Resilient Sites and Connected Landscapes for Terrestrial Conservation in the Lower Mississippi-Ozark Region

Abstract

This work was made possible by a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, along with contributions from the State Chapter and Regional Offices of The Nature Conservancy within this geography. It is part of a set of analyses to identify a comprehensive and connected network of resilient lands across the United States.

In this project, we expanded the Conserving Nature’s Stage approach to the Lower Mississippi and Ozark region, identifying the enduring geophysical drivers of biodiversity and the land characteristics that create resilience, and mapping a suite of places that capture these features across the region. We will also identify important pathways that connect these places to allow for dispersal and migration. We envision developing a blueprint for conservation priorities across this broad region, creating a resilient network that can link to similar networks previously identified in the eastern, central and northwestern regions of the US, ultimately seeking to support investments that enhance the resilience of biodiversity as climate changes at a continental scale.

The focal geography of this study includes all or part of seven states. The region is defined by the boundaries of six TNC ecoregions and encompasses portions of OK, MO, KS, AR, TX, LA, KY, TN, IL and MS.

The Lower Mississippi-Ozark study area encompassed six ecoregions: Ozarks, Ouachita Mountains, Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain, West Gulf Coastal Plain, Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes.

Scientists and conservation planners from most of these states and provinces served on our Steering Committee and played an essential role in helping us to adapt the CNS methods to ecological drivers, biodiversity patterns and land use characteristics that define this geography.

Additional Resources

Explore the data in the Resilient Land Mapping Tool

For the most up-to-date data see CRCS’s National Resilient and Connected Network Download Page

Download the original data that accompanies the report:

Resilience Data for the Lower Mississippi

Resilient and Connected Landscapes Data for Lower Mississippi

Citation

Anderson, M.G., Clark, M.M., Olivero, A. & Prince, J. (2019). Resilient Sites and Connected Landscapes for Terrestrial Conservation in the Lower Mississippi-Ozark Region. The Nature Conservancy, Eastern Conservation Science.