25 Apr Species of Conservation Concern:

My second month with the Eastern Planning Service Group has continued to be challenging in a good way!

In my blog post this month, I wanted to write more about Species of Conservation Concern and how they relate to my current position. I alluded to this concept last week but want to delve more into them, as they are becoming a bigger part of my day-to-day work. Species of Conservation Concern will be replacing the Regional Forester Sensitive Species in the new land management plans to be compliant with the 2012 planning rule signed into law. This new law emphasizes more of an integrated approach to land management planning, meaning that species conservation will be integrated into the fabric of the broader plan rather than being treated as separate entities. That is why people often refer to them as being a process and not a list. This approach is also more similar to the one I learned at university and in my professional experiences: when approaching natural resource management, it is important to not treat every element as separate, but rather as fitting into a larger picture. Species do not exist in isolation; they rely on other organisms and the larger ecosystem to thrive and survive.

Species of Conservation Concern require plan components that will ensure their longevity long-term. It’s been a balance seeing which species fit the category of “Species of Conservation Concern”, whilst considering the inherent capacity of the units to take care of these species. It’s also been a challenge to find the data that will help us make these decisions. But we managed to acquire spatial data from the State Natural Heritage program, and I helped to make maps for species that fell within the administrative boundaries of the forests. So far, we have started identifying the Species of Conservation Concern for two national forests!

The team is growing, and it’s been interesting to be part of such a new organization, with all the challenges that come along with it, there is also more room for innovations and creativity! I don’t have too many interesting photos from work, but here are some small alligators I’ve spotted on my daily walk in the nature preserve close to my apartment (yes I live in Florida).