Natural Areas Association (NAA) is an association of scientists and practitioners focused on the management of ecologically significant natural landscapes with the intent to protect biodiversity for current and future generations. Natural Areas News is is your trusted resource for current events, reliable science, conservation success, emerging challenges, best practices, and achievements of those who work daily to preserve natural areas.

Photo courtesy of the Bill Sparklin/USFWS, Public Domain

Study finds wildfire isn't primary factor in invasive annual grass expansion in Great Basin

According to a study conducted by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service and researchers at the University of Montana, almost 80% of shrublands and grasslands in the U.S. Great Basin that have transitioned to annual grass dominance have done so without burning in the preceding 10 years.

New report shows locations in the United States most impacted by biodiversity crisis

Defenders of Wildlife released a first-of-its-kind report that maps out where the five drivers of the global biodiversity crisis, habitat loss, pollution, climate change, invasive species and overexploitation, may have the greatest impact in the contiguous United States. This work is the first to analyze all five threats together at the national scale.

Biodiversity needs AI: Infusing intelligence into biodiversity preservation and restoration

Companies using analytic tools and technologies to fulfill bold commitments for preserving nature and biodiversity are seeing clear benefits. For instance, Dow collaborated with The Nature Conservancy and the EcoMetrix Solutions Group to develop and deploy financial modeling tools to accurately put a value on nature.

Photo courtesy of the Ray-Culp, Melody/USFWS, Public Domain

Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves announces new carnivorous plant discovery

The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves announced the discovery of a new carnivorous plant native to Kentucky, the Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia). This species is more abundant in central Ohio, as well as the mountains in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

In Other News

Pop-up restoration in colonial contexts: applying an Indigenous food systems lens to ecological restoration

Channel Islands plant species, including the Santa Cruz Island Dudleya (Dudleya nesiotica) and island bedstraw (Galium buxifolium), are fully recovered

Restoring forests through the Elk Creek Watershed Restoration Partnership Project

Over $6.4M in tribal wildlife grants to advance conservation goals, cultural priorities

Restoration of wet meadows to enhance Gunnison sage‐grouse habitat and drought resilience in arid rangelands

Bureau of Land Management seeks input on its plan for aquatic and riparian restoration projects in Alaska

Delayed seeding and nutrient amendment seed enhancement technology: potential to improve sagebrush establishment?

Two expeditions highlight the work of women ornithologists in Colombia and Brazil

Tribal co-management of federal public lands leads to new protections

Anonymous $4M gift establishes University of Arizona postdoctoral research prize to address climate and resilience challenges

Seattle selected as "role model city" for international ecosystem restoration cohort

Celebrating 50 years of University of Northern Iowa's tallgrass prairie

$25M grant to help restore grasslands in South Dakota

Endangered species lists in Bay region reach all-time high

Revitalizing Indigenous cultural fire practice: benefits and partnerships

Oklahoma trustees for the National Zinc Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (NRDAR) seek public comment for restoration plan and environmental assessment

Revisiting the model system for forest succession: Eighty years of resampling Piedmont forests reveals need for an improved suite of indicators of successional change

The Nature Conservancy to expand prescribed fire workforce and partnership with the USDA Forest Service

Funding Opportunities

Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Tribes and Underserved Communities

Deadline: Dec. 19, 2023

Endangered Species Act Recovery Challenge Fund

Deadline: Dec. 19, 2023

The National Forest Foundation solicits project proposals that directly benefit America’s National Forests and Grasslands

Deadline: Jan. 16, 2024

Natural Areas Research Grant in Ohio

Deadline: Feb. 1, 2024

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