SePPCon 2024: Prioritization and Planning
SePPCon 2024: Prioritization and Planning
South Carolina’s “Plants”: SWAP and Conservation Assessment
Keith Bradley*, Samantha Tessel, Eric Ungberg, Csilla Czakó, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is developing its 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP). The Heritage Trust Botany & Plant Conservation Program has led the writing of all plant and vegetation-related sections of the SWAP, including a presentation of plant species of conservation and cultural importance. While plants were included in the 2015 SWAP, this 10-year revision includes the first comprehensive analysis of South Carolina’s flora. It builds on a 4.5 year-long effort to develop the data structures to synthesize multiple forms of biodiversity to calculate conservation ranks for all native vascular plant species in the state, and these conservation ranks have been used to classify SWAP priority ranks for over 800 species. This also represents the first effort to include significant numbers of bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts) and lichens in the SWAP using the same data architectures and analyses. The 2025 SWAP also includes plant species of cultural significance. A new vegetation classification is also presented for South Carolina, which lays the groundwork for a future, more comprehensive state vegetation classification that will include conservation ranks for the state’s rarest habitats. The authors provide examples of hands-on conservation actions that have resulted from the ability to prioritize conservation needs for all the state’s flora.
The TN State Wildlife Action Plan plant list revision
Todd Crabtree*, Tennessee Natural Heritage Program
Video start time: 13:01
Using SEAFWA (Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies) criteria, state status and other factors to revise the list and establish priority levels, with automation and logic filters. SEAFWA criteria are embedded in conditional functions within spreadsheets and these results are filtered and evaluated to expose anomalies. Potential problems with ranks as well as other issues can be revealed in the process. All factors are exposed in the spreadsheets and can be adjusted as needed, thus avoiding the pitfalls of a dedicated application which would obfuscate the logic and factors and require at least some programming skill to update.
Kentucky’s Forest Biodiversity Assessment Program: Results of Statewide Monitoring of Mesic Forests and their Harvestable, Medicinal and Rare Species
Kendall McDonald, Rachel Cook*, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, Kentucky Department of Agriculture
Video start time: 22:05
The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP) acts as Kentucky’s natural heritage and natural areas program through the administration of the State Nature Preserves System, Kentucky Wild River Program, Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund, and the Rare Plant Program. OKNP is responsible for maintaining the Kentucky rare species database, as well as acquisition and management of natural areas and nature preserves that host high quality communities and rare species. In 2019, OKNP created the Kentucky Forest Biodiversity Assessment Program (KFBAP) to address conservation concerns of Kentucky’s forests more efficiently, such as a conservation status of medicinal plants and other species of conservation concern, forest health, floristic quality, and threat levels of invasive species. OKNP conducted forest assessments at long term monitoring sites in 20% of Kentucky’s counties each year, completing the statewide inventory after 5 years (2019-2023). The KFBAP focuses on surveys of rare and conservative forested plant species, forest community diversity and structure, herbaceous diversity, forest medicinal plants/species of commercial concern, invasive species and other threats. With creation of new partnerships, OKNP was able to increase staff and resources to make the KFBAP possible. By leveraging existing resources of several statewide projects, creating an efficient data collection standard and building a larger database for all species and communities (biodiversity database), OKNP was able to complete a more comprehensive program that addresses core biodiversity questions of Kentucky’s forests and meets the data needs for various partners throughout the state.
Southeastern Plants Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need
Carrie Radcliffe (1), Sarah Norris* (1), Jon Ambrose (2), Wesley Knapp (3), Tracy Rice (4), Amanda Treher Eberly (3), Alan Weakley (5), Karen Terwilliger (4), Emily E. D. Coffey (1)
(1) Atlanta Botanical Garden, (2) Georgia Department of Natural Resources, (3) NatureServe, (4) Terwilliger Consulting, Inc., (5) University of North Carolina
Video start time: 31:01
The Southeastern Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN) list is the first of its kind in the U.S. The Atlanta Botanical Garden (ABG) coordinated the creation of this list, on behalf of the Southeastern Plant Conservation Alliance (SE PCA), by working with experts across the region. Project partners include the NatureServe Network, Terwilliger Consulting, Inc., Flora of the Southeastern United States, and the Southeastern Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) Wildlife Diversity Committee. The Southeastern Plants RSGCN list presents species of conservation concern with regional responsibility and opportunity for collaboration, identifies high level threats and needs, and sets actionable priorities for rare plants across political boundaries. This project is moving the dial forward for plant conservation at the regional and national levels by highlighting the critical role of plants in the face of our changing climate and integrating these activities with broader efforts to conserve wildlife. Identification of ecological systems will inform potential Conservation Opportunity Areas that can be addressed by State & Tribal Wildlife Plans and Grants, as well as future iterations of the Southeastern animal RSGCN. These tools will promote more holistic conservation and set the stage for more inclusive and comprehensive and effective landscape conservation.