NEW YORK NY - October 15, 2014 - President Barack Obama’s Council on Environmental Quality announced new executive actions and a series of private and public sector commitments that will improve the management of our natural resources in the context of a changing climate and support investment in green infrastructure. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) coordinates Federal environmental efforts and works closely with agencies and other White House offices in the development of environmental policies and initiatives.
We applaud President Obama's efforts and are honored that the Open Space Institute's Resilient Landscape Initiative was featured.
Launched in 2013 with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, OSI’s initiative supports land protection in the eastern United States that will facilitate wildlife adaptation as the climate changes. Additionally, with support from Jane’s Trust, the New York State Conservation Partnership Program and the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northeast Landscape Conservation Cooperative, the initiative also supports efforts to translate cutting-edge climate science to inform conservation on the ground.
Five of the 14 land acquisition projects funded to date are completed, protecting 2,682 acres of resilient habitat in West Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. Seven other research initiatives that integrate resilience science into conservation planning have been completed or are underway across New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.
As part of the President’s announcement, we’re stepping up our efforts and are pleased to announce four new resilience planning grants, including two statewide initiatives in Massachusetts and Maine. Last week, we received six proposals for land protection in the Southern Cumberland Plateau (TN and AL), the first resiliency site in the southeast. By the year’s end, we will select two or three additional sites for capital grants in land protection in the region. Tomorrow, we will release a Request for Proposals for the third round of capital grants for resilient land protection projects in the Northeast.
Land trusts have a critical role to play in ensuring resiliency in the face of climate change. OSI is pleased to help facilitate this work, and provide the information, capital and tools conservationists need to succeed in this crucial endeavor.