Summer 2022
News from The Staying Connected Initiative
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STRONG START TO THE SUSTAINING PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM |
This year saw the launch of SCI's "Sustaining Partnership Program," a contributions-based funding model to support SCI coordination and the development of new resources and opportunities for our partners.
Big thanks to our first round of Sustaining Partners, who collectively have already gotten us halfway to our first year annual goal... THANK YOU!
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VERMONT “HIGHWAYS & HABITATS” TRAINING PROGRAM RECEIVES NATIONAL RECOGNITION |
In recognition of their forward-thinking and highly successful “Highways & Habitats” training program, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) and Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (VFWD) have received the 2022 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Environmental Excellence Award. In addition to the agency awardees, Vermont-based organizations Keeping Track and The Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas were integral to the development of the Highways & Habitats training program and share credit for its success.
These biennial awards from FHWA recognize leaders across the United States who make outstanding contributions to environmental stewardship and partnerships above and beyond traditional transportation project outcomes. VTRANS Environmental Resources Coordinator Chris Slesar (left in photo) and Jens Hawkins-Hilke, VFWD Conservation Planning Biologist (center) were present to accept the honor.
Vtrans has been using FHWA State Planning and Research funds to conduct Highways & Habitats trainings since 2002. With VFWD biologists as instructors, the training takes transportation professionals into the field to explore problems and solutions associated with highway infrastructure's effects on wildlife and habitat. After the training, transportation project managers and engineers are able to approach their work with a baseline understanding of road ecology that leads to more informed decisions. The demand for Highways and Habitats was so great that VTrans now offers online trainings in addition to in-person classroom and field trainings.
SCI is now working with VTrans, VFWD, and other partners to make Highways & Habitats trainings available to transportation departments throughout our region.
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APPALACHIAN CORRIDOR LAUNCHES NEW GUIDE TO HELP MUNICIPALITIES PLAN FOR CONNECTIVITY |
Local land use planning is a powerful tool for conserving ecological connectivity. Municipalities can use their regulatory powers to limit or prohibit development of wildlife habitat, and to establish conservation protections for properties they own. Local land use planning can be taken to a greater level when neighboring municipalities work together to develop and implement an integrated, holistic vision for conservation and development that spans multiple borders.
To assist conservation stakeholders with planning for connectivity, Appalachian Corridor recently launched several new “toolkits” including one specifically designed for municipalities. Appalachian Corridor’s municipal toolkit provides helpful guidance for municipalities and identifies various ways that they can promote local ecological connectivity, including through their zoning bylaws, city or town master plans, site planning, conditional uses permitting, and municipal works agreements.
The municipal toolkit was developed as part of the Quebec Ecological Corridors Initiative and can be found here (available only in French for now).
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MASS AUDUBON, PARTNERS JOIN TO PROTECT MORE THAN 800 ACRES NORTH OF QUABBIN RESERVOIR
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Above: A view of the area encompassing the Greater Gales Brook Conservation Project. Below: A map of the newly conserved parcels relative to existing conservation lands. Photos © Mass Audubon
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Working with a wide array of partners, Mass Audubon has helped conserve more than 800 acres in two projects along the Route 2 corridor north of the Quabbin Reservoir.
In collaboration with the North Quabbin-based Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, private landowners, local boards, the Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and Department of Conservation and Recreation, Mass Audubon is celebrating the completion of the Greater Gales Brook Conservation Project. The effort includes more than 700 acres on 13 parcels in the towns of Warwick, Orange, and Royalston, and further protects the watershed of Gales Brook, a major headwaters stream of the Millers River which flows 52 miles from the Worcester Highlands to the Connecticut River just below Millers Falls.
In nearby Wendell, Mass Audubon is marking a separate conservation success, having secured roughly 110 acres thanks to a generous and climate-conscious family. The parcel closes a gap between the Whetstone Wood Wildlife Sanctuary and Wendell State Forest, thus firming up a wildlife corridor from the Quabbin Reservoir north to thousands more acres of protected land.
Mount Grace Conservation Director Sarah Wells explained, “Connectivity is important. It means the land is likely to be more resilient in the face of climate change, since species are not cut off in small pockets but can still access different microclimates across their range.”
To learn more about Mass Audubon’s work, click here.
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CONSTRUCTION OF 30 NEW WILDLIFE CROSSINGS UNDERWAY ON QUEBEC’S ROUTE 185
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Construction has begun on 30 new wildlife crossings along Route 185, a busy highway that sees numerous large mammal-vehicle collisions every year. The new crossings are the result of a collaboration between multiple Quebec partners, including the Ministry of Transport and SCI partner Horizon-Nature Bas-Saint-Laurent, an organization focused on conserving ecological connectivity and coastal habitats in the Lower St. Lawrence River Valley.
Project partners identified crossing locations using a combination of wildlife-vehicle collision data, aerial inventories, and extensive digital mapping. Horizon-Nature is also working with private landowners to manage and conserve habitat on both sides of the new crossing structures so that wildlife will not find themselves crossing “bridges to nowhere.” Cameras will be installed to monitor wildlife use of the new structures and passages over the next few years.
Members of Horizon-Nature were joined by staff from the Ministry of Transport and other partner and stakeholder organizations on a visit to see the new crossing structures this past June as part of a connectivity-focused day of gathering hosted by Horizon-Nature.
Horizon-Nature’s work is supported by the Nature Conservancy of Canada through the Quebec Ecological Corridors Initiative. Go here to learn more about Horizon-Nature’s work, and here to learn about the Quebec Ecological Corridors Initiative.
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Horizon-Nature Bas-Saint-Laurent staff and partners met for a regional connectivity-focused event in June. Photo © Horizon-Nature Bas-Saint-Laurent |
NEW BRUNSWICK TAKES FIRST STEP TOWARDS DOUBLING PROVINCIAL PROTECTED LANDS
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In 2019, New Brunswick embarked on the largest increase in land protection in the province’s history, promising to protect 10% of public land.
As part of the effort, the public was invited to nominate areas they would like to see protected. SCI partner CPAWS New Brunswick (NB) was one of over 110 groups and individuals who submitted areas across the province to be considered for protection.
In July, the government of New Brunswick announced almost 100,000 ha of new protected areas, bringing the provincial proportion of protected land to 6%. Many public nominations were included in this round of newly protected areas.
“It’s a big leap in the right direction that the new protected areas include important wild forests in the Gaspereau headwaters, old forest habitats in the Restigouche, and natural areas that connect to Kouchibouguac, Fundy and Mount Carleton. CPAWS NB encourages governments to revitalize relationships with Indigenous Peoples that will lead to co-stewardship for our shared responsibilities to nature,” said CPAWS NB Executive Director, Roberta Clowater.
CPAWS NB is looking forward to the next steps of the Nature Legacy Initiative and is encouraging the government to work with Indigenous Nations to set New Brunswick on a collaborative path for future conservation action.
Learn more about CPAWS NB’s protected areas work by visiting their website.
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13 LAND TRUSTS ACROSS NEW YORK RECEIVE GRANT FUNDING FROM THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
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The Nature Conservancy in New York announced in July the recipients of the 2022 Resilient and Connected Network (RCN) Grant Program. A total of $325,000 was awarded to 13 land trusts across New York State. Now in its second year, the grant program engages land trust partners to increase the pace and scale of conservation and promotes land protection in the critical linkages between the Central and Northern Appalachian regions.
To date, the RCN grant program has awarded $625,000 in flexible grants to partner land trusts in NY, resulting in 4,880 more acres protected within the network of lands and waters identified by The Nature Conservancy’s Center for Resilient Conservation Science as plant and animal species refuge from droughts, floods, and other growing threats from climate change.
The geographic focus of the grants awarded falls within priority linkage areas securely connect core forests within and beyond New York’s borders.
The Nature Conservancy in New York’s social scientists worked to include equity criteria as a new component of the RCN grant program this year, including sustainable economic development, working with new or nontraditional partners, and support for vulnerable communities.
The 2022 NY grant recipients are:
· Columbia Land Conservancy · Dutchess Land Conservancy
· Finger Lakes Land Trust · Genesee Valley Conservancy
· Hudson Highlands Land Trust · Lake George Land Conservancy
· Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy · Mohonk Preserve
· Northeast Wilderness Trust · Rensselaer Plateau Alliance
· Thousand Islands Land Trust · Westchester Land Trust
· Western New York Land Conservancy
We are thrilled to report that The Nature Conservancy is currently scoping expanding the RCN grant program to the Northern Appalachians scale. This would be a huge opportunity for our SCI partners throughout the region, so stay tuned!
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LEARNING HOW TO BE AN AUTHENTIC ALLY
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In July, SCI Coordinator Mikael Cejtin and steering committee member Phil Huffman of the Quebec Labrador Foundation attended an intensive, 3-day dialogue and short course on building authentic relationships with First Nations and Indigenous Peoples.
Hosted by Peter Forbes at the Knoll Farm, the course drew on five years of experiences and learnings from First Light, a collaboration in Maine between 65 mainly white-led conservation organizations and Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Mi’kmaq Nations to re-learn history, re-center Indigenous voice, and return land, resources, and power.
The course introduced practices that can move our predominantly white-culture conservation movement beyond one-off projects to sustained ongoing efforts to build Indigenous power and voice, which has potential to change the narrative of conservation from one rooted in racism and reductionism to something far more holistic and just.
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SCI PARTNERS HOST WEBINAR SERIES ON WILDLIFE CROSSINGS |
The first webinar in the series, “Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions: Why Should You Care,” takes a big-picture look at the problem, the solutions, and the benefits of reducing collisions with wildlife and restoring connectivity across roadways.
The second, “You Can’t Fix What You Can’t Measure: The Fundamental Role of Good Data in Successful Wildlife Crossing Projects,” covers the role of data collection tools, “hotspot” analyses, and public-private partnerships in identifying where to invest in wildlife infrastructure.
The last webinar, “Tackling the #1 Barrier to Wildlife Crossings: Funding Opportunities Within the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” gives an overview of new, expanded, and existing U.S federal programs that can pay for animal road crossing structures and other mitigation measures for wildlife.
This is extremely useful information for anyone involved or interested in wildlife crossing projects. The webinar recordings are available for viewing here.
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IMPORTANCE OF REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS HIGHLIGHTED AT NORTHEAST FISH AND WILDLIFE CONFERENCE |
This past April, SCI coordinator Mikael Cejtin attended the Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (NEAFWA) conference in Long Branch, New Jersey.
The conference was an opportunity to expose a large number of wildlife professionals to SCI, including top administrators from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
At the opening plenary for the conference, USFWS Northeast regional director Wendi Weber highlighted the need for regional public private partnerships to work across borders to conserve at-risk species. We also heard from Colin O’Mara, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, that the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA) is coming and now is the time to prepare. Colin emphasized the scale of the anticipated new funding, which would grow the budget of the NJ Dept. of Fish & Game by 30%. He added that agency partnerships with conservation organizations will be vital to proactively identify key needs and opportunities in anticipation of the new funding.
In a separate session, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Regional Wildlife Program Manager and SCI Steering Committee member Paul Jensen presented on the Adirondack Wildlife Inventory and Camera Trap Monitoring Network (AIM), as well as the broader Northeast Monitoring Network– a collaboration of community scientists, wildlife agencies, universities, and NGOs seeking to coordinate and standardize camera data collection across the Northeast.
In addition to providing important networking opportunities, the NEAFWA conference pointed to major opportunities on the horizon and the essential role that partnerships like SCI will play.
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The Staying Connected Initiative and partner initiative Follow the Forest are issuing a collective call for your connectivity-related habitat restoration stories.
How did you identify the need for your project? What target species did you manage for? Which partners did you engage? How was your project funded? What were the challenges you encountered and what did you learn?
Examples restoration stories may include:
· Riparian corridor restoration
· Reforestation
· Invasive species removal
· Creating pollinator habitat
· Working with your municipality to reduce infrastructure barriers to wildlife
Ideally, these stories will be in the form of a short blog post (300-500 words long) with a few images included. However, you can also send us bullet points or an existing document or press release outlining your project. Please include relevant contact information.
We hope to learn from your work, build our networks, and spotlight your stories on our websites, social media pages, and promotional materials!
Please email your stories to Mikael Cejtin and Paul Mailhot-Singer. Ideally, we would like to receive submissions before 10/1, but we are open to content at any time.
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Have a story for the next SCI newsletter?
Events or updates our partners should know about?
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The Staying Connected Initiative brings together a unique assemblage of government, non-government and academic partners to conserve, restore, and sustain landscape connections across the Northern Appalachian/Acadian Forest region. We envision an ecologically interconnected and resilient landscape across the Northern Appalachian/Acadian Forest region of the eastern U.S. and Canada that sustains healthy lands, waters, wildlife and vibrant human communities. |
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