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We’re very excited to announce that Madlyn Carpenter will defend her Master’s thesis on Monday, July 8th. Madlyn is part of the Natural Infrastructure Graduate Fellowship, an educational initiative formed by the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS) at the University of Georgia and Ducks Unlimited. Madlyn’s abstract: Wetlands provide ecosystem services such as reducing phosphorus (P) pollution and providing habitat for waterfowl. Lake Erie, one of the five Laurentian Great Lakes, suffers from harmful algal blooms in its western basin which are associated with P loading from the Maumee River Watershed (MRW). Some waterfowl populations in the MRW have declined significantly in recent decades. Ducks Unlimited (DU), a major partner in wetland conservation in the MRW, has identified a need for improved wetland restoration for meeting the dual goals of providing waterfowl habitat and improving water quality through P retention through site selection, design, and management. This research identified three objectives in support of these goals: 1) create subbasin prioritization maps for wetland restoration in the Great Lakes Region in accordance with DU’s high-priority criteria, 2) create a practical, intermediate complexity tool with minimal inputs to help practitioners probabilistically predict P retention, and 3) utilize the novel tool to test design and management scenarios for wetland performance to identify water management and design approaches that simultaneously improve P retention and waterfowl habitat suitability. Data from 249 wetlands with agricultural runoff as their primary pollutant of interest were input into a k-C model to generate P retention estimates, and waterfowl habitat suitability was assessed based on preferred foraging depths. Results show that active, dynamic management of water depth can help reduce tradeoffs between wetland objectives and that larger wetlands (2-7% of subbasin area) tend to outperform smaller wetlands in meeting both objectives.

World First Data Shows ‘Giant’ Threatened Sawfish Go The Distance Commercial fishers in Queensland and the Northern Territory are playing a vital role in sawfish research with researchers from Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, and Charles Darwin University. Together these teams have tagged and tracked more than 40 sawfish. One of these was a Largetooth Sawfish measuring more than five metres that swam an incredible 1000 kilometres in two months. Photo: Dr Richard Pillans and his colleagues carefully handling a sawfish during the tagging process. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gJCdi6sS #NESP #MarineandCoastalHub #NESPMaCHub #RRRC #MurdochUniversity #WADepartmentofPrimaryIndustriesandRegionalDevelopment #WADPIRD #sawfish #marine #coastal #NorthernAustralia #research This project is supported with funding from the Australian Government under the National Environmental Science Program (NESP).

Reminder: The Ontario Gov. still plans to build two new highways over pristine agricultural and conservation land - HWY 413 through Vaughan and Caledon, as well as the Bradford Bypass. To make this happen, the Ontario government has over the past few years systematically removed most regulatory, environmental, planning rules to accelerate approvals and begin putting shovels in the ground. "Get it Done" policies to limit oversight and transparency on this, and other, large infrastructure projects included dissolving the Region of Peel, removing planning authority from Regional Governments, restricting Conservation Authority powers, etc... In this time of fiscal constraint...can we really afford to build more highways?

[PDF] Applied wetlands science and technology Donald M. Kent digsell https://lnkd.in/eTVWfwqv Continuing the tradition of excellence established by the first edition, the Second Edition of Applied Wetlands Science and Technology provides the fundamentals for delineating, identifying, and regulating wetlands. It covers functions and values, ecological assessments, and how to minimize negative impacts on wetlands. The book also presents essential information on wetland creation, enhancement, restoration, and monitoring. Selected management topics include designing and managing wetlands for wildlife, managing coastal marshes, and wetlands education.Three new chapters in the Second Edition:Wetlands Mitigation Banking-discusses the purpose, policy, and technology of mitigation bankingWatershed Management-covers the most current remediation technology as it pertains to wetlandsManaging Global … Read More » https://lnkd.in/etefYKGx

The Alberta Watercourse Crossing Collaborative (AWC3) is a not-for-profit society comprised of members of the public, watercourse crossing & road tenure owners, regulators, First Nations and Metis communities among many others. AWC3 members work together to restore fish passage and improve aquatic habitat across Alberta’s landscape that are fragmented from improper crossing installation and poor maintenance. Through this collaboration, the Alberta Watercourse Crossing Guidebook was developed to outline Best Management Practices for the design, planning, installation, and maintenance of watercourse crossings. The Guidebook’s intention is to provide a practical, educational resource to ensure fish passage, reduce erosion and sedimentation, and maintain waterflow to reach the goal of healthy, connected habitats. You can download the electronic version of the Guidebook at AWCCC.ca #EnvironmentalConsulting #EnvironmentalConsultant #EnvironmentalServices #EnvironmentalCompliance #Ecology #Sustainability #Alberta #Canada #Conservation #reclamation #Environmental #Environment #nature #EcologicalRestoration #Makingadifference #environmentalscience #YEG #nature #wildlife #Earth #resourcemanagement #biologicalscience #Biology #AWCCC

New National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator Grant to Advance Wetlands Mapping and Conservation across the US Our team is very excited to share the announcement of a grant award (https://lnkd.in/gpsURU2X) by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for our project “Mapping the nation’s wetlands for equitable water quality, monitoring, conservation, and policy development." The Phase I NSF Convergence Accelerator team is led by the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences (SEFS) (Dr. Meghan Halabisky, Dr. L. Monika Moskal, Dr. Aji John, and Maureen Duane), Dark Creature LLC (Dr. Maureen Ryan), TerrainWorks (Dr. Dan Miller), 10,000 Years Institute (Jill Silver), Omfishient Consulting (Lauren Kuehne), Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (Dr. Max Lambert), Numbers and Strings (Jesse Anderson), and Social Ecological Solutions (Dr. Stacy Lischka). Our team combines expertise in remote sensing, wetlands science, water equity, and wetlands conservation across diverse sectors including academia, industry, non-profit, and government. This work is intended to bring the power of remote sensing to accurately map and create data-driven insights to support diverse users in wetland conservation and restoration. The NSF Convergence Accelerator is a highly unique program within NSF, and our project team will work through a 6-month curriculum focused on business development, use-inspired research, communications, and team science to move the research toward a technology solution that can result in strong societal impact. If you work on or are interested in wetlands mapping, monitoring, or decision-making, please contact the project team - we want to hear from you! #wetlands #EarthObservation #remotesensing #waterequity #naturebased #conservation #restoration  #NSFFunded #NSFConvergenceAccelerator

“We all live together in these communities, and collaboratively we can find a way to resolve these issues.” - Larry Nicholson, executive director of the Upper Klamath Basin Ag Collaborative.  The Klamath Basin is a remarkable ecosystem home to people and wildlife including salmon, suckers, migratory birds, and much more. Although full of wildlife and wilderness, it is a fragile ecosystem challenged by drought conditions.   With almost $90 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds allocated to date supporting more than 40 projects, Tribes and partners are working together to find effective and lasting ecological infrastructure solutions for the communities and wildlife who call the Basin home.   If you want to hear how these investments are making a difference, spend some time with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on its Nature’s Infrastructure podcast series. The Service was joined by the Klamath Tribes, the Yurok Tribe, the Klamath Drainage District, and the Upper Basin Ag Collaborative to discuss two partner led projects.   "Yuroks see themselves as stewards of the land and need to take care of the entire basin, it's all one basin." - Michael Belchick, senior water policy analyst with the Yurok tribe. Hear directly from Tribes and partners on the meaning of collaboration and the power of shared interests and goals on our podcast: Part1: https://ow.ly/pjEN50SmRih Part 2: https://ow.ly/MHAU50SmRie   Explore ongoing Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funded projects on the interactive Klamath Basin Restoration StoryMap (https://ow.ly/Us6W50SmRik) or view this content on our FWS Website (https://ow.ly/N4GM50SmRic). 📷: Credit/USFWS  

It’s a win! Delighted to see from our work on the Better Planning Coalition and Wildlife and Countryside Link, a government concession on improving Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS). This is not fully what we hoped…however a big step forward, which will: ☀ Require local development plans to ‘take account' relevant LNRSs, which would then apply to any part of the area in that authority preparing the plan. 🌳 Provide recognition of the need for a specific legal duty to tie LNRSs directly into plan making. LNRS first established in the Environment Act 2021, I believe are vital in setting out spatial strategies for habitats and species in a local area, and tying these into local planning is a big step up!.   If implemented well, I believe these can contribute to our shared international goals (COP15), 30 x 30 target, and provide real options for BNG delivery off-site, while contributing to the Nature Recovery Network.   I am grateful for opportunity to represent Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) and Atkins with our work on this group, and although I am small cog, in a big wheel on this one, these wins, make it truly worth the effort.   #LNRS #amendments #wins #levellingupbill

"By braiding together Indigenous Knowledge with Western science, we can view the problems with what is known as Two-Eyed Seeing to develop a path forward that makes our forests more resilient to the threats they are facing." New RLF-supported report on #TribalForestStewardship https://lnkd.in/gZauDKtb

As one of the rural specialists on the RICS Land & Natural Resources Professional Group Panel, I am looking at topics on which we can develop some initiatives.   As always, it is useful to gain the insight from others who are members of the professional body.   Below are some topics which are at the forefront. To aid us in deciding which of these topics should be considered most important/take priority, please would you complete the poll (linked below)   -       Offsetting - phosphate and nutrient management -       Rural crime (including fly tipping, theft, poaching, trespass, etc.) -       Sustainable land management - working with farmers to improve nature -       Residential tenancy reform -       Climate change and its impact on land and natural resources – ‘Delivering 30 by 30’ -       Role of AI and tech -       Natural Capital and BNG -       Agricultural reform - Tax reform - Public access - Natural burial sites - Sporting (including shooting & potential licensing) - Tree management & diseases - Animal disease (e.g. bird flu, blue tongue, etc.) - Insurance -       Private water supplies (resource management and regulation) -       Permitted development rights (tourism, resi conversions, etc) -       Other   It will take only take a few minutes and any help would be greatly appreciated. Comments below also very welcome and encouraged. #rics #thoughtleadership #landmanagement Savills Rural Davina Fillingham https://lnkd.in/e94VMX_R