The Nature Conservancy in Arizona’s Post

🐟🌊 Wildlife Wednesday: Pacific Salmon & the Fall Salmon Run 🌊🐟 It’s fall, and that means the Pacific Salmon are making their incredible journey upstream to spawn! 🏞️ Pacific Salmon—key species for our ecosystems—are vital to the health of the Howe Sound Biosphere Region and beyond. You can catch this amazing journey in Squamish along the Mamquam River and at the Tenderfoot Creek Hatchery. During this time, we can all play a role in protecting these salmon and their habitat: 🌿 Keep Streams Clean: Avoid littering and keep pollutants out of waterways to help salmon navigate their journey. 🚶♂️ Stay on Trails: If you’re observing salmon runs, stick to designated paths to protect spawning areas. 🐾 Leash Your Pets: Keep dogs out of streams to avoid disturbing salmon and their fragile eggs. 🚶♀️ Respect Wildlife: Watch from a distance and avoid disturbing salmon or other wildlife near streams. Salmon are essential to the biodiversity of our region, supporting everything from birds to bears. Let’s work together to ensure they thrive for generations to come. 🐟💚 #WildlifeWednesday #PacificSalmon #SalmonRun #ConservationTips #ProtectTheSalmon #HoweSoundBiosphereRegion

The Northwest Forest Plan helped protect old-growth forests, wildlife, and drinking water for 30 years. Now, the Forest Service is proposing changes that could reverse this progress. Join us for our next Wild Wednesday Webcast on Dec 11th to learn what’s at stake and how to take action!

Late on Friday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released their newest report on the Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States for the 2009-2019 term. The findings show, unsurprisingly, the critical condition of wetlands in this country, and demonstrate a trend toward wetland and ecosystem loss. This report is built on data supplied by the National Wetlands Inventory — yes, the same NWI that we were advocating for in D.C. earlier this month, as its budget is increasingly under threat. The findings of this report would not be possible without the NWI, and of course, neither would a data-driven plan of action to divert us away from this increasingly damning path. Our top takeaways from the report: * The status of wetlands in the U.S. is critical. We are losing ecosystems that undergird the health and wealth of our natural world. * Data is actionable! We can combat this ecosystem loss with better data-driven decisions. Digital resources like NWI and Ecobot enable us to capture data to track trends and strategically address ecosystem loss.  * Ecosystem preservation and economic progress aren’t conflicting goals — they can and must be parallel priorities. With environmental policy in flux, and the effects of Sackett v. EPA still uncertain, arming ourselves with data can enable us to strategically address and minimize the effects of climate change — and even outperform policy. Access the report here:  https://lnkd.in/ex9MSBk2 See the StoryMap by USFWS: https://lnkd.in/ef_pfZsN

📢 New report: Status & trends of US wetlands (2009-2019) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has released their 2009-2019 Wetlands Status and Trends national report. Here are some of their key findings of wetlands in the USA: - Wetland loss increased by more than 50% since the previous study. - 221K acres of wetlands were lost, primarily to uplands through drainage and fill. - Salt marsh experienced the largest net percent reduction of any wetland category while freshwater forested experienced the largest loss by area. - There was a net gain in non-vegetated wetlands of 488 acres, and a related increase in pond area of over 7%. - The USA's remaining wetlands are being transformed from vegetated wetlands, like salt marsh and swamp, to non-vegetated wetlands, like ponds, mudflats, and sand bars. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/eu_Nv4wc

Wetlands provide numerous life-sustaining benefits that are vital to the environment as well as human health and well-being. Loss of wetlands contributes to a decrease in human safety, health, and economic prosperity due to increased susceptibility of people and infrastructure to natural disasters, decreased food and water security, increased harmful algal blooms and greater vulnerability to sea level rise.   A recent report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) found that wetlands now cover less than 6% of the lower 48 states, which is half of their original area. Loss rates have increased by 50% since 2009.   To achieve no net loss of all wetlands, including vegetated wetlands, a strategic update is needed to America’s approach to wetland conservation.   https://lnkd.in/ex9MSBk2

Did you know? Bobcats and black bears historically roamed Ohio. But by the mid-1800s both were extirpated from the state due to unregulated hunting and habitat loss. Thankfully, land protection efforts are seeing a return of both species in the Buckeye State. The Nature Conservancy has been working to protect Ohio’s most biodiverse landscapes and reconnect previously fragmented habitats to create habitat corridors for large wildlife like bobcats and bears. One significant effort is TNC’s work to connect the more than 20,000-acre Edge of Appalachia Preserve System with the 63,000-acre Shawnee State Forest. And efforts are paying off. In 2022, Ohio had 285 confirmed sightings of black bear across 52 counties, up from 176 sightings in 2019. Similarly, from 2019 through 2021, bobcat sightings crested 500 verified reports each year, demonstrating that the species is making a comeback. Discover more stories of hope for biodiversity in Ohio at https://nature.ly/4ea46P8.

During our due diligence for our NEPA work specifically, we take a close look at wetland impact for all of our projects. If any red flags are found, we work hard to help find an alternative location for the project where impact is not likely. 🌊❌Have you had any wetland impact derail your plans for development? If so, share below!

Can ranchers and partners save imperiled species? This season of Working Wild U explores. Every day in our work across the West, we unearth countless stories of communities coming together to maintain viable farms and ranches, restore watersheds, and support imperiled species. Perhaps you’ve heard about some of these stories, such as ranchers working together to support arctic grayling recovery in Montana. Or the unlikely revival of black-footed ferrets thanks to leadership from Tribal communities and ranchers alike. Unfortunately, many of these stories remain untold. That’s why we created Working Wild University, an immersive documentary podcast that uncovers what it really takes to steward the working wild landscapes across the West – where the livelihoods of people and wildlife meet. Currently in our second season, we’re exploring community and landowner-led wildlife conservation on working and Tribal lands across the West.  We’re bringing you along as we dive into the action: dodging thunderstorms in the pickup truck, bushwacking through grizzly country - and meeting folks on the ground stewarding habitats and supporting thriving rural communities. It's a season of surprising stories and crucial questions about the future of working lands in the West. And what we’re discovering gives us much to be hopeful about. Our first four episodes of season two are available now. If you haven’t already, we invite you to listen: https://workingwild.us/

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released their latest report on wetlands status and trends late last week. I’m still working my way through it but something that stands out to me is the focus mitigation puts on functions, but the reporting is still focused on acreage of loss. If our mitigation is shifting instead to replacing functions, how do we do this and still measure our “no net loss”? In PA, both are still considered but new protocols are being developed that are more scientific/function based. One of the stats provided indicated that vegetated wetlands have decreased by 50% but non-vegetated wetlands have increased by 7%. Function based replacement will help improve this statistic. And with the latest CWA guidance updates, state protections of wetlands become more important and the level of state wetland protection varies greatly. Will this be a big contributing factor in years to come? Or instead will we just lose this data because if an isolated wetland is not regulated federally or by the state, will it even be included in the data as a loss as it may not be delineated/tracked? Thought provoking report, for sure. https://lnkd.in/dq2xpwTT

"Net wetland loss increased substantially (>50%) since the last...study period (2004-2009), resulting in the loss of 221,000 acres [89k ha] of wetlands, primary to uplands, between 2009 and 2019." 😳 For an ecosystem that delivers so many benefits to people--cleaning our waters, habitat for species we depend on, high levels of carbon sequestration, beautiful landscapes like the one in the Canaan Valley of WV on the cover of the report--this is such incredibly sad news. Not just sad for the wetlands, but for us. The new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and U.S. Department of the Interior "Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States 2009 to 2019: Report to Congress" has more numbers and facts, and some recommendations on how we might reverse course. We need to figure this out!