The Living Lands
Project
Aimee Weldon
Living Lands Project
Manager
Living Lands Project
Defenders of Wildlife
Our Mission:
To support the work of local land trusts interested in
conserving native wildlife and habitat diversity
Land Trusts are Essential
>70% of 1.8 billion acres in private ownership
Private Land is Important
• > 65% of all
Threatened
and
Endangered
species rely on
private lands
• 10% found
only on private
lands
Protected Lands are Insufficient
Land and Water Conservation Fund
500
E n a c te d F u n d i n g
(m il lio n s )
• Protected areas are:
– Too small
– Too fragmented
– Too isolated
• Federal dollars are
drying up
400
300
Federal
200
State
100
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Year
Protected Lands are Insufficient
• Protected areas are:
– Too small
– Too fragmented
– Too isolated
• Federal dollars are
drying up
• Climate Change??
Land Trusts Care about Habitat
• Total response: 135 land trusts
• Mission includes habitat:
97%
• Protect agricultural lands: 71%
• Want to increase capacity for
biodiversity conservation: 89%
Land Trust Barriers
• 30% of land trusts had no staff - 60%
had 2 or less
• Major Barriers
– Lack of staff
– Lack of funding
– Limited expertise
– Not a priority for funders
What we Offer: Biodiversity Grants
• Annual awards of up to
$10,000
• Funded projects:
– Habitat restoration
– Development of wildlife
monitoring and
management plans
– Community forums
– Carbon sequestration and
working forest easement
models
Teton Regional Land Trust restoration project
Nisqually Land Trust protection project
What we Offer: Capacity Building and
Training Opportunities
• Workshops
– Biodiversity Track at Rally
– Regional conferences
• Chesapeake Bay watershed
opportunity
• Funding expertise
• Educational resources:
www.defenders.org/livinglands
What we Offer: Wildlife Volunteer Corps
Questions?
Contact:
Aimee Weldon
Living Lands Project Manager
Defenders of Wildlife
[email protected]
What’s Biodiversity Got to
Do With It?
Bruce A. Stein
Biodiversity for Dummies Workshop
Land Trust Alliance Rally
September 20, 2008
Biodiversity
Life on Earth
Levels of Biodiversity
Ecosystems
Species
Genes
Components of Biodiversity
n
Composition
q
The different types of things (e.g., species,
communities, genes)
n
n
Structure
q
n
“diversity” or richness (number of different things)
Physical patterns (e.g., forests, grasslands)
Function
q
Processes, both ecological and evolutionary
n
n
fire, flooding, gene flow, etc.
“you can't hug a biogeochemical cycle"
Etymology
(not entomology – that’s bugs)
n
Shortened from “biological diversity”
n
First use of “biodiversity” attributed to EO
Wilson as part of 1986 conference hosted by
National Research Council
n
Rapid adoption, particularly post Earth
Summit (1992)
q
...but grandmothers universally have no clue what
it means!
Definitions
n
No universally adopted definition
n
Convention on Biological Diversity
q
n
“. . . the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia,
terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of
which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of
ecosystems.”
My working definition
q
the variety and variability of life on Earth, from
genes to ecosystems, together with the ecological
and evolutionary processes that sustain it.
q
or, most simply: The variety of life on Earth
Other Commonly Used Terms
(some interchangeable, some not)
n
Wildlife
n
Fish and Wildlife
n
Plants and Animals
n
Species and Ecosystems
n
Habitats
n
Nature
How are U.S. Species Faring?
140
1400
120
1200
100
Species Listed Per Year
1000
Cumulative Number
80
800
60
600
40
400
20
200
0
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
0
1,310 U.S. species listed (2/07) under ESA
566 animals and 744 plants
Source: USFWS TES database
Cumulative Number
Number of Species Listed/Year
Endangered Species Act Listings
NatureServe Status of U.S. Species
Freshwater Mussels
Crayfish
Amphibians
Freshwater Fishes
Flowering Plants
Gymnosperms
Vulnerable (G3)
Ferns/Fern Allies
Imperiled (G2)
Tiger Beetles
Critically Imperiled (G1)
Dragonflies/ Damselflies
Reptiles
Presumed/Possibly Extinct
(GX/GH)
Butterflies/ Skippers
Mammals
Birds
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Analysis includes 20,897 species. Source: Stein et al. 2000
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
State Patterns of Diversity and Risk
Diversity
Risk
(% GX-G3)
Extinction
Declines in Native Fish
Percent of land area of 6-digit HUCs as a function
of reduction in native fish diversity
0
1-9%
10-24%
25-49%
≥ 50%
N/A (fishless )
Key Threats to Biodiversity
n
Habitat Loss
n
Invasive species
n
Altered ecosystem
functions
q
q
fire regimes
hydrologic flows
n
Emerging diseases
n
Climate change
Sea Level Rise
n
n
n
Atlantic and Gulf
sea level rose 5-6
inches in last
century
IPCC estimates
from .6 to 2 feet
rise in next
century
Other studies
suggest
possibility of rises
of 5 feet or more
Habitat Shifts
n
Change in
habitat suitability
for different
forests by late
century
n
Species will
move (or not) at
varying rates; not
as entire
communities
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists
Ecosystem Services:
A New Paradigm for Valuing Biodiversity
Photo: Flickr (CarbonNYC)
New Products and Technologies
Risk Reduction
Hurricane Katrina
Bolivar
Penninsula,
Texas before
and after
Hurricane Ike
Ecosystem Services
n
Supporting Services
q
n
Provisioning Services
q
n
Food, fiber, fresh water, biochemicals
Regulating Services
q
n
Nutrient cycling, soil formation, primary productivity
Pollination, hazard reduction, water regulation and
purification, climate regulation
Cultural Services
q
Aesthetic and spiritual values, recreation