LCC Grant: Advancing National Conservation Science for Connected Landscapes

The Department of the Interior has recognized this challenge and its obligation to work with partners to address the impacts that climate change and other landscape scale stressors are having on America¿s natural and cultural resources by developing integrated adaptation and mitigation strategies. In part of its overall response, Secretary Salazar signed a Secretarial Order (No. 3289) on September 14, 2009 and amended February 22, 2010, entitled, ¿Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on America¿s Water, Land, and Other Natural and Cultural Resources.¿ The Order established a Department-wide approach for applying scientific tools to increase understanding of climate change and to coordinate an effective response to its impacts on tribes and on the land, water, ocean, fish and wildlife, and cultural heritage resources that the Department manages. As a result, the Department, other federal agencies, states, non-governmental organizations and others have established 22 Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC). The LCCs are landscape-scale applied conservation science partnerships that will support and enhance on-the-ground conservation efforts by facilitating the production and dissemination of applied science for resource management decision makers. LCCs may consist of Federal, State, Tribal, international, local, and private stakeholders. LCCs will identify and seek to coordinate among existing relevant conservation partnerships, plans, agreements, and programs with the specific goals of identifying common needs for information and sharing information and science that is relevant and useful to resource managers and decision-makers.