SECAS brings together public and private organizations around a bold vision for the future of our region. We're connecting the lands and waters of the Southeast and Caribbean to support healthy ecosystems, thriving fish and wildlife populations, and vibrant communities. With a data-driven spatial plan and an ambitious regional goal, SECAS helps accelerate conservation action in the places where it will make the biggest impact.
From the blog
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SECAS staff use numerous LANDFIRE layers, including the pictured Existing Vegetation Type, in Southeast Blueprint indicators--especially in the U.S. Caribbean. Help improve LANDFIRE- Data on landscape change needed by 10/31
Do you have data on landscape changes? The LANDFIRE program produces lots of helpful data on current and historic vegetation and disturbances. We use LANDFIRE in a number of Blueprint indicators. LANDFIRE staff have also been super helpful and responsive to feedback and questions. They always get back to me quickly when I have questions. They’ve made a number of improvements, especially in the U.S. Caribbean, based on issues we’ve found. Unlike some other mapping efforts (I’m looking at you, NLCD!), they also map and regularly update products that cover the U.S. Caribbean.
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Still image taken from video of a dive down to 5,000 meters (16,405 feet) on Mona Seamount near Puerto Rico, one of the deepest dives ever to reach the seafloor in that part of the world. Despite the depth of the dive, the site was not devoid of life. Media courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Short videos of deep-sea species in Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands
These short videos aren’t new, but I ran across them again in looking up some deep-sea related information. It’s so great to be able to see the amazing deep-sea diversity in the Southeast. I’m also thankful that NOAA efforts like the Okeanos Explorer, which make videos and share images to make this world more accessible to all of us.
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The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments spans both the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy and Midwest Landscape Initiative regions--making it a perfect place to test integration between the Midwest and Southeast Blueprints! SECAS and MLI - Regional partnerships without boundaries
Our society has us wired to believe that “new” is inherently “better” and that automatically means success. We often assume the mentality of “stronger, faster, smarter” is the key to accomplishing your goals and leads to being considered a “trail blazer”. We spend so much time trying to be innovative and “outside of the box” that we tend to forget that a box can be an extremely functional tool. It’s useful for storage, organization, and was probably your favorite toy as a baby. Its concept is probably older than the wheel and was a groundbreaking tool at one time. It’s so familiar that we don’t even think of as it a tool anymore. So why rush to discount something that’s tried and true? At this point, I think we can all agree that we all have a renewed appreciation for the familiar concept of a box, but don’t worry—I’m not trying to sell you a box.
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Visit the SECAS blog for a full archive of posts.