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 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.

After decades, rare species discovered in Vasco Hills Regional Preserve 

Tucked away in a quiet stretch of Vasco Hills Regional Preserve, a botanist’s sharp eye uncovered a plant thought lost for nearly seventy years. The caper-fruited tropidocarpum (Tropidocarpum capparideum) was last recorded in 1957, and its reemergence is being hailed as a botanic victory. 

Celebrating the Passage of AB 900 in California

Governor Newsom recently signed AB 900 into law, paving the way to reduce barriers and strengthen support for the stewardship of conserved lands. The bill calls for the inclusion of a dedicated section in the state’s 2027 annual report to examine stewardship needs, best practices, benefits, and workforce challenges, while highlighting  innovative stewardship practices.

Ranchers are using ‘virtual fencing’ to move their cattle and help save prairies

The Land of the Swamp White Oak Preserve in Iowa is utilizing virtual fencing to reduce the need for physical posts and barbed wire. The pilot project recently concluded at the preserve, but staff are continuing to experiment with virtual fencing and track its impacts on native plant diversity, invasive species and forage for cattle. The virtual fencing project in eastern Kansas started in 2022 and includes land owned by Mushrush Ranches and the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. 

Interior Department changing conservation funding rules, what it can go toward and who can participate

In a secretarial order, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is limiting how much money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund can be used. The order prioritizes acquisitions for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the National Park Service. It also calls for the selling of federal lands to states, requires a state’s governor and local leaders to agree to any federal LWCF acquisitions, and would limit the ability of nonprofits to participate.

In Other News

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• Items that are italicized represent academic titles

What Bees Can Tell Us About Conservation and Land Use

ArcGIS Enterprise Living Atlas content release 2025.2

Proposed Biodiversity Credit Pilot Program a First for Tribes, Healthy Grasslands

Hawaiʻi legacy land conservation program seeking applicants for grants

Grant Will Help Support Joshua Tree National Park’s Rare Plant Program

Use of Congressional Review Act on Bureau of Land Management Plans Could Impact State Plans Under Other Agencies

Biodiversity Gets Its ISO Moment: Nature Accounting Arrives*

Massachusetts cranberry farmers choosing to restore their bogs into wetlands amid economic headwinds

Rosy Mound Natural Area expansion opens, nearly doubling the park’s size

Invasive plant found in three additional counties in southern Wisconsin

The true cost of Florida’s bad land deal

Native American tribe takes control of massive tract of land as part of innovative program: 'A restoration of identity'

Alabama’s E.O. Wilson Land Between the Rivers Preserve Is a ‘Place That Time Forgot’

The cost of a Hughes natural area vs. multiuse site. What we know.*

Conservation easement helps protect largest intact coastal prairie habitat.

Can farmers, conservationists, and lawmakers work together to address Northeast insect decline?*

Updated Atrazine Guidelines Cause Concern Over Potential Harm to Endangered Plants and Animals

Concerns growing over industrial projects near Huron Natural Area

The Nature Finance Myth We Must Bust To Save Biodiversity*

Tribes launch Chuckwalla National Monument commission*

Watching the Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia) vanish*

Fort Collins, Larimer County to open natural area addition that was slated for houses*

Experts raise red flags on devastating consequences of recent US Supreme Court decision: 'At risk'

Mike Lee looks to move Forest Service to Interior Department*

Restoring oak and prairie habitat in Willamette Valley

Changes in Key Biodiversity Area networks following national comprehensive assessments

We Need the Largest Experiments on Earth to Achieve Our Climate Targets

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Recent YouTube Releases

What's That Smell? How Detection Dogs Can Lend a Paw in Conservation Programs

October 17, 2025

Panel Discussion, Part #2 | Nature's Front Line: The Role of Natural Areas in Climate Resilience in Central Appalachian Forests

September 26, 2025

Panel Discussion, Part #1 | Nature's Front Line: The Role of Natural Areas in Climate Resilience in Central Appalachian Forests

October 3, 2025

Job Opportunities

• Have a Job Opening? Please remember to post with NAA. 
• Need a Job? Be sure to stay in touch with the Job Board positions that are being updated regularly. 

Funding Opportunities

Maine Coast Heritage Trust Climate Resilience Conservation Fund

Deadline: October 22, 2025

Vermont Biodiversity Protection Fund

Deadline: November 15, 2025

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | National Fish Passage Program

Deadline: December 31, 2025

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