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Partner Projects

The scientific and conservation community uses research supported by the Landscape Partnership for delivering on-the-ground conservation activities and projects. Activities such as restoring streams for trout and managing forests to create greater habitat for threatened bird species are just a few of the many conservation projects taking place to create a sustainable landscape for wildlife and people. Find here a list of conservation activities and projects within the region.

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Featured Projects

Impediments to Prescribed Burning: NRCS Interviews

Impediments to Prescribed Burning: NRCS Interviews

NRCS contracted with NC State to conduct a series of interviews with NRCS state office and field staff, along with some key partners, to collect observations on major impediments to implementing prescribed burning on-the-ground. The Executive Summary is posted here; for a copy of the full report contact Bridgett.Costanzo@usda.gov.
North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative

North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative

This project is developing a partner-driven, science-based approach for identifying and prioritizing culvert road stream crossings in the area impacted by Hurricane Sandy for increasing resilience to future floods while improving aquatic connectivity for fish passage. The resulting information and tools will be used to inform and improve decision making by towns, states and other key decision makers.
Removal of Illegally Introduced and Missed Rainbow Trout from Lynn Camp Prong, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee

Removal of Illegally Introduced and Missed Rainbow Trout from Lynn Camp Prong, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee

This project will remove the illegally introduced and missed rainbow trout from the Lynn Camp Prong Watershed in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Once complete, the project will reconnect brook trout populations in three tributary streams thus eliminating fragmentation in this watershed. (Photo: Lynn Camp Prong in Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee.)
Copper Creek In-Stream Habitat Restoration Project

Copper Creek In-Stream Habitat Restoration Project

This project improved riparian zones, water quality, appropriate sediment flows and restoring physical habitat for multiple listed aquatic species in the Copper Creek watershed, within the Upper Tennessee River Basin. (Photo: The low water bridge that was removed and replaced with a new bridge that spans the river. )
Interior Highland Shortleaf Pine Initiative

Interior Highland Shortleaf Pine Initiative

The Interior Highlands region of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma once supported vast expanses of shortleaf pine-bluestem woodlands, as well as mixed stands of pine-oak and oak-pine which were maintained by frequent fires. Over the past century 53% of these open pine stands have been significantly altered due to forest structural changes caused by eliminating fire from the ecosystem and conversion to other agricultural uses. This caused a significant decline in several priority bird species including the Brown-headed Nuthatch, Bachman’s Sparrow, Northern Bobwhite, Prairie Warbler, Whip-poor-will and federally endangered Red-Cockaded Woodpecker which all rely on open pine forest stands with a diverse grass and forb understory.
 

Search Results

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Alabama Statewide Crayfish Survey

Stuart McGergor - Geologial Survey of Alabama

Alabama Statewide Fish IBI

Developing IBI's for strategic watersheds statewide. Derived resources will include data sets, imagery, maps, videos, and general and technical reports.

Alabama Watershed Assessment

Assessing quality/quantity of state waters

Alligator Snapping Turtle Surveys and Genetics - Lower TN and MS River

Dr. Josh Ennen, Aquatic Conservation Biologist, TN Aquarium Conservation Institute

Application of the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standards (CMECS) to the Northeast

This project integrated NOAA and NatureServe's Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) and the Nature Conservancy and NatureServe's Northeast Regional Habitat Classification System (NRHCS) in order to extend the latter system to estuarine and marine environments from Maine to Virginia. State, academic, and non-profit partners collaborated to identify and cross-walk existing state marine classification systems. The project examined the scalability of this classification by conducting pilot mapping projects at three different scales relevant to planning and conservation efforts.
Completion Date
December 2013

Assessment and Restoration of Southern Appalachian Brook Trout

This project will complete an assessment of brook trout in-stream habitat, water quality, and fish distribution information in all Jocassee Gorges streams during the first two years of the project.

Atlantic and Gulf Coast Resiliency Project

Coastal change is a shared challenge along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States, yet there are vast differences in the tools and information available in these regions. This project coordinated, synthesized, and delivered coastal resilience information, activities and lessons learned across the coastal portion of the Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) network.
Completion Date
September 2016

Barrens Topminnow , Barrier Construction for Invasive Gambusia

Reintroduction and management of a highly endemic and endangered species to the TN Barrens. Derived resources from this project include/will include data sets, general report, and news announcement.

Beach and Tidal Habitat Inventories

This series of reports, databases, and data layers generated using Google Earth imagery provides an inventory of sandy beach and tidal inlet habitats from Maine to North Carolina, as well as modifications to sandy beaches and tidal inlets prior to, immediately after, and three years after Hurricane Sandy.
Completion Date
January 2017

Bear Creek Mussel Recovery

Restoring mussel fauna

Brook Trout Catchment Scale and Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment

JMU in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the Service have initiated efforts to determine resiliency rankings for brook trout populations in Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. This project will allow the partnerhsip to expand this analysis to cover all brook trout habitat from Georgia to Maine.

Brook Trout Restoration and Expansion

This project will restore and improve stream and riparian habitat within a 2,357 foot project area located in the headwaters of Garth Run which was severely impacted by catastrophic flooding that occurred in 1995.
Completion Date
2012

Brook Trout Restoration and Expansion in Garth Run, Virginia

This project will restore and improve stream and riparian habitat within a 2,357 foot project area located in the headwaters of Garth Run which was severely impacted by catastrophic flooding that occurred in 1995. (Photo: Photo 1 of Garth Run, Virginia)

Brook Trout Restoration in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia

This project will restore fragmented poor quality habitat and brook trout populations on the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia by removing and replacing a culvert on Bryant Creek that is perched and acts as a barrier to fish movement. (Photo: The culvert to be replaced on Bryant Creek in the Chattachoochee National Forest.)

Cambarus Cracens Threats Assessment

Survey distribution and assess threats to candidate species

Cerulean Warbler Forest Management Project

The Cerulean Warbler project was initiated to allow the scientific and management communities to test forestry methods and use experimental harvesting of timber to enhance Cerulean Warbler habitat.
Completion Date
2013

Cheoah River Restoration

In 2005, an improved flow regime was established in the Cheoah River and other habitat improvements are currently underway as part of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Relicense Agreement. Restoration of multiple species, including Appalachian elktoe, Alasmidonta raveneliana (Fed. & NC Endangered); Spotfin chub, Erimonax monachus (Fed. & NC Threatened); Wavy-rayed lampmussel, Lampsilis fasciola (NC Species of Concern); and Rainbow mussel, Villosa iris (NC Species of Concern), are part of the cooperative restoration plan for the Cheoah River.

Chiapas/Appalachian/Pacific Alliance

Many of the bird species that breed in the AMJV spend the fall and winter months in Mexico and Central and South America. Our partnership is committed to work with international partners to design and implement efficient and effective conservation projects for priority species on their migratory pathways and wintering areas.

Climate Change Vulnerability Index for Northeast species

NatureServe and Heritage Program collaborators have developed a Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) to provide a rapid, scientifically defensible assessment of species' vulnerability to climate change. The CCVI integrates information about exposure to altered climates and species-specific sensitivity factors known to be associated with vulnerability to climate change. This project applied the CCVI to 64 species selected in collaboration with state wildlife staff and other experts.
Completion Date
June 2013

Clinch Powell Clean Rivers Initiative

Clinch Powell Clean Rivers Initiative is a two-state watershed collaborative aimed at improving the condition of the globally significant Upper Clinch and Powell Rivers.

Clinch River State Park and Water Trail

Creation of a State Park and Water Trail along the Clinch River from Tazewell County, VA downstream to Scott County, VA

Coastal Update to the National Wetlands Inventory

This project completed a rapid update for wetland mapping in 162 coastal areas (1:24,000 topographic quadrangles in ME, MD, MA, NJ, NY, PA, and VA) that were last updated prior to 2000. The updates, which were incorporated into the National Wetland Inventory, have many applications in conservation analysis and coastal planning, including the Designing Sustainable Landscapes project (also funded by the North Atlantic LCC).
Completion Date
September 2013

Copper Creek In-Stream Habitat Restoration Project

This project improved riparian zones, water quality, appropriate sediment flows and restoring physical habitat for multiple listed aquatic species in the Copper Creek watershed, within the Upper Tennessee River Basin. (Photo: The low water bridge that was removed and replaced with a new bridge that spans the river. )

Dam Removals to Reconnect Brook Trout Habitat on an Unnamed Tributary to Frankstown Branch, PA

This project will remove two fish passage barriers to provide 1.33 miles of unrestricted fish passage to high-quality coldwater spawning and rearing habitat. (Photo: Lower Dam, Frankstown Branch, PA)

Decision Support Framework for Sea-level Rise Impacts

One of the principal impacts of sea-level rise will be the loss of land in coastal areas through erosion and submergence of the coastal landscape. However, changes vary across space and time and are difficult to predict because landforms such as beaches, barriers, and marshes can respond to sea level rise in complicated, dynamic ways. This project developed decision support models to address critical management decisions at regional and local scales, considering both dynamic and simple inundation responses to sea-level rise.
Completion Date
April 2014

Decision Support Tool to Assess Aquatic Habitats and Threats in North Atlantic Watersheds and Estuaries

Through a stakeholder-driven process, the project team developed a multi-criteria decision support tool to allow resource managers to visualize and manipulate information on aquatic habitats and threats to prioritize areas for conservation action.
Completion Date
September 2015

Designing Sustainable Coastal Landscapes in the Face of Sea-level Rise and Storms

Under a cooperative agreement funded by the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Mitigation Fund, Designing Sustainable Coastal Landscapes in the Face of Sea-level Rise and Storms, will add needed coastally relevant information to the Designing Sustainable Landscapes project for the North Atlantic region.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes

This project highlights the potential for collaboration and coordination among conservation practitioners and research scientists to plan for the future. A team of UMass scientists has developed a landscape change, assessment and design model to assess ecosystems and their capacity to sustain populations of wildlife in the northeastern U.S. in the face of urban growth, climate change, and other stressors. The project plays a major role in developing the science and data for two collaborative landscape planning and design efforts: 1) Connect the Connecticut, the pilot Landscape Conservation Design for the Connecticut River Watershed, and 2) Nature's Network, which expands and elaborates on the data to extend to throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Using the best available science and information, participating partners are developing tools and strategies for conserving a connected network of lands and waters to sustain natural resources and communities within the watershed.
Completion Date
August 2017

Designing Sustainable Landscapes, Phase 1

The purpose of this project was to assess the capability of current and potential future landscapes to provide integral ecosystems and suitable habitat for a suite of representative species, and provide guidance for strategic habitat conservation. Part of the project included a comparison and evaluation of a representative (focal) species approach against a coarse filter (ecosystem-based) approach to biodiversity conservation to assess what set of complementary approaches are most effective. This was an 18-month first phase that focused on three pilot watersheds and initial model development.
Completion Date
June 2012

Designing Sustainable Landscapes, Phase 2

This project is assessing the capability of habitats to sustain populations of wildlife in the Northeastern U.S. in the face of urban growth, changing climate, and other disturbances. Building on Phase 1, this project expands the geographic scope from three pilot watersheds to the 13 state Northeast region and considers additional wildlife species.
Completion Date
June 2015

Development of a Rapid Assessment Protocol for Aquatic Passability of Tidally Influenced Road-Stream Crossings

There is growing interest among conservation practitioners to have a method to assess tidally influenced crossings for their potential as barriers to aquatic organism passage. Protocols designed for freshwater streams will not adequately address the passage challenges of bi-directional flow and widely variable depth and velocity of tidally influenced systems. Diadromous and coastal fish must be able to overcome the enhanced water velocities associated with tidal restrictions to reach upstream spawning habitat. This project will build on the existing North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative's protocol, database and scoring procedures to extend the applicability of this region-wide program to road-stream crossings in tidally influenced settings.

Dirt & Gravel Road, Streambank Stabilization Project on Cross Fork, Pennsylvania

This project will select and implement high priority projects that focus on dirt and gravel road improvements, streambank stabilization, riparian buffer restoration, and brook trout habitat expansion. (Photo: Improper drainage from dirt and gravel roads on Cross Fork, PA.)

Extending the Northeast Aquatic Habitat Map to Canada

This project contributed to the development of a comprehensive aquatic habitat map for the entire extent of the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (NALCC) region by extending the Northeast Aquatic Habitat Map to Canada and southern Quebec.
Completion Date
May 2017

Extending the Northeast Terrestrial Habitat Map to Atlantic Canada

This project developed a comprehensive terrestrial habitat map for the entire extent of the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (NALCC) region by extending the Northeast Terrestrial Habitat Map to Atlantic Canada and southern Quebec. The completed version was released on September 10, 2015.
Completion Date
September 2015

Forecasting Changes in Aquatic Systems and Resilience of Brook Trout

The objective of this project was to develop tools to assist managers in protecting and restoring streams for brook trout and other aquatic resources in the face of threats such as climate change and development. Deliverables from this project included models of stream temperature, stream flow, and brook trout occurrence for headwaters of the Northeast, including projections of the potential effects of climate change. The investigators worked closely with decision-makers such as state water resource agencies to ensure the tools are useful.
Completion Date
October 2016

Forestlands Best Management Practices for Golden-winged Warblers

Combing through habitat literature and conducting two years of surveys for the presence of Golden-winged Warblers at forest stands, the AMJV and partners developed best management practices for providing breeding habitat for Golden-winged Warblers through timber harvesting.
Completion Date
2012

Freshwaters Illustrated Video Series

Section 6 project with TWRA

Golden Riffleshell Propagation in Clinch River

Larvae were obtained from female golden riffleshells and transformed using the invitro process at the Center for Mollusk Conservation facility in Frankfort, Kentucky under the guidance of Dr. Monte McGregor of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Green River Enhancement within the Green River WMA, KY

The Green River and Green River Lake and provide aquatic habitat in the Green River Wildlife Management Area. The river is in declining condition due to severe erosion over almost four decades. Its restoration can allow it to support thriving populations of white bass, smallmouth bass, rock bass, flathead catfish, walleye, and muskellunge, and provide sport challenges to anglers. (Photo: Green River Pre Restoration)

Guided Snorkel Tours in the Cherokee National Forest

Guided snorkeling programs demonstrate your commitment to managing the land and water in your care while highlighting a fun, safe activity in a clear, cool stream. You can help get people outside, unplugged, and immersed, teaching people of all ages about the wonderful wildlife that lives just beneath the surface of their local waterways.

Harpeth River Restoration

As part of a jointly funded project via the National Fish Passage Program, the totality of this project is removing a lowhead dam and restoring the immediate area to riffle/run habitat for the benefit of improved water quality and native fish habitat in the Harpeth River, TN. (Photo: Harpeth River Restoration)

Identifying Important Migratory Landbird Stopover Sites in the Northeast

Dozens of species of landbirds, such as warblers, hummingbirds, and orioles, migrate through the Northeastern United States from their summer breeding grounds in the U.S. and Canada to their nonbreeding grounds as far south as South America. During the migration period, birds must find habitat where they can stop, rest and replenish their energy reserves. Conservation efforts are increasingly focused on identifying stopover sites that are important for sustaining migratory landbird populations. This project built upon prior work by the University of Delaware and USGS to use weather surveillance data and field surveys to map and predict important migratory bird stopover sites.
Completion Date
September 2016

Identifying Resilient Sites for Coastal Conservation

Sea levels are expected to rise by one to six feet over the next century, and coastal sites vary markedly in their ability to accommodate such inundation. In response to this threat, scientists from The Nature Conservancy evaluated 10,736 sites in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic for the size, configuration and adequacy of their migration space, and for the natural processes necessary to support the migration of coastal habitats in response to sea-level rise.
Completion Date
June 2017

Impacts of Climate Change on Stream Temperature

This study gathered existing stream temperature data, identified data gaps, deployed temperature monitoring to locations lacking data, and compared state-of-the-art stream temperature models across the Northeast domain.

Increasing Resiliency of Beach Habitats and Species

This project is a coordinated effort by Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) partners to integrate existing data, models and tools with foundational data and assessments of both the impacts of Hurricane Sandy and the immediate response. The project will integrate new and existing data and build decision support tools to guide beach restoration, management and conservation actions. Project objectives are to sustain ecological function, habitat suitability for wildlife, and ecosystem services including flood abatement in the face of storm impacts and sea level rise.
Completion Date
November 2016

Increasing Resiliency of Tidal Marsh Habitats and Species

This project is designed to guide decisions about where to conduct tidal marsh restoration, conservation, and management to sustain coastal ecosystems and services, including the fish and wildlife that depend upon tidal marshes, taking into account rising sea levels and other stressors.

Interior Highland Shortleaf Pine Initiative

The Interior Highlands region of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma once supported vast expanses of shortleaf pine-bluestem woodlands, as well as mixed stands of pine-oak and oak-pine which were maintained by frequent fires. Over the past century 53% of these open pine stands have been significantly altered due to forest structural changes caused by eliminating fire from the ecosystem and conversion to other agricultural uses. This caused a significant decline in several priority bird species including the Brown-headed Nuthatch, Bachman’s Sparrow, Northern Bobwhite, Prairie Warbler, Whip-poor-will and federally endangered Red-Cockaded Woodpecker which all rely on open pine forest stands with a diverse grass and forb understory.

iPlover: Piping plover habitat suitability in a changing climate

Designed by scientists to simplify consistent data collection and management, the iPlover smartphone application gives trained resource managers an easy-to-use platform where they can collect and share data about coastal habitat utilization across a diverse community of field technicians, scientists, and managers. With the click of a button, users can contribute biological and geomorphological data to regional models designed to forecast the habitat outlook for piping plover, and other species that depend upon sandy beach habitat.

Kids 4 Clean Water Camps & Education

To provide outdoor, environmental and water quality focused hands-on education for kids in school. Education is provided through camps that are held multiple times per year in different watershed areas within and surrounding Chattanooga, TN.

Lake Sturgeon Restoration in Upper French Broad River

This is an extension of the effort to reintroduce Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) to the Tennessee River system. Lake sturgeon are reared in hatcheries in Georgia and North Carolina from eggs and milt collected from Wisconsin. Those fish are stocked in the French Broad River north of Asheville, NC. The objective is to establish a self-sustaining population in the French Broad river upstream from Douglas Dam.

Marine Bird Mapping and Assessment

This project developed a series of maps depicting the distribution and probability of occurrence of marine birds in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. The maps are intended to be used for informing decisions about siting offshore facilities; marine spatial planning; and other uses requiring maps of seabird distributions.
Completion Date
September 2015

Martin Creek Stream Restoration/Powell River Priority Conservation Area

This project will implement stream habitat restoration in Martin Creek, a priority conservation area in the Powell River watershed. The project will also involve agriculture best management practices and biological monitoring.

Monitor AL Cave Shrimp and Tuscumbia Darters

Monitoring a listed and a candidate species' population on a federal facility

Mountain Creek Watershed Project - Education into Action

To increase the quality of the water within the Mountain Creek watershed, by forming alliances through education and outreach, in order to implement projects that restore water quality.

Nashville crayfish Habitat Restoration on the Nashville Zoo Property

This project will restore an unnamed tributary of Mill Creek by removing a barrier and restoring connectivity of the tributary.

North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative

This project is developing a partner-driven, science-based approach for identifying and prioritizing culvert road stream crossings in the area impacted by Hurricane Sandy for increasing resilience to future floods while improving aquatic connectivity for fish passage. The resulting information and tools will be used to inform and improve decision making by towns, states and other key decision makers.

North Atlantic LCC Demonstration Project: Climate Adaptation in Appalachian Forests

The goal of the project was to help more efficiently achieve a resilient Appalachian forest landscape within the NALCC geography that would be built upon a broadly shared vision for a sustainable, connected mosaic of forest habitats and waters that are home to thriving intact ecosystems and human communities. This project was intended to identify and showcase efforts that, in the light of advances in climate adaptation, best contribute to effective landscape conservation actions in the region.
Completion Date
March 2014

North Atlantic LCC Demonstration Project: Marsh Migration

Coastal marshes serve a variety of important functions including flood control, spawning/rearing areas for marine life, and critical habitat for many bird species of conservation concern. The focus of this project was to facilitate local actions in Maine to accommodate the needs of coastal marshes to migrate landward in response to rising sea levels.
Completion Date
December 2013

North Atlantic LCC Demonstration Project: White Mountains to Moosehead Lake Initiative

The purpose of this demonstration project was to show how North Atlantic LCC science products can be used to inform conservation for a Northeast habitat and resilience "hotspot." The Trust for Public Land will integrate LCC and other science products into a clearinghouse and analysis tool for parcel-level conservation planning in the 2.7 million acre White Mountains to Moosehead Lake region of Maine and New Hampshire.
Completion Date
December 2013

Oats Run, Upper Shavers Fork, Aquatic Passage Project in Pocahontas County, WV

This project will restore habitat linkages between a brook trout spawning tributary in Oats Run and the mainstem of the Upper Shaver's Fork at Spruce West Virginia. (Photo: The fish passage barrier to be replaced on Oats Run in the Upper Shavers Fork in West Virginia.)

Permeable Landscapes for Wildlife in the Northeast

Landscape permeability, also referred to as "habitat connectivity," is the ability of a land area to allow animals to move and disperse. This project evaluated and mapped landscape permeability across the eastern United States and southeastern Canada.
Completion Date
January 2015

Pigeon River Aquatic Community Restoration

Since 2004, the NCWRC has extended the interstate project to restore aquatic fauna to the Pigeon River into the NC portion of the impacted reach. From the early 1900's thru the early 1990's, the Pigeon River was severely polluted by effluent from a paper mill at Canton, NC. Changes in the paper bleaching process and improved waste water treatment resulted in improved water quality in the reach between Canton, NC and Newport, TN. While habitat conditions improved, many species of fishes and mussels did not begin to recolonize the river due to dams and reservoirs that isolated the reach from source populations that might naturally recolonize. Cooperators in TN began to reintroduce several species of snails, mussels, and fishes beginning in the mid-1990's. Since 2004, six fish species (Gilt darter, Banded darter, Silver shiner, Tennessee shiner, Telescope shiner, and Bigeye chub) have been successfully reintroduced and maintain self-perpetuating populations.

Piping Plovers and Sea-level Rise

This collaborative project provided biologists and managers along the Atlantic coast with tools to predict effects of accelerating sea-level rise on the distribution of piping plover breeding habitat, test those predictions, and feed results back into the modeling framework to improve predictive capabilities. Immediate model results will be used to inform a coast-wide assessment of threats from sea-level rise and related habitat conservation recommendations that can be implemented by land managers and inform recommendations to regulators. Case studies incorporating resilience of piping plover habitat into management plans for specific locations demonstrate potential applications.
Completion Date
August 2014

Prioritization and Conservation Status of Rare Plants in the North Atlantic

This project created a prioritized list of rare plant species for conservation actions, with a comprehensive analysis of rarity, threats, trends, legal protection, inclusion in State Wildlife Action Plan revisions, conservation status, habitat, and climate change.
Completion Date
March 31, 2017

Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas (PARCAs)

Amphibians and reptiles are experiencing threats throughout North America due to habitat loss and other factors. To help conserve these species, this project will identify Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas (PARCAs) that are most vital in sustaining amphibian and reptile populations, taking into account potential future climatic conditions.
Completion Date
June 2016

Promotion of Prescribed Fire

The use of prescribed fire as a habitat management tool is vital for many of the priority birds in the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region. Most species evolved to live in fire-mediated habitats that were common prior to European settlement. Fire suppression in these habitats is considered a significant factor in the declines of many grassland-shrubland bird populations. Promotion and protection of this management practice is important to achieving the CHJV’s population goals for these species.

Protection of Critical Beach-nesting Bird Habitats in the Wake of Severe Coastal Storms

Scientists developed models to examine the influence of landscape-scale variables like sea-level rise and beach-management strategies on bird nesting suitability.

Raccoon Creek Stream Restoration for Imperiled Aquatic Species in lower Etowah River Drainage

This project restored stream areas of Raccoon Creek for imperiled aquatic species in lower Etowah River drainage, Georgia. This project has resulted in several new partnerships, including a collaborative planning workshop for Paulding County held by SARP and the Southeast Watershed Forum. (Photo: Map of Raccoon Creek Watershed)

Reintroduction of Lake Sturgeon into TN River Drainage

Restoration of a locally extirpated fish species to the TN river basin

Removal of Illegally Introduced and Missed Rainbow Trout from Lynn Camp Prong, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee

This project will remove the illegally introduced and missed rainbow trout from the Lynn Camp Prong Watershed in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Once complete, the project will reconnect brook trout populations in three tributary streams thus eliminating fragmentation in this watershed. (Photo: Lynn Camp Prong in Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee.)

Removal of Two Dams in the Wetmore Run Watershed, Potter County, PA

This project will remove the only two dams in the Wetmore Run Watershed in Potter County, Pennsylvania opening 8.5 miles of habitat for brook trout. Removal of the dams will also eliminate thermal pollution and restore lotic ecosystem function. (Photo: Looking upstream at the dam on Wetmore Run. No water is going over the spillway.)

Restoring Aquatic Connectivity and Increasing Flood Resilience

This project brings together the major partners involved in road-stream crossings to assess river and stream continuity and set priorities for restoring connectivity, and reducing flood damage to road crossings, within the North Atlantic region.
Completion Date
September 2015

Restoring Aquatic Organism Passage within Tipton Creek, North Carolina

This project will be the first of several designed to reconnect and restore brook trout habitat and populations within the Tellico River watershed. It will remove one barrier on Tipton Creek in the Upper Tellico River Watershed to reconnect approximately 4 miles of stream. (Photo: The crossing to be replaced on Tipton Creek in North Carolina.)

Restoring Browns Run Fish Passage, Barr Township, Pennsylvania

This project will open the headwaters of Browns Run, a tributary to the West Branch of the Susquehana River, to native brook trout passage and improve Browns Run brook trout habitat. (Photo: Pool Behind Browns Run Dam, Pennsylvania.)

Restoring Coal-Mined Lands to Create Habitat for Imperiled Birds

AMJV and the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative are partnering up to re-establish habitat on previously mined land to create greater breeding grounds for declining bird species in the Appalachian Region. Using ARRI’s Forestry Reclamation Approach, this collaboration is replanting trees on disturbed sites in heavily populated bird areas to restore the function and form of habitats that existed prior to mining.

Revisions to the Northeastern Aquatic Habitat Classification

This project updated the 2008 Northeastern Aquatic Habitat Classification (NAHCS) prepared by The Nature Conservancy and the Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (NEAFWA). The updates added a tidal component to the classification of streams and rivers and a mapped classification of lakes; the lake classification was revised in 2015.
Completion Date
December 2015

River Corridor Assessment for the North Atlantic Region

An urgent need exists to uniformly assess river corridors, including floodplains, and to prioritize areas for protection across the North Atlantic landscape. This project will develop a river corridor assessment method and conservation prioritization toolkit. The tools will be tested through three pilot projects across different topographies before being expanded to additional river corridors across the region.
Completion Date
January 31st, 2018

Salamanders of the Cumberland Plateau

Understanding the impacts of climate change on salamander interactions with other salamander species and fishes

Salt marsh Habitat and Avian Research Program (SHARP)

A collaborative effort to assess risks and set response priorities for tidal-marsh dependent bird species from Virginia to maritime Canada.

Salt marsh modeling coupled with hydrodynamic modeling

Combining marsh equilibrium modeling approach with a hydrodynamic modeling approach, this coupled model forecasts the evolution of marsh landscapes under different sea-level rise scenarios, with or without marsh restoration and storm surge factored in, to inform future management decisions with regard to system dynamics.
Completion Date
November 2016

Sequatchie Caddisfly & Royal Snail Popln Monitoring & Management Plan for Sesuatchie Natural Area - Marion CO TN

Quantitative caddisfly monitoring, and qualitative royal snail monitoring

Sicklefin Redhorse Candidate Conservation Cooperative

A working group of partners has been actively engaged in actions to study and conserve the narrowly endemic Sicklefin redhorse since the early 2000's. In 2015, that was formalized into a Candidate Conservation Agreement. This Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) for the Sicklefin Redhorse (Moxostoma sp.) has been developed as a cooperative effort among tribal, state, federal, nongovernmental, and private organizations to establish a formal agreement to cooperate on actions that conserve, manage, and improve Sicklefin Redhorse populations range-wide with the goal of working to preclude the need to list the species under the Endangered Species Act. Activities include research to better understand the life history, ecology, habitat requirements, etc; population monitoring; captive propagation; and reintroduction and augmentation to expand the occupied range.

Signal Mountain Streams - Protection & Education

Water quality data collection, analysis and reporting for selected impaired streams on Signal Mountain. Hands-on, outdoor, water-quality education provided to local school.

Southeastern Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation Strategy

A data-driven prioritization of 290 huc-8 watersheds on the basis of fish, crayfish, and mussel biodiversity, endemism, and imperilment.

Spivey Mill Dam Modification, Copper Creek

Spivey Mill Dam is a significant fish passage barrier in Copper Creek, one of the most biologically significant tributaries in the Clinch River basin. This project will involve modification to the dam structure to minimize the impoundment and improve water quality, and river restoration to facilitate fish passage, provide in-stream habitat, and stabilize the channel. The project includes a year of pre-monitoring data, including assessment of water quality, biological communities, and sediment transport.

Spring Pygmy Sunfish Monitoring

Presence/absence surveys in all known locations and in similar habitats in adjacent watersheds

St. Mary's Liming, St. Mary's River, Virginia

The streams of the Saint Mary's Wilderness, located on the slopes of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, have been severely compromised by anthropogenic atmospheric acid deposition. This project will add limestone sand using to the headwater streams of St. Mary's River to enhance over 12 miles of stream for brook trout. (Photo: St. Mary's River, Virginia.)

Standardization of Terrestrial and Wetland Habitat Classification and Mapping

This project, sponsored by the Northeast Climate Science Center, facilitated coordination among the scientific community to assess existing habitat classification and mapping products within the Northeastern and Midwest United States.
Completion Date
December 2014

Stream Temperature Inventory and Mapper

This project developed a coordinated, multi-agency regional stream temperature framework and database for New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Great Lakes states. The project compiled metadata about existing stream temperature monitoring locations and networks; developed a web-based decision support mapper to display, integrate, and share that information; built a community of contacts with interest in this effort; and developed data portal capabilities that integrate stream temperature data from several sources.
Completion Date
April 2015

Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat Models

The project developed habitat capability models for representative wildlife species. It was part of a project led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst to enhance the capacity of partners to assess and design sustainable landscape conservation in the Northeast. These models (as subsequently expanded and enhanced by UMass) have been incorporated into two North Atlantic LCC-sponsored projects, "Connect the Connecticut" and "Nature's Network."
Completion Date
September 2011

Thorn Creek Aquatic Passage Project, Pendelton County, West Virginia

This project will remove the 9 identified fish passage barriers in a 50 square mile wild brook trout watershed in Thorn Creek of the South Branch of the Potomac. (Photo: Typical low water bridge crossing to be removed on Thorn Creek in West Virginia.)

Upper Clinch Streambank Sedimentation Project

The project focuses on reducing sedimentation in the upper Clinch River watershed through streambank stabilization projects. Methods will include bioengineering techniques, grading, and installation of toe protection. Projects will be concentrated in developed areas of the watershed, as well as collaboration with the local soil and water conservation district.

Upper Shavers Fork Aquatic Passage Project, West Virginia

This project seeks to restore habitat linkages between two spawning tributaries and the mainstem of Upper Shaver's Fork between Cheat Bridge and Spruce, West Virginia. (Photo: The Beaver Creek Culverts to be replaced.)

Valley River Watershed Habitat Restoration Project

Valley River is an outstanding aquatic resource in the mountain region of North Carolina; however,303(d) listing and habitat degradation haw become more consistently the norm across the watershed. To address these problems, HRWC established,enhanced and estored adequate riparian buffers along the banks of the stream, restored aquatic habitat by reducing sedimentation and adding large woody debris in appropriate areas, and educated watershed residents about the river and these needs. (Photo: Murphy Track Site During)

Vernal Pool Mapping and Conservation

Vernal pools are small, temporary bodies of water that can serve as critical habitat for frogs, salamanders, reptiles, invertebrates, and other species. This project compiled a comprehensive GIS dataset of known and potential vernal pool locations in the North Atlantic region, reviewing vernal pool mapping approaches, and demonstrating a remote sensing method to identify potential vernal pool sites.
Completion Date
June 2016

Virginia Piedmont and Coastal Plain Updates to Northeast Habitat Map

This project updated the Northeast Terrestrial Habitat Map by remapping the Virginia coastal plain and piedmont. (The previous version adopted the Southeast GAP map for these regions.) This resulted in a map that is fully consistent across the 13 state Northeast region (Maine to Virginia and West Virginia).
Completion Date
June 2012

Vulnerabilities to Climate Change of Northeast Fish and Wildlife Habitats, Phase II

This project completed three assessments of the vulnerability of terrestrial, aquatic, and coastal habitats (ecosystems) to climate change, including sea level rise. One assessment evaluated 13 terrestrial and wetland habitat types, the second evaluated cold water stream habitats, and the third evaluated coastal habitats. A database of coastal climate change projects and tools was also developed.
Completion Date
August 2014

Youth Environmental Eduation

Kids in the Creek, Migration Celebration, Macon Co. Youth Conservation Field Day, Earth Day Celebration, and others