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Duck
iStock

Migratory birds can partially offset climate change

A new study demonstrates that birds can partially compensate for climate change by delaying the start of spring migration and completing the journey faster. But the strategy comes with a cost — a decline in overall survival. The findings by researchers from Cornell University, the University of Maryland, and Georgetown University are published in the journal Ecology.

“Understanding how animals can compensate is an important part of understanding where the impacts of climate change will play out,” said Marra. “In this case, we may not lose a species entirely, but it is possible that populations of some species may go extinct locally due to climate change…

“The good news is that birds are able to respond to changes in their environment,” Dossman said. “They have some flexibility and variation in their behaviors to begin with, but the question is, have they reached the limit of their ability to respond to climate change?”…

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Ghost Forest
Flickr

To best fight climate change, ‘Blue Carbon’ habitats must first survive it

Researchers in North Carolina are studying how much carbon is released during this transition from trees to wetlands. As lands react to climate change, our understanding of what that means shifts too.

Increasingly, U.S. coastal landscapes are home to “ghost forests”—the remnants of healthy forests ravaged by rapid saltwater intrusion and increased flooding caused by climate change-related events, such as sea-level rise, hurricanes, and drought.

Sometimes, salt-tolerant marsh grasses replace coastal freshwater forests, but because of the release of stored carbon as trees decompose, this transition may result in a temporary net loss of stored carbon and increase the release of other greenhouse gases such as methane [a very powerful climate change accelerator].

Initial research suggested that tree stems in ghost forests may serve as a type of straw, allowing the release of methane into the atmosphere from the degraded trees, said Melinda Martinez, a Mendenhall post-doctorate/research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey within the Wetland and Aquatic Research Center in Lafayette, Louisiana…

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sheep and panels
Cornell University

Engage public, explore methods to secure NYS green energy

Under New York state’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the state must reach 70% renewable energy generation by 2030 – and 100% by 2040. Check out this article.

Solar-power developers need to explore using lower-quality agricultural land for solar energy, boost incentives for dual-use (combined agriculture and solar) options, avoid concentrated solar development and engage communities early to achieve New York’s green energy goals, according to forthcoming Cornell research.

“As farmland is generally flat and cleared, agricultural land will be the prime target for future solar energy development,” said Max Zhang, professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, in the College of Engineering, and senior author of “Strategic Land Use Analysis for Solar Energy Development in New York State,” which will publish in August 2021 in Renewable Energy. “Good farmland, however, is not ideal.”

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Agrisolar
Judy Anderson

Made in the shade: Growing crops at solar farms yields efficiency

In the face of climate change, growing commercial crops under acres of solar panels is a potentially efficient use of agricultural land that can boost food production and improve panel longevity. But to make this change, land trusts, communities, and policymakers will need to both share the vision and clarify that this needs to become the norm.

“There is potential for agrivoltaic systems – where agriculture and solar panels coexist – to provide increased passive cooling through taller panel heights [emphasis added], more reflective ground cover and higher evapotranspiration rates compared to traditional solar farms,” said senior author Max Zhang, professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering [at Cornell], “We can generate renewable electricity and conserve farmland through agrivoltaic systems.”

In New York, for example, about 40% of utility-scale solar farm capacity has been developed on agricultural lands, while about 84% of land deemed suitable for utility-scale solar development is agricultural, according to a previous research study from Zhang’s group…

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Fire
iStock

USDA Forest Service Chief Randy Moore’s statement announcing actions the Forest Service will take to resume its prescribed fire program safely and effectively after completion of its 90-day national review  

We are turning to prescribed fires to help reduce the risk of the uncontrollable, high-intensity wildfires that are common today. Prescribed fires mimick lower-intensity fires that used to occur naturally from lightning strikes or under the stewardship of tribes.

Washington D.C.,September 8, 2022 — USDA Forest Service Chief Randy Moore released the following statement announcing actions the Forest Service will take to resume its prescribed fire program safely and effectively after completion of its 90-day national review…

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Smokey
Shelby Herbert / KUNR Public Radio

Fire weather extremes make prescribed burns riskier, but more essential than ever

Prescribed fire is an important tool to help reduce the risk of the uncontrollable, high-intensity wildfires that are common today by mimicking lower-intensity fires that used to occur naturally from lightning strikes or under the stewardship of tribes.

“Although prescribed fire is one of the most effective ways to reduce wildfire risk, this was a necessary decision in light of recent prescribed fire escapes,” U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore wrote in a national directive in September, announcing the agency would resume prescribed burns following the pause. “This also reflects the growing recognition that extreme conditions of overgrown forests, climate change, and more than a century of rigorous fire suppression are influencing fire behavior in ways we had never seen before…”

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Forest
Judy Anderson

Exploring carbon sequestration

By permanently protecting forests, and increasing carbon sequestration, Whatcom Land Trust is working diligently to increase climate resiliency. In partnership with local governments, tribal leaders, businesses, and individuals, they are all working towards a local solution to the global issue of climate change.

“[They] are following the model from other land trusts. There is a cost for land trusts to manage forests for increased carbon sequestration. [They] aren’t a commercial forestry operation and need revenue in order to manage forests.

Carbon offsets and the carbon market can provide resources for land trusts to restore large commercial forest landscapes, and support the ongoing cost of stewardship and restoration that a land trust is responsible for.

Whatcom Land Trust would only take on a carbon sequestration project that supports our mission, improves the forest ecosystem, and sequesters more carbon than it would otherwise…”

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Rally

National Land Trust Conference: September 6 – 9, 2023

It's not too soon to budget for attending Rally. Some land trusts find donors to underwrite the costs. Others, like me, have to budget for it as part of our conservation efforts on a personal level. Regardless, it's worth it.

Rally is where over 1,500 people who share your passion for conservation will re-energize and inspire you.

Join the Land Trust Alliance in Portland in September for a gathering packed with diverse topics to explore and great colleagues and friends to learn from and share with. Rally has all of the resources you want to take your conservation skills further. There’s no better way to invest in your future.

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Sonoma Youtube

Video: Unpacking 30×30 for Sonoma County

Check out this video. This might be something you could share with your circles.

The Land Trust is playing a key role in helping the state and nation achieve the 30×30 goal through purchase of land and stewardship of 17 nature preserves managed for biodiversity conservation, and most of their conservation easements which were originally identified for their unique biological value.

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Sonoma Lt
Stephen Joseph

Sonoma Land Trust and 30×30

From the San Pablo baylands, through the Marin Coast-Blue Ridge Critical Linkage, and into the Russian River watershed, Sonoma Land Trust has projects and programs focused on the region's most threatened species and habitat areas.

“California has joined over 72 countries, including the United States, in setting a goal of conserving 30% of our lands and coastal waters by 2030. Achieving this goal will allow California to protect biodiversity, expand equitable access to nature, and build resilience to climate change. Scientists warn that we must meet the 30×30 goal to avoid the worst impacts of a warming planet.

“From the San Pablo baylands, through the Marin Coast-Blue Ridge Critical Linkage, and into the Russian River watershed, Sonoma Land Trust has projects and programs focused on our most threatened species and habitat areas. Sonoma Land Trust is playing a key role in helping the state and the nation achieve the 30×30 goal through the purchase of land and stewardship of our 17 nature preserves managed for biodiversity conservation and most of our conservation easements which were originally identified for their unique biological value….”

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