Natural Areas Association

Sent Date: 06/02/21

Natural Areas News - June 2021

NAA Executive Director, Lisa Smith (right) and Joyce Bender (left) at the 2018 Natural Areas Conference

The Fire Within: One Woman's Quest to Preserve Natural Areas

Joyce Bender served the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission for 31 years. She is the 2018 recipient of the Carl N. Becker Stewardship Award and NAA Member since 1988.

Photo by Brian Bowen

Tennessee State Natural Areas Preservation Act - 50th Anniversary

Tennessee Natural Areas Program 50 years in the Making: Reflections from Brian Bowen

Brian Bowen is the former Tennessee Natural Areas Program Administrator, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (1994 – 2018).

Photo by Stephen Enloe

May 11, 2021 SNAP Roundtable - Advances in herbicide application for invasive species control and lessons learned from practitioners

TWO PRESENTATIONS: Recent advances in herbicide formulations and application techniques for woody invasive plant management & Invasive Species Management - Maximize Herbicide Efficacy and Minimize Collateral Damage in Grasslands.

DISCUSSION: The ongoing challenge of garlic mustard within their natural areas. Our thanks to the Central Indiana Land Trust and Ozark Koala Ecosystem Services for sponsoring this program.

Natural Areas Conference -

Save the Dates!

2021 Natural Areas Conference – A one-day virtual event featuring the latest science related to invertebrate conservation and prescribed fire - October 19, 2021

2022 Natural Areas Conference in Duluth, MN – Superior Visions: Navigating Complexity Amid Constant Change, September 6 - 8, 2022

2022 CALL FOR PROPOSALS IS OPEN! Individual presentations, posters, workshops. We cannot wait to hear from you!

Photo from the cover of the April 2021 Issue of the

Natural Areas Journal

Natural Areas Journal

The April 2021 issue of the Natural Areas Journal is now available. Published quarterly, the Natural Areas Journal is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal focused on natural areas management, preservation, and restoration. Only members have access to full issues; however, this article is open to everyone:

Open Access Article: Priority Species Lists to Restore Desert Tortoise and Pollinator Habitats in Mojave Desert Shrublands

Photo by David Stonner

Fire Suppression, Climate, and the Human Drama

Dr. Paul C. Rogers, a forest ecologist and Director of the Western Aspen Alliance at Utah State University, and long-time friend of the NAA, provides his commentary on forest management and fire. He argues that forest managers’ “goal should not be to stop wildfire but to reduce conflicts with it.”

NAA Member News:

Does your organization have news to share? Contact Moira McGinty Klos at mmcgintyklos@naturalareas.org. We will share it with your colleagues in an upcoming newsletter.

• Reed Noss and Bonnie Heidel are long-time NAA members and co-authors on article: Vascular plant extinction in the continental United States and Canada, Conservation Biology, August 2020 . The number of presumed extinct plants from the continental United States and Canada is much greater than previously recognized.

• NAA Member, Patricia De Angelis, Ph.D. FWS, & and Anastasiya Timoshyna, Strengthening Sustainable International Trade in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Updates from the 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES and potential future directions, May 2020.

• NAA Member, Andrea Kramer, Director of Restoration Ecology and David Byron Smith Family Curator of Natural Areas Associate Conservation Scientist announces the launch of Chicago Botanic Garden’s new synthesis center, sCORE (Synthesis center for COnservation and REstoration). sCORE brings together diverse perspectives to enable analysis, synthesis and collaboration to address key needs in plant conservation and restoration science, practice, and policy. Dr. Kramer is SEEKING COLLABORATORS and data examining understory vegetation responses to rapid canopy loss in the Great Lakes region. Learn how you can join in!

• News from NAA Team Member, Ohio Department of Natural Resources: Prairie Revival on the Banks of the Darby Creeks, Spring 2021.

• News from NAA Team Member: University of Georgia, State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Preserving pollinators, preserving a neighborhood, May 10, 2021.

• News from NAA Team Member, Nancy Smith, Western New York Land Conservancy awarded a grant to help create the Western New York Wildway, May 6, 2021.

• News from NAA Team Member, Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Annual Forest Health Highlights Report Illustrates Challenges Facing Washington Forests, May 6, 2021.

• News from NAA Team Member, Central Indiana Land Trust. The National Resources Commission dedicated Ginn Woods as a state nature preserve. It is the second largest old growth forest remaining in Indiana and a place of uncommon biodiversity. And it is now protected forever.

NAA Events

REGISTER for 2021 Monthly Webinar Series @ 12:00 pm Eastern
- June 15, 2021 – Our Mandate to Manage Natural Resources in a Changing Climate: Lessons from the Boreal Forest - presented by Glenn Juday
- July 20, 2021 – Protecting Rare and At-Risk Species: Tools to Collect Meaningful Data with Limited Resources

Upcoming State Natural Areas Program Roundtables
- Mark your calendar for future meeting dates:
  - August 20, 2021
  - November 16, 2021

State Natural Areas Programs were among the first to protect natural areas in North America. NAA is proud to host virtual gatherings where practitioners and academics can share information, techniques, methodologies, good science, and moral support. If you would like to register for notifications regarding future SNAP meetings, click here.

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