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Northeast Regional Conservation Synthesis for 2025 SWAPs Completed

Synthesis will inform conservation planning from local practices to cross-regional collaborations
Report cover for Summary Report of the Northeast Regional Conservation Synthesis for 2025 State Wildlife Action Plans, April 2023

Terwilliger Consulting, Inc. recently completed a multi-year effort to compile and synthesize regional conservation about species, habitats, threats, actions, monitoring, partners, and public engagement in the Northeast U.S. with four goals in mind:

  1. An updated Regional Conservation Synthesis to provide regional context for the 14 Northeast 2025 State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) with a synthesis of the best available information and resources at the regional level.
  2. To inform conservation planning in the Northeast at multiple scales, from the local level for best management practices, for individual conservation actions for Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN), state-level conservation in SWAPs, to the regional level for the NEFWDTC, and for cross-regional collaborations with other regional fish and wildlife agencies and associations.
  3. To raise the awareness and use of shared regional priorities, from species to habitats to actions.
  4. To highlight what makes the Northeast special, showcasing the defining ecological features and resources in the region that provide context for the region’s SWAPs.

The 1,200-page report details these goals in eight chapters in the Regional Conservation Synthesis, each matching one of the eight SWAP Elements for concise and effective preparation of the 2025 SWAPs.

Terwilliger's Tracy Rice and Melissa Starking presented the report at the NEAFWA conference in Hershey, PA, in May 2023. Terwilliger plans to supplement the report with interactive visualization tools and fact sheets to make the 1,100+ resources and tools available in the synthesis in user-friendly formats for NEAFWA states and partners.

For more information, see these resources:

Northeastern U.S. Turtle Conservation

Complementary Initiatives Study, Plan, and Protect Priority Turtle Species
Box turtle in short green grass
Jonathan Mays

The Northeast Fish And Wildlife Diversity Technical Committee led regional conservation planning and implementation for five priority turtle species (Blanding’s, Eastern Box, Wood, Spotted Turtles, and Northern Diamondback Terrapins) through four separate but complementary initiatives from 2018 through 2023.

  • Spotted Turtle Conservation Genetics and Conservation Planning
  • Eastern Box Turtle Status Assessment, Conservation Plan, and Best Management Practices
  • Targeted Road Mortality Mitigation Assessment and Best Management Practices
  • Implementation of Regional Conservation Plans in Priority Focal Areas

More information and resulting products are available at NortheastTurtles.org.

 

NortheastTurtles.org