On September 1, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released guidance clarifying implementation of key components of sage-grouse land use plans, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. These plans, that were finalized on September 22, 2015, updated 98 BLM and U.S.

The Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) is hosting two positions to support efforts of the Intermountain West Joint Venture (IWJV) to conserve wet meadows on working lands in Southern Oregon and Northeastern California (SONEC). The SONEC Working Wet Meadows Initiative targets one of the most important staging areas for waterfowl in North America. Supporting 4.9 million waterfowl during spring migration, SONEC wet meadows serve as a critical migration stopover and breeding area for waterfowl, shorebirds, and waterbirds.

Over the past year the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) has been working to increase connectivity of rivers and streams in the northeast by addressing fragmentation and obstructed flow through barriers such as culverts and bridges. The NAACC developed a standardized protocol for both citizen scientists and professionals to evaluate stream crossing impacts on hydrology so that the streams can be ranked to prioritize conservation efforts. In addition, the site hosts a database to compile the surveys as well as a map of the watersheds.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recently announced changes to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) that are intended to expand conservation options to producers on working lands, according to the Wildlife Management Institute.

Are brook trout destined for extinction? That is a future that Shannon White, a Ph.D. student working with Dr. Tyler Wagner at the USGS Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Penn State University, is working to avoid. One challenge is that the tools available to fisheries managers focus on solving problems within a watershed, but are not prepared to tackle future species-wide problems like climate change.