RCK Past President Sandy Martin introduced Katherine Medlock & Laurel Creech from the Nature Conservancy. It is the largest scientific organization in the world. Focusing on conservation and protection. There are 450,000 acres protected on Tennessee alone. Their mission is “To conserve the lands and water on which all life depends”. Tennessee has 25 total staff most of which are assigned to conservation.
There are two main challenges:
1. Changing climate
2. Loss of plant and animal species.
Three focus areas: Land, Water and Climate.
- Land – Protection & connecting and Restoration & Resiliency
- Water – Watershed protection. Flood Plane and wetland restoration (Example: Mississippi river basin Agriculture processes for fresh water in Tennessee
- Climate – Forest Resiliency
It was pointed out the incredibly broad partner base, both corporate, and governmental.
Appalachia is a global priority and they have a 9-year window to show impact. Appalachia serves as a highway for species that are moving due to climate change. The area has 393,640 streams and has more species of fish than the rest of North America. Common issues include things that we don’t normally think of like poor culvert designs that restrict the movement of many species on some waterways. Katherine explained why they do proactive, controlled fires (controlled burn) to prevent devastation from wildfire as just one example of the work they coordinate to protect the Appalachian region.