Videos and Webinars
Below you can find conservation and working lands videos and webinars developed by our partners. These webinars are meant for a wide range of audiences — from technical experts and practitioners to landowners and the public.
Data Needs Assessment Research Update
This presentation from Dr. Robert Baldwin of Clemson University provides an update to the Steering Committee on the Appalachian LCC funded research project. The Data Needs Assessment project is evaluating existing spatial data, assembling public data in geodatabase, defining conservation planning tasks that can be accomplished, identifying problems to address if data gaps are filled, interpreting uses of data, and conducting analysis of ongoing planning efforts.
Climate Webinar: Exploring Snowfall in the United States
The number of snowfall events in a given area has a large impact on road maintenance and water resources management. Snowfall data collected in the United States between 1930 and 2007 at seven locations shows how snowfall frequency has changed over time, and relates the information to a changing global climate.
Science Applications: Fostering Science Excellence for the Service
This video answers two questions: 1. What does the Science Applications program work on and; 2. Why is it important to the public and the staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
GIS & Conservation Planning Portal Overview
Dr. Paul Leonard provides a general overview of the GIS & Conservation Planning section within the Appalachian LCC Web Portal.
The Important Mission of USFWS
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell shares her thoughts on “What makes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service different from other bureaus with the Department of the Interior?” She also has a special message for Service employees.
NJ Landscape Project Training and Information Sessions
Designed to guide strategic wildlife habitat conservation, the Landscape Project is an interactive ecosystem-based mapping tool that assists government agencies, planners, conservation groups, the public and others in making decisions that will protect imperiled and special concern wildlife.
Riparian Restoration to Promote Climate Change Resilience in Eastern U.S. Streams
This presentation from Jason Coombs of the University of Massachusetts provides an update to the Steering Committee on this Appalachian LCC funded research project. The Riparian Restoration to Promote Climate Change Resilience in Eastern U.S. Streams is developing and implementing a user-friendly web-based tool to identify priority areas for riparian restoration in the context of predicted climate change at the appropriate scale needed by practitioners. A ‘shovel ready’ prioritization tool for managers facing immediate on-the-ground decisions will be developed. Then research will link directly to ongoing and future stream flow, temperature, and biological response modeling projects and decision support tools.
GIS & Conservation Planning Portal Overview
Paul Leonard provides a general overview regarding the new GIS & Conservation Planning Portal within the Appalachian LCC Web Portal. This new area of the website is intended for broad dissemination of conservation literature, tools, and other resources to help guide land managers with on-the-ground conservation action throughout the region. Users can also find a framework that supports a systematic conservation planning effort. This framework ranges from setting conservation targets to ultimately measuring conservation success. The tab structure of this portal is meant to progress in an intuitive manner which fosters an environment of informed and strategic planning. In addition, tools such as a web-enabled map viewer and decision support models can be dynamically executed.
Aquatic Ecological Flows Project Update
This presentation from Dr. Todd Walter of Cornell University provides an update to the Steering Committee on the Appalachian LCC funded research project. The Aquatic Ecological Flows project is providing a report assessing availability of hydrologic and ecological flow model(s) suitable for the region, a georeference assessment of available ecological data to inform the ecological flow model(s), the application of the model(s) to anticipate how altered flow regimes will affect critical conditions, and a report that forecasts changes in hydrology and associated predicted biological responses in relation to different water resource development scenarios for critical watersheds.
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments Project Update
This presentation from Lesley Sneddon of NatureServe provides an update to the Steering Committee on a Appalachian LCC funded research project. Research is compiling climate change vulnerability assessments and other relevant information on vulnerable species and habitats, discerning the various methodologies and criteria used in these assessments, and using a team of expert peer reviewers to recommend the most efficient, effective, and appropriate methods for adoption by the Appalachian LCC for conservation and adaptation planning. The recommended method will then be deployed, resulting in vulnerability assessments for a suite of key species/habitats selected in consultation with partners of the Appalachian LCC.
Cave and Karst Mapping and Classification Update
This presentation from Professor David Culver of American University provides an update to the Steering Committee on the Appalachian LCC funded research project that is assembling and identifying key location and classification data while developing products that depict and map cave and karst habitats and biological resources across the Appalachian LCC. Developing a consistent classification system and mapping for cave and karst habitats is a foundational need for these highly unique habitats.This project will develop cave and karst data and a georeferenced suite of products that are consistent in methodology to support larger-scale planning efforts, yet usable at scales that will support local resource decision-makers.
Presentation of Review of Species and Habitat Selection for Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Meeting on 1/14/14
On January 14, Lesley Sneddon of NatureServe presented this webinar to interested conservation and cooperative partners of the Appalachian LCC to present the process for the selection of the 50-75 species and 3-5 habitats proposed for assessment of climate change vulnerability. The selections were informed by the wealth of assessments already completed in all or part of the LCC region to date. The meeting generated good discussion on the process, species, habitats, and possible avenues for future research.
Conservation Planning Process
Conservation planning identifies and prioritizes lands that encompass important natural or cultural resources across the landscape (e.g., critical watersheds, habitat for rare or threatened species) and develops protection and management strategies for these lands. It is a process where science is at the core of planning, but the science is informed by groups of stakeholders using their on-the-ground knowledge and expertise. Dr. Robert Baldwin of Clemson University explains in this video the steps involved in the conservation planning process.
Planning for Growth and Open Space Conservation Webinar Series
In 2012, we embarked on a project to help inform natural resource professionals, land use planners, private landowners and others about the issues facing our forestlands – both public and private – and to help them learn about opportunities and strategies to conserve open space through a series of monthly webinars. Below is the archive of these webinars. We hope you find them interesting!
A bold plan: The story of WVU and the salvation of a historic home for brook trout
A team at WVU has been working for years with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources to examine all of the factors that led to warmer temperatures, a wider and shallower stream and other changes that over time threatened the brook trout productivity of this important natural and economic resource.
Habitat Assessment Models and Decision Support Tools for Aquatic Habitats
Fritz Boettner of Downstream Strategies presents on the North Atlantic LCC funded project to develop a decision support tool for an aquatic assessment of the Northeast. The presentation focuses on the development of a modeling methodology, process and outputs that came out of the modeling, and how stakeholders are needed for the project to be a success and develop quality assessment outputs.
Conservation Planning
Conservation planning identifies and prioritizes lands that encompass important natural or cultural resources across the landscape (e.g., critical watersheds, habitat for rare or threatened species) and develops protection and management strategies for these lands. It is a process where science is at the core of planning, but the science is informed by groups of stakeholders using their on-the-ground knowledge and expertise.
South Atlantic LCC Natural Resource Indicator Process
Rua Mordecia, Science Coordinator with the South Atlantic LCC, provide an overview of the process the South Atlantic LCC took to identify Natural Resource Indicators.
Assessing Regional Connectivity in Current and Future Landscapes
Connectivity among conservation reserves has long been recognized as necessary for long-term persistence of populations and continued evolution in anthropogenically-dominated landscapes.
What stakeholders need to know about the relationships between water resources and climate change
Christine Hatch speaks at UMass Amherst as part of the Northeast Climate Science Center Colloquium on November 28th, 2012.
