Modified items

All recently modified items, latest first.

Alternatives for Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Report to the Appalachian LCC: How should the Appalachian LCC acquire information about the vulnerability of Appalachian species and habitats to climate change to share with its partners? This report summarizes the findings and recommendations of a seven-member Expert Panel that sought to answer this question identified as a major research priority. The Panel addressed three aspects of the question: the selection of species and habitats to assess, approaches to vulnerability assessment, and the availability of downscaled climate data.

Riparian Prioritization and Status Assessment for Climate Change Resilience of Coldwater Stream Habitats within the Appalachian and Northeastern Regions: Among a host of other critical ecosystem functions, intact riparian forests can help to reduce vulnerability of coldwater stream habitats to warming regional temperatures. Restoring and conserving these forests can therefore be an important part of regional and landscape-scale conservation plans, but managers need science and decision-support tools to help determine when these actions will be most effective. To help fill this need, we developed the Riparian Prioritization for Climate Change Resilience (RPCCR) web-based decision support tool to quickly and easily identify, based on current riparian cover and predicted vulnerability to air temperature warming, sites that are priority candidates for riparian restoration and conservation.

Riparian Restoration Appendix 1: Canopy Cover Statistics: Canopy Cover by State.

Aquatic Ecological Flows Phase 1 Report: The 1st phase of the Aquatic Ecological Flows project involved reviewing existing tools and gathering available data within the project area on hydrologic and ecological flow model(s) that would be suitable for the region. This Report details that work.

Literature Review of Freshwater Classification Frameworks: Identifying aquatic ecosystems requires a classification of stream and lake features into recognizable entities or categories. Although a number of nationally recognized terrestrial community classifications exist, the most accepted being the National Vegetation Classification System (Grossman et al. 1998), currently there is no national or international standard for classifying aquatic communities or ecosystems. Despite the lack of a national aquatic community classification, aquatic ecosystem classifications and frameworks have been developed at a variety of spatial scales. Their goal is often to reflect the distribution of aqutic biological communities. These assemblages recur across the landscape under similar habitat conditions and ecological processes (Higgins et al. 2005). The methods used to develop aquatic ecosystem classifications vary widely, as do the biotic and abiotic variables considered in the classifications. The classifications generally fall into two broad categories: 1) taxonomic or bio-ecosystem classifications and 2) environmental or geo-physical ecosystem classifications (Rowe and Barnes 1994); however some classifications combine aspects of both.

WoW Express (Watershed on Wheels): The Watershed on Wheels (WoW Express) is the mobile visitor center for the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. In addition to attending local fairs and festivals throughout the Connecticut River watershed, the WoW Express has a free environmental education program tied to state and national science standards for 3rd-5th grades that focuses on watersheds, rivers, adaptations, and habitats.

Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) Symposium: This symposium will present recent progress and suggest important next steps for key elements of this conservation adaptation strategy, 1) network of landscapes and seascapes, 2) conservation collaborations, and 3) landscape change information.