Political polarization of conservation issues in the era of COVID-19: An examination of partisan perspectives and priorities in the United States

Abstract (from Journal for Nature Conservation): As a zoonotic disease with unprecedented global impacts, COVID-19 may influence how people prioritize issues related to wildlife conservation. Using a nationally representative sample of US residents, we investigated: (1) how COVID-19 affected the relative importance of conservation issues among adults with different political ideologies, and (2) how the pandemic affected political polarization of conservation issues during the 2020 general election in the United States. Conservation issues such as endangered species and controlling zoonotic disease ranked low in importance among the 14 policy issues considered, even lower than environmental issues such as climate...

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Cultural Cognition and Ideological Framing Influence Communication About Zoonotic Disease in the Era of COVID-19

Abstract (from Frontiers in Communication): The efficacy of science communication can be influenced by the cultural values and cognitions of target audiences, yet message framing rarely accounts for these cognitive factors. To explore the effects of message framing tailored to specific audiences, we investigated relationships between one form of cultural cognition—political ideology—and perceptions about the zoonotic origins of the COVID-19 pandemic using a nationally representative Qualtrics XM panel (n = 1,554) during August 2020. First, we examined differences in attitudes towards science (in general) and COVID-19 (specifically) based on political ideology. We found that, compared to conservatives and moderates,...

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Evaluating natural resource planning for longleaf pine ecosystems in the Southeast United States

Abstract (from ScienceDirect): Natural resource plans play a critical role in guiding the sustainable management of forest ecosystems. However, little is known about the quality of management plans. In this study, we evaluated and compared the quality of 35 management plans from federal, state, and nongovernment groups managing longleaf pine ecosystems in the Southeast United States. We developed a plan evaluation tool consisted of five components: (1) Problem and Objective Statement, (2) Fact Base, (3) Actions and Implementation, (4) Integration with Other Plans, and (5) Stakeholder Participation, to examine to what extent plans incorporated planning best practices. We tested a hypothetical model for understanding...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Data Visualization & Tools, Science Tools For Managers, Southeast CASC

Conservation decision makers worry about relevancy and funding but not climate change

Abstract (from WileyOnline): Stakeholders fundamentally shape the success of wildlife management, yet little is known about how one of the most important stakeholder groups, wildlife agency decision makers, view emerging conservation challenges. Wildlife agency decision makers collectively shape how wildlife conservation unfolds in North America, but their perspectives are generally absent in the literature. Challenges including climate change, conservation funding models, and wildlife disease make understanding how wildlife decision makers view the future of wildlife conservation essential. We interviewed 48 directors and supervisory board members of wildlife agencies in the southeast United States from July 2019...

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Connection to Nature Boosts Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract (from Sustainability): Growing evidence suggests that connection to nature may be linked to mental health and well-being. Behavioral changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic could negatively affect adolescents’ connection to nature, subsequently impacting health and well-being. We explored the relationship between connection to nature and well-being before and during the pandemic through a nationally representative survey of adolescents across the United States (n = 624) between April and June 2020. Survey items focused on connection to nature, mental well-being, and participation in outdoor activities before and during the pandemic. Paired-sample t-tests revealed declines in connection to nature,...

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Is there a dry season in the Southeast US?

Abstract (from Global Change Biology): Fill et al. (Global Change Biology, 25, 3562–3569, 2019) reported significant increases in dry season length over the past 120 years in the Southeast US, suggesting increased wildfire risk in a region associated with a frequent fire regime. We identified two flaws that call into question the findings and their relevance to regional wildfire risk. First, with the exception of Florida, there is little evidence for a climatologically meaningful ‘dry season’ in the Southeast because most areas experience relatively evenly distributed monthly precipitation. Second, the sampling method used to derive Cumulative Rainfall Anomalies does not appear to actually reflect a bootstrap sample...

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Climate change projected to reduce prescribed burning opportunities in the south-eastern United States

Abstract (from International Journal of Wildland Fire): Prescribed burning is a critical tool for managing wildfire risks and meeting ecological objectives, but its safe and effective application requires that specific meteorological criteria (a ‘burn window’) are met. Here, we evaluate the potential impacts of projected climatic change on prescribed burning in the south-eastern United States by applying a set of burn window criteria that capture temperature, relative humidity and wind speed to projections from an ensemble of Global Climate Models under two greenhouse gas emission scenarios. Regionally, the percentage of suitable days for burning changes little during winter but decreases substantially in summer...

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SECAS FUTURES: Structuring Governance to Achieve Landscape-scale Conservation Outcomes

Executive Summary: Since 2011, the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) partnership has promoted an overarching vision for landscape conservation in the Southeast. To realize that vision, SECAS provides a forum for collaboration, bringing together state and federal agencies and nonprofit conservation organizations. SECAS also functions as an information hub for science delivery and decision support through the Southeast Conservation Blueprint, a data-driven platform that identifies important areas for conservation and restoration. Both of these functions help the partnership pursue its goal of measurably improving the health, function, and connectivity of Southeastern ecosystems. To ensure the partnership’s...

Evaluating Climate Change Planning for Longleaf Pine Ecosystems in the Southeast United States

Longleaf pine (LLP, Pinus palustris) has been reduced to 3–5% of its original range, but may be particularly resilient to conditions associated with climate change including drought, severe storms, and increased prevalence of pests. Despite the critical role of LLP in building climate resilient ecosystems, little is known about how landscape managers in the region have considered climate change in planning efforts. We gathered 83 publicly accessible natural resource management plans from the southeastern United States that included management of LLP ecosystems between 1999 and 2016. We used document analysis to identify how plans addressed climate change threats on LLP, considered climate change in identification...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Data Visualization & Tools, Science Tools For Managers, Southeast CASC

Climate Change and Conservation in the Southeast: A Review of State Wildlife Action Plans

Introduction (from ncsc.edu): The southeastern United States is experiencing high rates of population growth, urbanization, land use change, and rapidly shifting climatic conditions. Collectively, these changes present considerable near and long-term challenges to the health and sustainability of the region’s fish and wildlife populations. Employing a collaborative, forward-looking conservation approach represents a key step towards addressing these challenges and was the impetus for the establishment of the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS). SECAS consists of diverse state, federal, non-profit, and private organizations, working together to identify and coordinate shared conservation goals and...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Data Visualization & Tools, Science Tools For Managers, Southeast CASC

Robust projections of future fire probability for the conterminous United States

Abstract (from Science of The Total Environment): Globally increasing wildfires have been attributed to anthropogenic climate change. However, providing decision makers with a clear understanding of how future planetary warming could affect fire regimes is complicated by confounding land use factors that influence wildfire and by uncertainty associated with model simulations of climate change. We use an ensemble of statistically downscaled Global Climate Models in combination with the Physical Chemistry Fire Frequency Model (PC2FM) to project changing potential fire probabilities in the conterminous United States for two scenarios representing lower (RCP 4.5) and higher (RCP 8.5) greenhouse gas emission futures....

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Vital Futures: Conservation Adaptation Planning for Landscape and Climate Changes in the Southeast

The Southeast is currently undergoing high rates of population growth, urbanization, and land use change while also experiencing climatic changes. These changes are threatening, and will continue to threaten, wildlife and their habitats. Most existing conservation programs and activities, however, focus on maintaining systems in their current condition, or returning them to a historic state, rather than enabling systems to adapt to projected changes. This project was designed to support the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) effort in developing a collaborative network of conservation partners, shared conservation goals, and regional strategies to manage fish, wildlife, and other natural resources...

Using climate-fire analog mapping to inform climate change adaptation strategies for wildland fire in protected areas of the conterminous US

Abstract (from ScienceDirect): Potential changes in wildland fire regimes due to anthropogenic climate change can be projected using data from climate models, but directly applying these meteorological variables to long-term planning and adaptive management activities may be difficult for decision makers. Analog mapping, in contrast, creates more intuitive assessments of changing fire regimes that also recognize the complex, multivariate, and multi-scalar nature of ecosystems. Here, we use data from 20 downscaled climate models under two climate forcing scenarios, Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP 4.5 and 8.5), to identify and map future climate-fire analogs for 655 protected areas in the conterminous U.S....

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