Modified items

All recently modified items, latest first.

Vulnerability: Understanding the vulnerability of various species and habitats within the Appalachian LCC to climate change is of critical importance. New climate change 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.

Urban Woodlands Conservation and Restoration: Urban Woodland Workshop participants include representatives from the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Appalachian LCC, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, New York City Parks, New York Botanical Garden, University of Maryland, and Rutgers University. The goal is to identify and create opportunities for greater collaboration among urban woodland managers and researchers to connect and to share data and information.

Western North Carolina Vitality Index: A tool developed to provide information necessary in protecting the region’s unique natural resources, promote development and planning that accommodates healthy growth, preserve the heritage and culture that defines communities, and strengthen public health to improve local economies. The Index was developed by University of North Carolina-Asheville National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center from the result of a partnership between the US Forest Service, the NC Mountain Resources Commission, the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, the Asheville Board of Realtors and Duke Energy. The current iteration of the index contains over 160 different data metrics for each of the western 27 counties in NC. The information is classified into natural, built, human and economic sectors. Data and maps can be downloaded, spatially examined, and compared with state and national averages. A map viewer function allows users to customize their own maps for specific reports, grant applications, and general education and various presentations.

Central Appalachia Prosperity Project: The Central Appalachia Prosperity Project is part of the Presidential Climate Action Project to develop policy recommendations on climate and energy security, with a focus on what the next President of the United States could accomplish using his or her executive authority. The Central Appalachian Project draws on the input of America's most innovative experts to produce policy and program recommendations that are sufficiently bold to expedite the region's transition to a clean energy economy. An important component of these recommendations has been better coordination of the efforts being made by all levels of government - federal, regional, state and local.

NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index: The NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index can help identify plant and animal species that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Climate Change Tree and Bird Atlases: Tools for evaluating the impact of climate change on bird and tree species' habitats in the Eastern United States

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Shorebird Habitat (CC-VASH): An Excel-based assessment and decision-making tool that was developed during 2009/2010 by the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences's Shorebird Recovery Project in partnership with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Northeast Region’s Division of Refuges.

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment of Species of Concern in West Virginia: Report on the use of the Index to assess the vulnerability of at-risk species to climate change in West Virginia

Phase I: Alternatives for Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: Expert Panel Findings PDF: In 2012, the Appalachian LCC tasked NatureServe with a two-phase project that explores the understanding of climate change in the Appalachian landscape. The first phase focused on assembling a panel of experts to provide guidance on a) prioritizing species and habitats to assess vulnerability to climate change; b) selecting approaches to conduct vulnerability assessments, and c) identifying appropriate climate data to use in the assessments. Using the recommendations of the Panel, the second phase of the research conducted vulnerability analyses on selected species and habitats, and provided results within the context of other existing assessments. This report summarizes Phase I of this effort.

Video Update: Climate Change Vulnerability Research: This presentation from Lesley Sneddon of NatureServe provides an update to the Steering Committee on this Appalachian LCC funded research project. Research is compiling climate change vulnerability assessments and other relevant information on vulnerable species and habitats, discerning the various methodologies and criteria used in these assessments, and using a team of expert peer reviewers to recommend the most efficient, effective, and appropriate methods for adoption by the Appalachian LCC for conservation and adaptation planning. The recommended method will then be deployed, resulting in vulnerability assessments for a suite of key species/habitats selected in consultation with partners of the Appalachian LCC.

Instructions – Central Appalachian Spreadsheet: This spreadsheet is a subset of a larger data set that contains a compilation of climate change vulnerability scores for over 700 species in the Appalachian LCC.

Vulnerability of at-risk species to climate change in New York: This report provides the methods and results of climate change vulnerability assessments of 119 species in New York.