Transcript Beyond the Boundaries - Friends of Brazoria Wildlife Refuges

Beyond the Boundaries
Forging Partnerships to Conserve Refuge Landscapes
Beyond the Boundaries
Basic Principle:
• Refuges in the Lower 48 are too small to fully achieve
their conservation goals
• 2005 State of the System Report made the case that
refuges need to function as part of a larger
ecosystem - threats of development, invasive species
• This principle has gained great currency in the
context of climate change, Strategic Habitat
Conservation framework, new LCCs
• Refuges play a key anchor role - protecting both
habitat and natural infrastructure
Beyond the Boundaries
If: Some of the keys to wildlife adaptation are
connectivity and the 3 Rs - representation,
redundancy and resiliency….
Then: Our goal is to help refuges play a proactive,
catalytic role in collaborative landscape scale
conservation efforts - protecting, enhancing and
expanding the Refuge System
This requires vision, relationships, strategy,
creativity and determination
And this is where Friends come in:
Putting the concepts into action
Beyond the Boundaries
• Identifying threats and opportunities for conservation
adjacent to refuges
• Building and expanding constituencies for Refuges and
other FWS programs through Friends Groups and
partnerships
• Developing multiple sources, of financial support, both
public and private
• Setting a proactive rather than reactive agenda
Beyond the Boundaries
• Work with Refuge Manager to identify threats, needs and
opportunities, and the right role for both Refuge and Friends
• Who are the partners - finding common goals among many
different constituencies
• Coordinating among FWS and other agency programs - ES,
Park Service, Natural Resource Conservation Service, NOAA -especially with new climate change adaptation programs
• Typical components: Land Conservation, Habitat Restoration,
Advocacy/Political Strategy, Visitor Services and Outreach,
Funding - federal, local, private
• NWRA Criteria: transferable models, national issues, critical
resources, refuge and regional support, funding feasibility
Beyond the Boundaries
What Can Friends Do?
• Leadership: Work in partnership with Refuge Manager
• Relationships: Ambassadors within the community
• Eyes and Ears: Identify threats and opportunities development plans, adjacent landowners selling, water
issues
• Build Bridges - local/regional initiatives that refuge could
join, outreach to local officials and boards, bringing groups
together
• Help fill gaps - citizen science for climate change
• Advocacy, Fundraising, Friend-raising
• Help think ahead
NWRA Beyond the Boundaries Focus Areas
Beyond the Boundaries
NWRA’s Current Focus Areas:
• Southern Nevada - Desert Complex
• Florida - Chassahowitzka Complex - Crystal River NWR
• Lower Mississippi NWRs - Cache River (AR), Tensas (LA), TR
Complex (MS), Atchafalaya (LA)
• Oregon Coastal NWR Complex
• Wisconsin - Horicon Marsh NWR
• DelMarVa Peninsula - Blackwater NWR
• Connecticut River Watershed/New England - Silvio Conte NFWR
• Bear River Watershed, UT, WY, ID
• Montana Prairie - Charles M. Russell NWR
Chassahowitzka NWR Complex
Crystal River NWR, Florida
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Partnership with Friends of Chazz
Key property, threat of development
Needed leadership and strategy
Partner Coordination
Facilitating management
and visitor services plans
• Fundraising
Threats and
Opportunities
• Protect five springs
• Guide public use
• Build better community
relations
•Improve water quality
•Restore wetlands
•Expand the Refuge
Many Goals, Many Partners
• Land Acquisition - Conservation Fund
• Wetland Restoration - SW FL Water
Management District
• Visitor Services Plan - Friends, FWS, NWRA
• Advocacy - Friends and NWRA
• Fundraising - Friends, City, State, County,
FWS, NWRA, private
Partnership! Partnership! Partnership!
The Conservation Fund
America’s Conservation Partner
Lower Mississippi Alluvial Plain
Research and Assessment
Refine and Plan
Vision and
Partners
Innovative Funding Strategies
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Carbon Sequestration
Ecosystem Services Investments
Credit Markets
Mix with traditional sources such as LWCF,
Migratory Bird, NAWCA, Section 6
Implement
• Land acquisition, ecosystem service assessments
and community outreach at Cache River
• Explore Tensas boundary expansion
• Friends capacity building and and acquisition at
TR Complex
• Develop ecosystem services project model
Bear River Watershed
• River and watershed spans
three states and links three
refuges - developing
potential conservation
easement program
• Working with Bear River
refuge and Friends Group
to develop watershed
education program
• Supporting land acquisition
and easement projects
Bear River Watershed
• Cokeville Meadows
NWR
• Bear Lake NWR
• Bear River Migratory
Bird Refuge
Bear River Watershed
Beyond the Boundaries