General Resources and Publications

Managing Longleaf Pine Forests for Our Future

Longleaf Climate Smart Guide (2024) by TNC, Clemson, and The Longleaf Alliance, 17 pages

How EQIP Works Understanding the Environmental Quality Incentives Program & Your Responsibilities

Factsheet on EQIP

DOI Nature-based Solutions Roadmap

The purpose of the Department of the Interior Nature Based Solutions Roadmap is to provide Department of the Interior (DOI) staff with consistent and credible information about nature-based solutions, such as which strategies match certain conditions and goals, what co-benefits they are likely to provide, example projects, and additional resources for project planning, construction, and monitoring.

USDA Launches New Bobwhite Conservation Pilot and Announces General Conservation Reserve Program Signup

The opportunity we have been waiting for to stop the national decline of bobwhite quail. Using brand new science tools, WLFW will help landowners manage and connect grassland and savanna habitat in the Central and Eastern US. Together we can improve habitats, measure our progress, and reestablish this iconic rural species to our landscapes!

USDA Announces Historic Investment in Wildlife Conservation, Expands Partnership to Include Additional Programs

$500 Million from Farm Bill Is Part of Broader Commitment from FSA and NRCS to Working Lands Conservation that Benefits Wildlife and Supports Agriculture and Rural Communities BOULDER, Colo., June 27, 2023 – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing that it will expand its work on wildlife conservation by investing at least $500 million over the next five years and by leveraging all available conservation programs, including the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), through its Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW) effort. These commitments, which align with President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, will ramp up the conservation assistance for farmers, ranchers, private forest owners and tribes with a focus on working lands in key geographies across the country as well as hiring for key conservation positions. The funding will help deliver a series of cohesive Frameworks for Conservation Action, which establish a common vision across the partnership of public and private interests and goals for delivering conservation resources in a given ecosystem, combining cutting-edge science with local knowledge.

USEC Bonnie Keynote for the Corridors, Connectivity and Crossings Conference

Under Secretary Robert Bonnie, Farm Production and Conservation, USDA

FY21 WLFW-GWWA Project Boundary

Updated to include new priority areas in NY.

Sagebrush Biome Framework

This framework for 2021-2025 reflects collaborative, multi-state planning efforts to update SGI 2.0, and continues to build from a decade of success conserving the sagebrush biome. This framework also serves as NRCS’ ongoing contribution to the Sagebrush Conservation Strategy administered by Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Sharing common cross-boundary threats, NRCS staff across eleven western states collaborated to create this shared vision for conservation action.

Working Lands for Wildlife: Northern Bobwhite, Grasslands and Savannas Framework for Conservation Action

Working Lands for Wildlife: Northern Bobwhite, Grasslands and Savannas Framework for Conservation Action is a 2022 publication by NRCS capturing a long-term, large landscape conservation plan to recover central and eastern grasslands for northern bobwhite and other wildlife species. To support the win-win approach of WLFW, this framework also includes anticipated outcomes for risk management and revenue enhancements for agricultural/forestry operations, as well as measured outcomes for greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation.

NRCS WLFW Outcomes Assessment 2012-2018 (released 2021)

An outcomes assessment report completed under a contract to Dr. JJ Apodaca from NRCS-WLFW. This document is being shared with conservation partners but broad or public sharing is not approved.

Map of Fescue Belt

Map of fescue belt within the U.S. superimposed over map of states participating in WLFW NOBO, Grasslands, and Savannas

BBS Hotspots for Northern bobwhite

Hot spot map based on breeding bird survey data for northern bobwhite, as of 2011.

Major Land Uses in WLFW NOBO, Grasslands, and Savannas

Major land use types within the boundaries of the WLFW Northern bobwhite, Grasslands, and Savannas framework.

Map of Row Crops Produced in NOBO Range

Row crop production within WLFW Northern bobwhite, Grasslands, and Savannas framework boundaries.

State Priority Areas for WLFW NOBO, Grasslands, and Savannas

Beyond the national boundaries that each NRCS state offices selected, some chose to also identify priority areas that will be used in project ranking. (priority area shapefiles not uploaded yet!)

National Project Boundaries for WLFW-NOBO, Grasslands, and Savannas

Attached shapefiles combine all of the state input to create one cohesive, national map for the framework. Some states also identified priority areas within these boundaries, and those are posted in this same folder.