From USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service:

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Aug. 31, 2016 — Rebecca Shaw remembers the old days, when mules plowed the fields and workers handpicked manicured rows of tobacco grown for cigar wrappers on her 700-acre farm. But after the children grew up and her husband passed away in 1984, she decided to plant loblolly pine.

Together, she and her son Dick manage their farm south of Quincy, Fla., bordering I-10. “Growing timber…

From the Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation:

UPDATE August 25, 2016…

From the U.S. Department of the Interior:

Secretaries Intend to Recognize Hawaii Office of Hawaiian Affairs as Additional Co-Trustee in Management of World’s Largest Marine Protected Area

WASHINGTON –…

Ordway Swisher Biological Station, photo provided by FWC.

Florida Fire Teams Update

By Heather…

The National Wildlife Federation recently released a new report detailing impacts of climate change and sea-level rise to wildlife and recreation economies along the East Coast.

From the National Wildlife Federation:

"States along the Eastern Seaboard are already feeling the impacts of climate change. Climate change, which is caused by the atmospheric build-up of heat-trapping greenhouse gases (GHGs) from fossil fuel combustion and other human activities, contributes to…

This new publication is associated with the Southeast Climate Science Center project, Development of a SECAS Conservation Decision Guidance Library…

From NOAA's Office of Coastal Management:

Climate change is affecting coastal environments, calling for revised conservation approaches, and therefore must be considered in long-term planning. This…

From Atlantic Coast Joint Venture:

A new analysis of the population status and trends of all landbirds in the continental U.S. and Canada documents widespread declines among 450 bird species—a troubling indicator of the health of these species and their ecosystems. Nearly 20% of U.S. and Canadian landbird species are on a path towards endangerment and extinction in the absence of conservation action, according to the …

Patriotic Pine: Blog Describes How Longleaf Benefits National Defense

By Ryan Orndorff, deputy director for the DoD Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Aug. 15, 2016 — Did you know that longleaf pine forests play an important role for military training within the Southeastern United States? 

Thirty-two…

Cracker cowboys drive 40-head of Cracker cows with their calves into pens just a few miles south of Gainesville, Fla. Photo and story by Renee Bodine, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Aug. 12, 2016 — Cracking cow whips echo loudly through the air as cowboys gallop hard through forest and open…

UPDATE

August 9,…

The Gulf Research Program & Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are committing $10 million to enhancing coastal community resilience. Researchers and community members are needed to work across…

From the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service:

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Aug. 9, 2016 — Florida farmers, ranchers and forest owners can apply until Oct. 21 for financial and technical assistance from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Environmental…

From the South Central Climate Science Center:…

Photo: Billy Boothe checks his motion detector camera set up at one of 14 gopher tortoise burrows on his property.

From the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service:…

From the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services:

On August 2, the Governor and Cabinet unanimously approved the preservation of nearly 4,000 acres of sensitive agricultural lands in Hardee, DeSoto, Dixie and Indian River counties, while allowing the land and agriculture operations to continue to contribute to Florida's economy. The purchases are a part of the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, which partners with Florida's farmers and ranchers to…

From NOAA Climate Connection:…

From NOAA's Office of Habitat Conservation:

Deep-sea coral and sponge habitats support valuable…