, conservation organizations and private interests developed to strengthen the management and conservation of aquatic resources in the southeastern United States.

Working Lands for Wildlife: Through Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW), NRCS works with partners and private landowners to focus voluntary conservation on working landscapes. NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers, helping them plan and implement conservation practices that benefit target species and priority landscapes. Since 2012, NRCS has restored and protected 6.7 million acres of much-needed habitat for a variety of wildlife. These efforts have led to the rebound and recovery of many species, demonstrating the WLFW conservation model works.

Eastern Brook Trout: A diverse group of partners, including state fish and wildlife agencies, federal resource agencies, Indian tribes, academic institutions and non-governmental organizations, are working collaboratively to conserve eastern Brook Trout and their habitats. Established as the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV), this Fish Habitat Partnership has already produced several range-wide population assessment of wild Brook Trout; completed extensive work that identifies key threats to wild Brook Trout and their habitats; and developed conservation strategies that protect, enhance and restore wild Brook Trout.

Training Slide: Firefighters with Stanislaus Hot Shot Crew clear out vegetation to mitigate fire progression at the Donnell Fire, Stanislaus National Forest, California. (Forest Service by Cecilio Ricardo).

Comparing Mussels: Staff from the Asheville Field Office have spent the summer of 2018 working with University of North Carolina-Asheville student Brittany Barker-Jones on efforts to advance conservation of the French Broad River. Brittany is one of this year’s five McCullough Fellows, a UNCA program that connects undergraduate researchers with area organizations, people, and places to work on a project in one or more of these areas: land use and conservation; urban planning; sustainable agriculture; resilience and environmental sustainability.This year’s class of McCullough fellows recently joined Service biologist Jason Mays at the Little River in North Carolina’s Transylvania County to snorkel for mussels. The students were able to see all four native mussel species found in the river – the federally-endangered Appalachian elktoe (Alasmidonta raveneliana), longsolid (Fusconaia subrotunda), creeper (Strophitus undulatus), and slippershell mussel (Alasmidonta viridis).Credit: G. Peeples/USFWS

Baby Turtle Season: Baby turtle season is on in the Southern US, drive slowly! Most turtles dig nests, lay eggs, and then cover them back up to let them incubate on their own. When babies hatch, they instinctively look for the nearest body of water. Sometimes, that means they have to cross roads. As spring progresses, turtle hatchings will occur further and further north, so no matter where you live, it's important to keep an eye out for wildlife.Photo: David Ortega

LP Members: A role of the Appalachian LCC community -- representing scientists and natural and cultural resource managers from federal and state agencies, non-profit organizations, and tribal government representatives -- is to help coordinate and plan conservation actions at a landscape level. Based on guidance from this conservation community, the LCC staff and partners are identifying and concentrating their efforts in working with interested partners in "focal areas." These initial areas of collaborative planning and coordinated action represent conservation zones -- identified through our Landscape Conservation Design modeling effort -- that offer conservation opportunities for long-term protection of immense and unique biodiversity by maintaining connectivity among natural lands and functioning ecosystems. Such strategic planning and collaboration will help address environmental threats that are beyond the ability of any one organization to tackle and lead to the protection of valued natural and cultural resources and continued delivery of environmental benefits to surrounding human communities across the Appalachians and its western river basin.