In the News
News articles and events on WLFW and Target Species sites.
Endangered Species Act Protection Not Needed for 10 Species in the Southeast
The Cumberland arrow darter, Shawnee darter, Sequatchie caddisfly, American eel, and six Tennessee cave beetles do not need protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week from October 11–17, 2015
To celebrate the nation’s enduring connections to the natural world and the unique ways nature touches everyone’s lives, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is celebrating National Wildlife Refuge Week from October 11-17, 2015.
Appalachian LCC Conservation Planning Specialist Earns PhD
Paul Leonard received a PhD in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from Clemson University for his dissertation focused on habitat connectivity, mapping gene flow, and using supercomputing to speedup conservation planning.
Steering Committee Advances Landscape Conservation Planning and Design in the Appalachians
At the 2015 Appalachian LCC Steering Committee meeting, resource managers and wildlife administrators from throughout the region formally designated priority ecosystems and associated resources to focus the LCC’s landscape conservation efforts.
Tennessee River Basin Network Workshop and Awards Celebration
The Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Aquarium sponsored a first-of-its-kind meeting that gathered regional conservation partners to celebrate successes conserving aquatic biodiversity in the Tennessee River Basin and to facilitate discussions among partners for greater cooperation and strategic effectiveness.
LCC Names New Executive Committee Members
We have tallied all the votes for the election of our next slate of officers who will serve as the Appalachian LCC Chair, Vice Chair, and Executive Committee Officers beginning in April 2016.
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Convenes Meeting with 3 LCCs
For the first time outside of Alaska, staff from multiple LCCs overlapping the same state met with a state agency to solicit feedback and share updates on their cooperatives’ products and tools.
Managing for Species Adaptive Capacity
A new paper authored by researchers at federal agencies, regional partnerships, and universities, including Appalachian LCC Coordinator and Senior Scientist Dr. Jean Brennan, proposes a new conceptual paradigm for adaptive capacity.
SARP Seeks Habitat Restoration Coordinator/Project Manager for Native Black Bass Initiative Program
The Habitat Restoration Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the NBBI Business Plan with a primary focus on habitat restoration to benefit shoal bass in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river basin.
Appalachian LCC part of Premiere Climate Education and Literacy Training Program
The inaugural Educator Climate and Conservation Colloquium (or EC3) brought together 50 teachers and school decision makers from across the nation to receive training on campus sustainability and wildlife conservation issues to better serve schools and communities.
Global Vulnerability of Forests to Climate Change-Related Tree Mortality is Widely Underestimated
Forests worldwide are vulnerable to growing risks of drought- and heat-induced tree mortality and forest die-off because of a rapidly warming Earth, according to just-published research in the scientific journal Ecosphere. The paper is an invited “ESA Centennial Paper” to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Ecological Society of America.
FishBrain and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partner to Create App-powered Citizen Science Engagement Opportunity Tracking Endangered Species
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – the federal government agency dedicated to the conservation of fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats – has teamed up with FishBrain – the world’s largest free-to-use app and social network for anglers – to launch a new feature of the app that will help the American public identify and document threatened, endangered and candidate species.
Conserving imperiled species in the Upper Tennessee River Basin
When we think of river life, for many of us a handful of animals may come to mind – trout, smallmouth bass, muskie. But in the Southern Appalachians, waters of the Upper Tennessee River Basin are alive with a whopping 255 species of fish and mussels.
Feedback Requested on Park Values
The National Park Service is starting the process of preparing a Foundation Document for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park would like to invite park stakeholders to join in this effort.
Researchers Seek a Sneak Peek Into the Future of Forests
In May 2015, scores of scientists from dozens of research institutions descended on a patch of forest in central North Carolina, taking samples of everything from ants and mites to other microbes – samples they hope will offer a glimpse into the future of forest ecosystems.
Geodiversity Key to Conserving Biodiversity Under Climate Change
The physical factors that create diversity (landform, bedrock, soil and topography), collectively known as geodiversity, might be the key to conserving biodiversity under a changing climate.
Partnership benefits two Kentucky landscapes
The Forecastle Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to preserving areas of abundant biodiversity, today begins a new charitable partnership with The Nature Conservancy’s Kentucky Chapter.
Maryland DNR Helps Fund New Stream Restoration Monitoring Program
Efforts to produce measurable water quality data and results.
Genetics Provide New Hope for Endangered Freshwater Mussels
A piece of the restoration puzzle to save populations of endangered freshwater mussels may have been found, according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey led study. Local population losses in a river may not result in irreversible loss of mussel species; other mussels from within the same river could be used as sources to restore declining populations.
Monthly carbon dioxide levels hit new milestone
NOAA scientists reported that in March 2015 the monthly average global carbon dioxide level went above 400 parts per million for the first time.
