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Living Lands
Helping land trusts conserve biodiversity
Local land trusts across the United States have done an impressive job protecting the working farms and forests, scenic landscapes and wildlife habitats that support our livelihoods and our environment. Most land trusts identify wildlife habitat as a core value, but small staff sizes and limited financial and technical resources can make on-the-ground biodiversity conservation a challenge.
Defenders’ Living Lands aims to connect land trusts to financial and technical resources that will assist them in making strategic decisions about:
- where to work to conserve high priority native species and habitats, and
- how to use effective land stewardship, partnerships and major funding resources to restore and manage native habitats for long-term benefit.
A strategic and science-based focus on habitat conservation results in greater protection for biodiversity and ecosystem health but also increases organizational capacity through new collaboration and funding opportunities, community support and strong easements.
Read more about the Living Lands >>
Watch the video below to learn more about climate change adaptation for the Somerset-Wicomico Marshes Important Bird Area.
Why Biodiversity?
A focus on biodiversity doesn’t just benefit wildlife; it benefits all of us in the form of cleaner air, water, and a host of other ecological services. A true win-win, land trusts who include biodiversity in their missions have found that they also benefit in a number of unexpected ways.
Learn more about Biodiversity and Land Trusts >>
Publication: Workshop Participants Build Their Land Trust's Vision of Climate Change Adaptation
(September 2011) Living Lands facilitated workshops at the most recent Southeastern Regional, Virginia, and Maryland land trust conferences to help the land trust community and their partners define their own vision for helping their communities adapt in the face of climate change.
The goal of this facilitated workshop was to demonstrate a quick and inexpensive process by which land trusts can begin to envision how climate change adaptation is part of their land conservation mission, understand the effects of climate change on conservation values, and develop adaptation strategies.
Living Lands Newsletter
- Raising Awareness and Engaging your Community in Climate Change Action
- Climate Change Adaptation for the Somerset-Wicomico Marshes Important Bird Area
- Preparing for Climate Change as Part of your Conservation Planning Process
- Start Now: Make Addressing Climate Change Part of Your Land Conservation Work
- The Effects of Climate Change and Impacts on Ecosystems and Wildlife
- Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation and Why Land Trusts Need to Do Both
- Engaging at Multiple Levels to Protect Wildlife and Habitat
- Tips for talking about your land trust’s role in helping your community prepare for climate change
Living Lands News
Conserving Habitat through the Federal Farm Bill: A Guide for Land Trusts and Landowners
This publication (PDF) provides the boots-on-the-ground information and tools you need to become a knowledgeable source of information on Farm Bill conservation programs. It includes:
- A concise introduction to the Farm Bill and its conservation programs, the agencies involved and general eligibility requirements
- Detailed but accessible information on each of the most relevant conservation programs offered through the 2008 Farm Bill
- Time-saving tips for choosing the right program, navigating the application process and increasing the competitiveness of your applications to improve your chances of securing funding
- Recommendations on how to use the Farm Bill strategically and how to influence its implementation and local priorities
- Case studies to illustrate how land managers have concretely and creatively leveraged Farm Bill dollars to maximize benefits
- Guidance on working with local U.S. Department of Agriculture agency representatives and partnering with conservation organizations, landowners and others.
The Farm Bill - Steady Funding in Unstable Times
Aimee Weldon, Living Lands Project Manager, wrote this featured piece in the Fall Land Trust Alliance's "Saving Land" magazine. Read the article to learn more about how to access the nation's largest source of private lands conservation funding.
Land Trust Alliance Highlights Defenders' Conservation Registry as a tool for land trusts
The Summer 2009 issue of the Land Trust Alliance's Saving Land magazine features an article on Defenders' Conservation Registry, a free, on-line database that tracks conservation actions across the landscape. The article highlights some of the Registry's key features, including its easy to use Google map interface. Read the article on page four of Conservation News.
Two Land Trusts Complete Strategic Planning Process in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
The Lower Shore Land Trust and The Capital Regional Land Conservancy completed the first of a series of planning workshops to help protect biodiversity in the Bay watershed.
Transportation Enhancement Funding
Find out how Defenders can help you get Transportation Enhancement dollars for your important conservation projects.
Case studies of Land Trusts
Defenders' Living Lands project has compiled a series of 14 case studies profiling the biodiversity-oriented conservation efforts of land trusts around the country. The purpose of the case studies is to highlight creative and innovative approaches to conservation that other land trusts may find useful. Topics covered include habitat restoration, collaborative planning, conservation finance, leveraging volunteers, and creative partnership building. Case studies profile land trusts varying in capacity from all-volunteer to well-staffed working in a diversity of geographic settings.
Read the Land Trust case studies >>
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