====== Topic Name ====== Connected Conservation Areas ====== Participants ====== * Gioia Kuss * Clifford Duke * Andrea Murray * Ethel Wilkerson * Kristy Bruner * Betsey Stefany * Milton Ospina * Marjan van der Belt ====== Big Idea ====== The assumption that connected conservation areas help biodiversity in communities...in the face of global warming. ====== Notes ====== There are boundaries around designed conservation areas. In the face of climate change, everything is moving. When the glaciers came through, humans adapted. Learn from the past. Nature is constantly evolving, people need to evolve with nature and realize that we're part of the natural system. Connected conservation areas are important for a number of reasons. How do we engage and garner support from our communities. We need to help and make sure we do not hinder. Conflicting ideas: i.e., Appalachian Trail doesn't want to see wind turbines, but feels the need to reduce oil dependency. Do we get people involved to understand what climate change means on a local level? Betsey: enabling people to understand how they are affected. Bio-blitzes - coming together with many resources to find as much info as they can in a short amount of time about a specific place. Digitalize all the information, share it, and give people the power to do this research gathering on their own; a very good way to get people involved and excited. Milton was at the Land Trust Alliance, climate change sessions having dialogues on climate change. Not calling this event Global Warming. How conservation groups sit at the table on all governmental committees on climate change. Some conservation groups acquire land and maintain that land, i.e., forest management groups. Seven policies: * Organizational - organizations calculate current impact and look for alternatives. * Be more outspoken about Land Management Issues * Use GIS tools - public vehicle routing i.e. to reduce energy * Etc. Dialogue about how conservation groups are lagging behind with global warming issues. Conservation groups - have a mission. What happens when Climate Change is not part of mission? For non-profits, does this effect/limit funding? No, it is an interrelated issue with everything they do, and it’s a unifying issue. Groups could calculate carbon footprint and develop plan for reduction. First step in building a climate change model. Reactive response. All foundations are requiring conservation groups to explain what they are doing about climate change. Start including land protection language to deal with development, etc. if species status changes. Smithsonian article on Climate Change uses historical documents from people who are naturalists. Man in New Hampshire studied migratory patterns. Walden. How might we move trees or a species before they die out? GIS could help, habitat classification called ecological sites. Betsey: Watches tulip growth, whale migrations, monarch butterflies, etc. (www.learner.org/jnorth) Look at historical paintings for anecdotal data about climate. Things have changed so radically that we no longer have to sell people on the idea of climate change. Conservation groups have been helping for a long time. Using GIS technology to help climate change. Look at past data to see how things have changed -- look at data through climate change lens. Impacting change at the local level, but we must have policy change as well. What about form-based codes? Conference of Mayors is in Seattle next month - Mayors signing Kyoto protocol. How can we get different constituencies together so connections of conservation are working toward joint goals? Facilitating discussion by building computer models to show how policies connect. Local land trusts cannot be strategic because you're always looking for a good deal and you never know what the next opportunity is going to be. Also, how can we know what the next step is? They must build a strategic plan? Requires the input of natural stakeholders. Does the State of Vermont collaborate enough with neighbor states to keep track of species patterns across borders? There is a lack of national coordination and collaboration of conservation groups. * Integration of like-minded organizations * Funding is a problem -- too much competition * Scale - how do you go from local to state to national - vertical integration? Boundaries may not make sense for conservation districts. Nature doesn't adhere to our boundaries. Think locally, plan locally. Think regionally, plan regionally. This thinking is critical. Look at fires and special districts that don't adhere to boundaries. It's got to be the kids! This is a long-term issue. Get kids to be observant and to care about issues. There is clarity of issues at the child level. How does it fit together from the beginning? Kids can teach the rest of us how to act. Systems thinking. Everything is interrelated. Can we engage bikers, runners, commuters, ATV users, etc? Horizontal systems. Milton, Vermont: many constituents want to protect the town forests. All have different motives, but same goal. Talk to people who don't think like we do. Is conservation a dirty word? Look at ecological impact of recreation trails. Who else? Firemen, water knowledge. Homeland security funding is serving so many communities for protection, protecting local farms, and local watersheds. Due to the lack of diversity in policy making, we want politicians to be annuals, not perennials. :-) Janine Benyus' Book - Biomimicry-Innovation Inspired by Nature. There is biodiversity of systems. Look to nature as a model. Community diversity limits volatility, in systems for human involvement. Disagreement between Milton and Betsy re: New York GIS systems. Western insights - Jackson, WY. Private lands director advocates for residential. Interested in protecting wildlife conservation corridors--how small can it go? What kinds of development standards are there? Needs legally defensible data. Land Trust in Jackson. They look at hotspots for biodiversity, but they can't share the information. Wildlife will need more space and habitat to adapt and prosper in the face of climate change. Down to last 10,000 acres. Jackson needs conservation areas but also needs affordable housing. It makes for divisive discussions and difficult negotiations. Also recreation uses are difficult. How far can we go before our scale of impact tips? How wide have you decided the corridors need to be? It depends on topography, orientation, etc. TPL did studies 'Economic Benefits of Conservation Areas' and other studies. Don't be afraid to think big. Ecosystem Services Paradigm: Idea that natural systems provide all sorts of things that humans need: i.e., water purification. Purification plants or let the natural environment do it. (i.e., New York City - Catskills protection of watershed.) Gretchen Daly (Stanford) - "Natures Services. " There are quantifiable goods and services that we get from nature...for free. It's not just about conservation, but these natural systems are needed to sustain humanity. ====== Next Actions ======