In late January, the Department of the Interior and partners representing federal, state and tribal agencies released a draft strategy for managing natural resources in the face of a changing climate. The strategy is intended to provide a framework for actions that can be taken immediately and over the next five to ten years to support fish, wildlife and plant adaptation and recommendations for government and non-government partners to work together on these efforts. The plan does not mandate activities or suggest regulatory actions focusing instead on voluntary collaboration.

The human population of North America has exceeded 460 million and could easily reach three quarters of a billion by 2060. ?Given the ever-increasing demands that society places on natural resources and land use for food production, water, energy, transportation infrastructure and housing, the expanding populace will present unparalleled challenges to present and future conservation.

With the donation of a 10-acre parcel in south-central Florida, the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area was created on January 18, 2012. If fully realized, the refuge would protect 150,000 acres in the threatened grassland and long-leaf pine savanna landscapes north of Lake Okechobee, reports the Wildlife Management Institute.

A special session at the 77^th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Atlanta, Georgia will take an objective look at the trends, current status, and foreseeable future of the fiscal landscape facing fish and wildlife. "Making Conservation Funding Competitive in an Era of Fiscal Constraint" will be held on Wednesday March 14, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to noon, concurrent with three other special sessions. The session is co-chaired by Scott Yaich of Ducks Unlimited and David Thorne and Bob Ziehmer of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Late last year, the leadership of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees developed recommendations for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to reduce $23 billion in federal spending on agriculture programs. While the Select Committee was unable to reach agreement on a deficit reduction package, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (MI) has indicated that she will use those recommendations as the starting point for reauthorization of the next Farm Bill.

The Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (NEAFWA) is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the 2012 grant cycle of the Northeast Regional Conservation Needs (RCN) Grant Program. The Northeast RCN Grant Program is a multi-state effort to address landscape-scale, regional wildlife conservation issues by combining resources, leveraging funds, and prioritizing conservation actions identified in State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs). The Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) coordinates and administers the Northeast RCN Grant Program on Behalf of the NEAFWA.

We would like to extend our apologies to Outdoor News Bulletin readers for missing our January edition as we transitioned from the longtime leadership of editor, Richard McCabe. McCabe, who retired in January, led the production of the ONB for eleven years as part of his many tasks with the Wildlife Management Institute. Jodi Stemler, who has written for the publication for the last five years, will be the new editor of the ONB, starting with this edition.