Overview

The South Atlantic Conservation Blueprint is a living spatial plan to conserve natural and cultural resources for future generations. It identifies opportunities for shared conservation action in the face of future changes like sea-level rise and urban growth.

The latest update to the Blueprint, Version 2020, was released in August 2020. The Blueprint is totally data-driven, prioritizing the lands and waters of the South Atlantic based on the current condition of terrestrial, freshwater, marine, and cross-ecosystem indicators. Through a connectivity analysis, the Blueprint also identifies corridors that link coastal and inland areas and span climate gradients. So far, more than 700 people from over 200 different organizations have actively participated in developing the Blueprint. The South Atlantic Blueprint also integrates with a broader Southeast-wide plan as part of the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS).

The Blueprint is helping at least 225 people from over 90 organizations bring in new funding and inform their conservation decisions. The Blueprint has been used to inform public lands planning, strengthen land protection proposals, identify shared longleaf restoration priorities, refine natural habitat cores in local comprehensive plans, and much more.

The Blueprint is available online through two mapping viewers: the Simple Viewer and the Conservation Planning Atlas. The Simple Viewer summarizes Blueprint priorities, indicator status, and supporting information within subwatersheds and marine lease blocks. The Conservation Planning Atlas allows users to overlay additional datasets, view indicator layers, and download Blueprint data.

Audience

• Land and water managers looking to see how their conservation efforts can add up to something bigger
• Natural resource professionals looking to figure out where to get the most “bang for the buck” in the face of future changes (e.g., sea level rise, climate change, urban growth)
• Urban planners and members of open space committees that want to figure out how their efforts can fit into a regional open space / green infrastructure plan
• Cultural resource professionals looking to partner with natural resource organizations to sustain our cultural heritage and tell the story of the South Atlantic region
• Foundations and non-profits looking to see how their conservation investments can be part of a large-scale collaborative adaptation strategy for natural and cultural resources
• Infrastructure planners looking for ways to balance green and grey infrastructure
• Anyone looking to help shape the future of the South Atlantic 

Organization(s)

South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative

The mission of the South Atlantic LCC: Facilitate conservation actions that sustain natural and cultural resources, guided by a shared adaptive blueprint.

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Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy

SECAS is a regional conservation initiative that spans the Southeastern United States and Caribbean. SECAS was started in 2011 by the states of the Southeastern Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies and the federal agencies of the Southeast Natural Resource Leaders Group. 

SECAS brings together state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, private businesses, tribes, partnerships, and universities around a shared vision of the future. We’re working to design and achieve a connected network of lands and waters to benefit ecosystems, species, and people.

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