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Strategic Habitat Conservation - Final Report of the National Ecological Assessment Team: \We envision the FWS working collaboratively with partners to develop and implement a landscape approach to habitat conservation, leading to what we term strategic habitat conservation. Success will depend on how quickly and effectively our organizational approach evolves, including steps to better communicate with and work alongside our partners.

Conservation in Transition: Leading Change in the 21st Century: In the following pages, we present a future vision that is mindful of the past. We examine the forces and trends that even now are shaping 21st century conservation in ways very different from that of the previous century. We continue with a broad analysis of the implications to the future Service and the growing realization that the change before us is, in many respects, change without precedent. We conclude with an assessment of the transformational change that will be needed by the Service — change already underway — to go beyond the successes of our past to new vistas of opportunity that lie ahead.

Strategic Habitat Conservation Handbook: A Guide to Implementing the Technical Elements of Strategic Habitat Conservation. Although the urgency is real, building capacity for SHC will be an organizational evolution, not an overnight change. Institutionalizing the SHC framework is a marathon and this document is intended to chart the course and set a purposeful and competitive pace.

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.

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.

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.

Stream Classification: River classification information is needed to develop and implement instream flow standards and management recommendations so that environmental flows can become integral to all water management decisions from the onset. This project will develop a hierarchical classification for stream and river systems and a GIS map for aquatic ecosystems within the Appalachian LCC. The classification will identify and consistently map ecologically similar types of rivers and streams using a hierarchical set of geomorphic and hydrologic variables deemed appropriate by independent peer reviews and relevant to the spatial scale of management.

Document: Notes from August 18 Terrestrial Team Meeting: Please read if you were unable to make this call.

Land managers to gain tools to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions: Trees take in and store a lot of carbon dioxide, or CO2, a greenhouse gas. Being able to measure forestry and agricultural intake and emissions of CO2 is critical to developing a strategy for addressing climate change by reducing greenhouse gases.

Connecticut River Pilot Core Team Meeting 08-28-2014: Agenda, materials, and notes from the August Core Team meeting

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.

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.

Regional Glade Conservation Assessment: Glades and glade-woodland complexes are natural communities which provide high-quality habitat for several priority bird species including the Prairie Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Field Sparrow, Northern Bobwhite, Eastern Wood-Pewee. We also recognize the importance of glade complexes to other flora and fauna species of conservation concern.

Impact of Urbanization on Priority Bird Populations: 25 bird species models were developed to determine the sensitivity of priority bird species populations to urbanization.

Primary Influences on Water Temperature for Inland Streams: The COMET Program is pleased to announce the publication of the new lesson, "Primary Influences on Water Temperature for Inland Streams". The temperature of inland streams, rivers, and reservoirs affects aquatic wildlife, riparian vegetation, and infrastructure.