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Energy Assessment News Release
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A new study and online mapping tool by the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) and The Nature Conservancy are intended to inform discussions among conservation agencies and organizations, industry, policy makers, regulators and the public on how to protect essential natural resources while realizing the benefits of increased domestic energy production.
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Tools & Resources
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Assessing Future Energy Development
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Fear of failure in conservation: The problem and potential solutions to aid conservation of extremely small populations
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The potential for extirpation of extremely small populations (ESPs) is high due to their vulnerability to
demographic and environmental stochasticity and negative impacts of human activity. We argue that
conservation actions that could aid ESPs are sometimes delayed because of a fear of failure. In human
psychology, the fear of failure is composed of several distinct cognitive elements, including ‘‘uncertainty
about the future’’ and ‘‘upsetting important others.’’ Uncertainty about the future is often driven by information obstacles in conservation: information is either not easily shared among practitioners or information is lacking. Whereas, fear of upsetting important others can be due to apprehension about angering constituents, peers, funders, and other stakeholders. We present several ways to address these fears in hopes of improving the conservation process. We describe methods for increased information sharing and improved decision-making in the face of uncertainty, and recommend a shift in focus to cooperative actions and improving methods for evaluating success. Our hope is that by tackling stumbling blocks due to the apprehension of failure, conservation and management organizations can take steps to move from fear to action.
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Resources
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Climate Science Documents
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Floodplain Prioritization Tool
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The Floodplain Prioritization Tool helps decision-makers identify critical opportunities for floodplain protection and restoration in the Mississippi River Basin. It is an interactive, web-based mapping tool.
Users can prioritize different criteria (e.g., water quality, wildlife habitat, and human exposure to flooding) on the map to see where floodplain restoration and conservation is likely to have the greatest impact. Developed by The Nature Conservancy and partners.
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Apps, Maps, & Data
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Landscape Partnership Spatial Datasets
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Aquatic and Freshwater Spatial Data
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Interactive Conservation Planning for the Appalachian LCC
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The Appalachian LCC is currently engaged in an effort to develop a draft regional conservation plan for the Cooperative using an interactive and iterative spatial prioritization framework. Using available data and modeling approaches that are well supported in the literature, researchers from Clemson University are developing conservation planning models that include site selection, ecological threat assessments, and broad ranging habitat and ecological connectivity analyses.
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Research
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Landscape Conservation Design Phase II: Assessing Aquatic Integrity
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Over the last year, a coordinated series of consultations with experts across the region has resulted in priority aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems into Phase II of the Appalachian LCC Landscape Conservation Design (LCD).
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News & Events
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Landscape Conservation Design: Initial Products and Expert Consultations for the Appalachian Mountains and Western River Basins
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Over the last couple years, the Appalachian LCC has supported the development of a science-based, regional-scale design commonly called a “Landscape Conservation Design (LCD)” or “Conservation Blueprint”.
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News & Events
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Multi-year drought-induced morbidity preceding tree death in Southeastern US forests
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Recent forest diebacks combined with threats of future drought focus attention on the extent to which tree death is caused by catastrophic events as opposed to chronic declines in health that accumulate over years. While recent attention has focused on large-scale diebacks, there is concern that increasing drought stress and chronic morbidity may have pervasive impacts on forest composition in many regions. Here we use long-term, whole-stand inventory data from Southeastern US forests to show that trees exposed to drought experience multi-year declines in growth prior to mortality. Following a severe, multi-year drought, 72% of trees that did not recover their pre-drought growth rates died within 10 years. This pattern was mediated by local moisture availability. As an index of morbidity prior to death, we calculated the difference in cumulative growth after drought relative to surviving conspecifics. The strength of drought-induced morbidity varied among species and was correlated with drought tolerance. These findings support the ability of trees to avoid death during drought events but indicate shifts that could occur over decades. Tree mortality following drought is predictable in these ecosystems based on growth declines, highlighting an opportunity to address multi-year drought-induced morbidity in models, experiments, and management decisions.
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Resources
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Climate Science Documents
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New Study Looks at Future of Appalachian Energy Development
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A new study and online mapping tool released by the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) and The Nature Conservancy are intended to inform discussions among conservation agencies and organizations, industry, policy makers, regulators and the public on how to protect essential natural resources while realizing the benefits of increased domestic energy production.
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News & Events
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North Carolina Natural Heritage Program
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North Carolina Natural Heritage Program's mission is to provide science and incentives to inform conservation decisions and support conservation of significant natural areas in North Carolina.
By gathering and sharing information about rare species and natural communities, the Program ensures public access to information that is needed to weigh the ecological significance of natural areas and to evaluate potential ecological impacts of conservation and development projects. The Program sits within the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
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LP Members
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Organizations Search
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Northeast Conservation Planning Atlas
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The Northeast Conservation Planning Atlas is a science-based mapping platform that provides access to high-quality geospatial datasets, maps and information to facilitate partner-driven conservation from Maritime Canada to the Appalachians. Produced by the Conservation Biology Institute.
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Apps, Maps, & Data
