Spring 2023
News from The Staying Connected Initiative
|
|
|
Despite being abruptly parted from their refreshments, our partners kindly cooperated for a group photo during our SCI "happy hour" after a long day at the ICOET conference in Burlington. We all just barely fit the frame! |
|
Appalachian Corridor unites partners to protect an important and imperiled forest in Bromont
|
This April, our partner Appalachian Corridor and the community group “Protect Mount Gale” officially announced the permanent protection of 14.04 hectares (34.7 acres) of high ecological-value forest in Bromont, adjacent to Mount Gale.
The now protected forest is part of Mount Brome massif, one of the nine Monteregian hills in southwestern Quebec. It is located within a nucleus of important wildlife and plant habitats identified as priorities by Appalachian Corridor. The environment is rich in biodiversity and home to several species at risk in Quebec and/or Canada. The land, located just outside the City of Bromont, was originally intended for residential development.
Totaling over $2.25M USD, the project required negotiations, regulatory changes, and major efforts to finance the acquisition, including a local fundraising campaign. The Government of Quebec contributed ~$405k through the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Natural Environments Partnerships Project, and Appalachian Corridor raised over a million more dollars to complete the project.
The City of Bromont’s leadership and active participation proved pivotal. The negotiations between the landowner, Appalachian Corridor, and the City resulted in a deal that will protect habitat while still allowing residential development on a small portion of the land.
Funding for the project was provided by the “Protect Mount Gale” group, The City of Bromont, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada (specifically the Community Designated Priority Sites for Species at Risk initiative of the Nature Fund of Canada), Echo Foundation, and the Fondation de la faune du Québec, which provided funds through its Hydro-Québec program for habitat enhancement.
Learn more about this story here.
|
The Nature Conservancy awards funding for partner projects in New York linkages |
The Nature Conservancy in New York’s Climate Resilience Grant Program (CRGP) is a competitive funding opportunity for land trusts and other partners in New York state. Partners are awarded funding for conservation projects within the Nature Conservancy’s Resilient and Connected Network - a proposed conservation network of representative climate-resilient sites designed to sustain biodiversity and ecological functions into the future under a changing climate. Eligible uses of the grant include difficult-to-fund land stewardship and transaction costs as well as planning, capacity, and strategy.
Since 2020, the CRGP has awarded nearly $1M in flexible grants to partner land trusts, resulting in approximately 8,150 acres protected, largely by SCI partners within our New York linkages or "connectors" (see map above). The Nature Conservancy will soon be expanding the CRGP to cover additional geographies within the Northern Appalachians. This is an exciting and promising opportunity to build off the program’s success in New York and channel additional funding towards partner-led work in other priority linkages across the region.
This year, six partners in New York received a total of $260k in funding to protect a total of 2422 acres within or immediately adjacent to SCI linkages, while two partners received $72.5k for planning, capacity and strategy development in the linkages. See the list of project descriptions below for more information on these exciting projects.
List of partner projects in the SCI linkages awarded 2023 CRGP funding:
Note that project numbers correspond to the numbered circles on the above map.
1. In Spring 2023, Thousand Islands Land Trust will acquire a 70± acre tract in the heart of the Algonquin to Adirondack (A2A) linkage, situated between three State Forests and abutting TILT's existing 180± acre Many Oaks Preserve. The property features contiguous forest habitat bordering wetlands, riverine habitat and floodplain complexes.
2. Northeast Wilderness Trust will acquire 1,775-acres bordering Crowfoot Pond to establish the Moriah Wilderness Preserve. Located on the edge of the Greens to Adirondacks Linkage, the new preserve will protect water quality in the Lake Champlain Basin, secure lower-elevation habitat near the eastern border of the Adirondack Park, and strengthen east-west connectivity between the Park and the Champlain Valley.
5. Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy plans to protect two parcels totaling 225-acres in Guilderland, NY. This acquisition will expand their Bozen Kill Preserve and add vital acreage to the Bozen Kill Conservation Corridor, a key resilient area within the larger SCI Catskill to Adirondack, or Mohawk, Linkage.
6. Rensselaer Plateau Alliance will conserve the beautiful 196-acre Boehme Legacy Forest, including a rocky summit and creek gorge, both important for wildlife habitat and for the outdoor engagement of the local community.
7. Winnakee Land Trust’s acquisition of 102 acres adjacent to the Berkshire Wildlife Linkage and contiguous to an existing 105-acre Winnakee preserve will support ongoing efforts to protect and enhance habitat for at-risk species, while also providing public recreational access, wildlife connectivity, and long-term carbon sequestration.
8. Kingston Land Trust (KLT) will protect 54 acres directly adjacent to the Berkshire Wildlife linkage. This project will lead to the protection of over 100 acres of additional, high-value connecting habitat. The land will also serve as a land base for KLT’s Land in Black Hands program, creating opportunities for education, long term land access, and mutually beneficial ecological land stewardship by Black farmers and land stewards, and other marginalized communities.
12. The Algonquin to Adirondacks Collaborative (A2A) will use GIS tools and analysis to refine the focus area for the A2A corridor, map priority connectivity areas and potential threats, initiate a pilot road ecology study, and develop an interactive map to share results with their 50+ partners. The project will generate new resources to build the partnership’s capacity on the U.S. side and improve connectivity in the A2A corridor.
14. The Housatonic Valley Association will expand the reach and conservation planning impact of their highly-successful “Follow the Forest Initiative,” which aims to conserve a climate-resilient wildlife corridor stretching from the lower Hudson Valley to Canada. Located in the New York section of the Berkshire Wildlife Linkage, “Follow the Forest in Eastern New York” will convene, support and train local and regional conservation partners in nine Dutchess County towns to identify, assess and prioritize the most viable and durable wildlife corridors in the area.
|
Connectivity gains and new studies underway in the A2A
|
Clarkson University students and land trust partners received their NAACC assessment field training this June to equip them for A2A's summer road ecology study. Photo credit: Bill Brown |
The Algonquin to Adirondacks (A2A) linkage connecting the Algonquin and Adirondack Parks through the Frontenac Arch is one of the last large-scale, intact forest and wetland linkages left in Eastern North America, providing the best remaining potential for wildlife movement across the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River system and into the Northern Appalachians – Acadian region.
The A2A Collaborative works with partners to conserve the A2A linkage on both sides of the US-Canadian border. This summer, the A2A Collaborative is undertaking two studies on the U.S. side; a mapping study to refine the A2A linkage boundaries and wildlife connectivity priorities, and a road ecology study along Routes 12 and 37 in the “Thousand Islands” area of New York state south of the St. Lawrence River. For the road ecology study, Clarkson University students and land trust partners will receive training in the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) terrestrial and aquatic passage assessment protocol. Working closely with New York State Department of Transportation, they will identify roadkill hotspots and road barriers in the field. Funding came from The Nature Conservancy in New York’s Climate Resilience Grant Program (CRGP), and the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program, among other sources.
In addition to these upcoming studies, A2A and SCI partners have also made big land protection gains for connectivity in and around the A2A linkage. The Thousand Islands Land Trust permanently protected 70 critical acres near Black Lake in the A2A. Northeast Wilderness Trust (NEWT) purchased 1400 acres just outside the Adirondack Park in October to form the Grasse River Preserve, and in February NEWT partnered with Indian River Lakes Conservancy to place a forever-wild conservation easement on Grand Lake Reserve in the A2A.
These promising developments on the U.S. side of the A2A come several months after a Canadian federal announcement in January of $3.5M CAD in funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada for Frontenac Arch Biosphere protection, along with $50k for an A2A road ecology study on the Ontario side of the A2A through Parks Canada's National Ecological Corridors Program, which you can learn more about in the following article.
This encouraging progress in the A2A is due to the ongoing, coordinated efforts of the A2A Collaborative and its partners on both sides of the border. Keep up the great work everyone!
|
A promising first year for Parks Canada’s National Ecological Corridor Program
|
Above: The Forillon Corridor on the Gaspe peninsula © Nature Conservancy Canada - Quebec
Below: Map of project area. © Nature Conservancy Canada - Quebec
|
In April 2022, the Canadian federal government launched the National Ecological Corridors Program led by Parks Canada.
Through the program, Parks Canada has been collaborating with other government agencies as well as partners, experts, stakeholders, and Indigenous peoples to develop national criteria for corridors, identify where corridors would most benefit biodiversity conservation, and support new and existing on-the-ground efforts.
In addition to these pilot projects, Parks Canada continues to work with Indigenous partners and others to develop criteria for ecological corridors that will support a standardized approach to identifying and managing these places in a way that is inclusive of Indigenous knowledge. A national scale analysis to identify priority areas for corridor creation is also underway, informed by Circuitscape connectivity modeling as well as input from experts, partners, and stakeholders.
|
|
|
New connectivity modeling completed for the 3 Borders region |
Two Countries One Forest recently completed a new connectivity modeling project for the Three Borders Region. This linkage connects Maine's North Woods to Quebec's Gaspé
The project resulted in modeled movement corridors for 19 different species in the Three Borders Region, including moose, black bear, Canada Lynx, American Marten, and fisher. The image above is a kernel density map produced for the project depicting "least cost" movement paths or corridors (in red) relative to existing protected areas (in blue) for all species in the study combined.
This project was funded by the Echo Foundation and the modelling completed by Courtney Burke, Masters student at the University of New Brunswick, using a combination of Linkage Mapper and Circuitscape models.
Organizations working on connectivity and conservation in the Three Borders Region have also been meeting regularly to share information, coordinate, and explore collaboration opportunities.
To learn more about this project or to subscribe to the Three Borders Connectivity newsletter, please contact Clémence Mercille at c.mercille@csrno.ca.
|
|
|
Have a story for the next SCI newsletter?
Events or updates our partners should know about?
|
|
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. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
