The South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) released its first State of the South Atlantic assessment in March. The report measures the current condition of the Cooperative's spatially explicit natural and cultural resource indicators and scores them on an A/B/C/D/F scale in the style of a report card. It serves as a snapshot in time capturing the integrity of the South Atlantic region's lands and waters, setting a baseline for future assessments so the conservation community can track trends and identify the impacts of on-the-ground actions. The assessment breaks down grades by ecosystem and subregion and even provides an estimate of confidence in each score.

The South Atlantic LCC is a partnership of federal, state, private, and non-profit organizations dedicated to conserving a landscape capable of sustaining natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. It is a forum for collective action, for crafting and implementing a shared vision of the future of the South Atlantic region. The Conservation Blueprint is that vision?a living spatial plan that identifies priority areas for conservation action in the face of future threats like urbanization and climate change. The indicators scored in this report serve as the quantifiable measures of success that drive the design of the Blueprint and allow the conservation community to evaluate progress toward its goals.

In the new State of the South Atlantic assessment, the Cooperative measured 28 indicators selected for the marine, terrestrial, and freshwater environments to represent the goals of ecological integrity and intact cultural landscapes. These include metrics like upland hardwood birds, riparian buffers, and ocean primary productivity. Indicators were chosen for each of nine different ecosystem types as well as for landscapes and waterscapes, which encompass the connections between terrestrial and aquatic systems. Expert teams selected indicators according to a set of ecological, practical, and social criteria?indicators must be measurable using current data, and accurately reflect other aspects of a healthy ecosystem. Indicators that resonate with the general public received extra consideration. All indicators underwent rigorous testing and revision to validate that each met the selection criteria.

The State of the South Atlantic assessment is designed to appeal to audiences ranging from natural resource managers to the general public. It features gorgeous photos of the lands, waters, fish, wildlife, and people of the South Atlantic, as well as intuitive diagrams of key ecosystem features and processes. It highlights inspiring and eye-opening stories about conservation challenges and opportunities. An online companion to the report also provides supplementary information on the geospatial data and calculations used. The Cooperative plans to release an updated State of the South Atlantic report every few years to track changes in ecosystem condition and incorporate the best available scientific data.

View a faster-loading version of the State of the South Atlantic online, or download a print-quality version.

The Wildlife Management Institute (WMI), in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is providing support to the Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) network. This section of the Outdoor News Bulletin provides readers with regular updates on LCC efforts involving WMI. This month's Landscapes article was written by Hilary Morris with the South Atlantic LCC.