The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee’s Post

Advocating for the protection of functional habitat is crucial, and it's heartening to see common sense prevail. Eight years ago, advocating for the protection of the Gnangara pine plantation to the Western Australian State Government for Carnaby's black cockatoo was shut down without any consideration of its merit. However, today, protecting pine plantations is finally seen as a viable option for conserving foraging habitat for the endangered Carnaby's black cockatoo with the ongoing loss and degradation of Banksia woodlands throughout the Swan Coastal Plain. This reaffirms the need for conservation actions to focus on restoring and protecting functional habitat in whatever form that takes.

the path to climate resilience is inspiring

What does collaborative conservation look like? 5,000 acres being permanently protected in northern Vermont! In partnership with Vermont Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy in Vermont, Northeast Wilderness Trust created Vermont's newest wilderness area, now called "Bear's Nest Wilderness Preserve." The 2,700-acre property, located in an important bi-national wildlife corridor, joins a growing number of places being protected as forever-wild across Vermont and New England by Northeast Wilderness Trust. The greater project also included 2,000 acres of managed woodlands that are now permanently conserved by Vermont Land Trust. Wildlands and Woodlands. We need both. #rewilding #wilderness Learn more below: https://lnkd.in/eHsB9GUr

Learn how Pacific Forest Trust helped propose and shape historic legislation in 2023 whose impact will help combat the #climatecrisis & its daily effects. https://lnkd.in/gvDraGFP & triple your impact with a gift to PFT by midnight Sunday 12.31 https://lnkd.in/gS4-xHMX Examples include: - PFT president, Laurie Wayburn, chaired the 1757 Expert Advisory Committee, as laid out by AB1757, which delivered its recommendations to implement targets for the conservation, management, and restoration of California’s natural and working lands sector. A first-in-the-nation effort, these recommendations would contribute to 250–400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide reductions in the next 5–10 years. - PFT continued our work with the Wildfire Resiliency Working Group — comprised of cultural fire practitioners, health advocates, scientists, farmers, environmental justice leaders, #forest landowners  and more. This year, they developed a proposal for Governor Newsom and legislators in the Golden State that $1 billion be allotted to get more beneficial fire on the ground, in addition to other management methods to increase forest resilience and community safety from catastrophic #wildfires. - PFT has long advocated for infrastructure that would allow for the safe passage of wildlife over major highways, primarily Interstate 5, as this road bisects the states of #California and #Oregon across vital wildlife corridors. These past several years, the Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition (SOWCC) has led the effort and the group put forth a proposal for a planning grant to create a wildlife crossing over I5 to help protect Oregon’s uniquely biodiverse Siskiyou Crest, a vital east-west corridor for many species.

We’ve protected more than 1 million acres of working forests across 21 states with a total economic contribution of $850 million through our Working Forest Fund. These working forests sustain tens of thousands of American jobs, store hundreds of millions of tons of CO2, protect and enhance habitat for key wildlife, filter the water we rely on every day and so much more. Millions of acres of these vital forestlands are at risk of fragmentation and development. Learn more about how we are acting now before they’re lost forever: bit.ly/3QQyDZm.

The California Energy Commission will provide up to 💰$10M in funding for the Forest Legacy Grants program to conserve and protect environmentally🍃 important privately-owned forestland. ✅ Eligible properties include those with working forests and rangelands, where the property is managed for the production of forest products, and traditional forest uses are maintained. Landowners who wish to participate may sell or transfer particular rights, such as the right to develop the property or to allow public access while retaining ownership of the property and the right to use it in any way consistent with the terms of the easement and management plan. ✅ Priority is assigned to lands that can be adequately safeguarded and supervised, particularly those possessing significant scenic beauty, recreational potential, timber resources, riparian zones, diverse fish and wildlife habitats, as well as those crucial for the conservation of threatened and endangered species, alongside other cultural and environmental values. Project costs covered by the Forest Legacy Program grants include 🔹 Purchase of interests in lands 🔹 Appraisals 🔹 Surveys 🔹 Closing costs 🔹 Establishing baseline information 🔹 Title work 🔹 Purchase of title insurance 🔹 Conservation easement drafting and 🔹 Other real estate transaction expenses. Also included are funds expended to facilitate donations of land or interests in lands to a qualified and willing entity for program purposes. 📅 The pre-application period is open from March 18, 2024, to April 16, 2024. Invitations to complete a full application will be made by May 7, 2024, with the full application period open until June 7, 2024. https://lnkd.in/e9ku-2c7  #NonDilutiveFunding #ClimateGrants #Forest #Conservation #FederalFunding Image Credit: American Forests

Great to see Bi-Partisan progress in regard to protecting our limited water resources. A “net-zero” in wetland reduction is a tall task, especially when federal protections are minimized through SCOTUS rulings. Interested to watch the development of these lofty goals. #CleanWaterCleanWorld.

Land Trust Tuesday! Land trusts are working to conserve land, water and wildlife - and protect people's connection to Colorado's special places. Diverse in size, geographic scope and programming, their conservation and stewardship efforts are vital to Coloradans' quality of life every day. This week's featured land trust: Colorado Headwaters Land Trust! What's so grand about Grand County? The spectacular valleys and scenic views created by the headwaters of the Colorado River. The rivers and streams of the Colorado River headwaters have shaped and continue to sustain the scenic valleys and landscapes so critical to Grand County's economy, cultural heritage and quality of life. Did you know that the Colorado River is the carver of the Grand Canyon and the lifeline of the southwest - and is the most endangered river in the United States? And that the Fraser River, one of the Colorado's tributaries, was recently named the third most endangered river in the nation by American Rivers? These headwaters are struggling to retain their valuable natural attributes: scenic open space, wetlands, vital water rights, working ranches, critical cold-water aquatic habitat, and world-class rafting and fly fishing. And these are the landscapes Colorado Headwaters Land Trust is working hard to protect. One of the many cool things CHLT does is publish a list of recommended books to read. Check out this list - and consider going to an upcoming book club CHLT is co-hosting with Grand County Wilderness Group: **Wilderness and the American Mind, by Roderick Frazier Nash **Wilderness Forever: Howard Zahniser and the Path to the Wilderness Act, by Mark Harvey **Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and The Great Environmental Awakening, by Douglas Brinkley **Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside, by Nick Offerman **Making America's Public Lands: The Contested History of Conservation on Federal Lands, by Adam M. Sowards **Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks, by Mark David Spence **The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection, by Dorceta E. Taylor

Monarch Butterfly Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) Recognizing the ecological roles of pollinators and the pressures they face from habitat loss and climate change, efforts are being made to ensure a future for these vital species. Supporting Monarch Butterflies As we continue to observe the decline of pollinator populations, people have rallied in support of species such as the Monarch Butterfly. From rain gardens to backyard plantings and wetland restorations, there has been a focus to increase habitat range and improve quality across multiple scales of restoration. https://conta.cc/3XQv1HC

West Creek Conservancy in partnership with Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Pheasants Forever, Ashtabula Soil & Water Conservation District (ASWCD) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has now acquired 119 acres in the Village of Andover in Ashtabula County. The property is adjacent to Ashtabula County Metroparks’ Pymatuning Valley Greenway Trail and is only a single property removed from Pymatuning Lake State Park. Prior to the acquisition, the property contained approximately 97 acres of agricultural fields and row crops which have now been converted into 44 acres of wetlands, 26 acres of pollinator habitat and 27 acres of reforestation. In addition to the restoration efforts, 22 acres of existing mature hardwood forest have now been protected in perpetuity. Once the restoration is complete, we intend to make Andover Meadows open to the public for passive recreation. #AndoverMeadows #WestCreekConservancy #ProtectRestoreConnect