The Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) held the first of four planned training sessions to help state wildlife agencies align programs and practices with Wildlife Governance Principles based on public trust thinking and good governance norms. Increasing alignment with the principles is expected to make state agencies more effective and relevant to our changing society, one of the key recommendations of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (AFWA) Blue Ribbon Panel on the Future of Fish and Wildlife.

Migratory Bird Joint Ventures are cooperative, regional partnerships developed to conserve habitat for the benefit of birds, other wildlife, and people. Joint Venture partners share a common vision of diverse populations of native birds across the North American landscape, and they consider the health of landscapes and wildlife to be among the highest conservation priorities. By design, Joint Ventures employ collaborative partnerships to protect the habitat and connectivity that both birds and people rely on for their survival and well-being. WMI remains a committed partner to many Joint Ventures across the North American landscape including one of the most critical in the eastern United States, the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV).

With support from the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (NALCC), NatureServe recently completed a project to expand LandScope Chesapeake, a web-based mapping platform designed to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. LandScope is a conservation tool promoted by the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership (the Partnership), a regional coalition of 50 plus partners among the six states of the watershed and DC. The Partnership has long-term goals for the Chesapeake Bay to encourage a vibrant economy, strong communities, healthy people, working farms and forests, vital habitat for native wildlife, clean water, our shared heritage, recreation, and quality of life.

Warming waters are already affecting where inland fish across North America reproduce, grow, and where they live. For many anglers, and for local and state economies, these changes could spell trouble. Together, scientists from the USGS Missouri Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit (Missouri Unit) and the USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) are working hard to provide needed information to resource managers to help protect the country’s precious fish and their habitats.