CHARTING A NEW COURSE FOR CONSERVATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
The Southeastern Grasslands Initiative (SGI) completed our first full year as an organization in 2018 by riding a steep curve of learning, public participation, staff recruiting, getting new contracts in place, starting numerous on-the-ground projects, and securing funding from some very generous donors! Thanks in large part to the vision and support of the Band Foundation through its second challenge grant, SGI succeeded in raising more than $736,000 in 2018, bringing our total since 2017 to more than $2.2 million dollars.
SGI is based out of Austin Peay State University's Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Clarksville, Tennessee, and while we are in our "start-up" phase, we are ambitious about scaling our impact across 23 states of the Southeast as our work continues. Doing so means that we must confront the reality that much of the conservation that has been achieved in the past 100 years is not enough because our grassland ecosystems are continuing to slide into extinction. SGI and our partners are aiming to "chart a new course for conservation in the 21st century" before it's too late.
"The Southern Grassland Biome...is probably the richest terrestrial biome in all of North America. To understand, cherish, and preserve the great natural heritage of the Southern Grassland Biome should be a priority goal in America's environmental movement." - E.O. Wilson, 2012, in Forgotten Grasslands of the South by Reed Noss
Among conservation organizations, SGI is unique in that we are concerned with the conservation of all Southeastern grasslands. From the arid, chalky blackland prairies of east Texas to the coastal dune grasslands of North Carolina's Atlantic Coast, and from the serpentine barrens of southern Pennsylvania to the grassy, sun-dappled floor of the iconic treed grasslands of Florida's pine savannas, we are working for them all.
Our native grasslands contain more than half of the terrestrial biodiversity of the South, including an overwhelming concentration of species of conservation concern—rare and declining grassland birds, pollinators, plants, and small mammals. Half (600) of all rare habitat types (1,200) in SGI's 23-state focal region are grassland ecosystems. The astounding biodiversity held by this array of native grasslands, so eloquently described in Dr. Reed Noss's (Conservation Science, Inc.) recent book "Forgotten Grasslands of the South," are the cornerstone of the world's newest designated global biodiversity hotspot, which is centered on the southeastern U.S.
Part of the challenge of conserving Southern grasslands is that many remnants are tiny. This makes them particularly well suited for volunteer-led conservation, and we are building partnerships expressly for the purpose of building a movement among retirees, students, professionals, employees, families, and anyone willing to lend a hand. (To learn more about the Chicago-based model that SGI is adopting for building a volunteer conservation movement, read our 6-part blog: "Bringing Chicago-style conservation to the South"). In 2018 our team worked on a multitude of projects, including on-the-ground restoration, seed collection and processing, biodiversity documentation, discovering and naming new species, and helping to conduct native plant rescues from sites being developed.
SGI is telling a story that is largely untold in American history and conservation. We are embarking on a journey to reclaim a largely unrecognized part of our natural and cultural heritage. Most Americans are unaware that cities such as Charlotte, Chattanooga, Huntsville, Montgomery, Nashville, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond, and Tallahassee, among others, are as much "grassland cities" as Austin, Fort Worth, and Tulsa, only they were different kinds of grasslands. We don't understand them because they were gone before the camera was invented...gone before they could be painted or sketched...gone before they could be described. In essence, most have become erased from our collective memory as a society, except to those of us who can read the forensic clues...we at SGI see them, and we want to help the world to see them again too.
The loss of Southern Grasslands is the greatest threat to terrestrial biodiversity in North America. Yet, it is not even on the radar of most conservation funders and many conservation organizations.
In spite of their overwhelming contribution to the biodiversity of the South, the funding these native grasslands receive pales in comparison to forests and wetlands. SGI is working to advocate for more resources from philanthropic and corporate sponsors as well as government sources. One of SGI's primary objectives is to correct this disparity; another is to seek the inclusion of small but highly diverse remnants into large-scale conservation planning efforts.
We don’t pretend to have all the answers at this stage. What we do know is that urgent action in the form of a movement and a major influx of new resources and funding is essential to reverse the tide of native grassland biodiversity loss that has gripped eastern North America. While the challenge is daunting, we are up to it, and we offer a refreshing, inspiring, and scalable approach to rescuing one of the rarest ecosystems in the world. We ask ourselves daily and we ask you now – if we don’t answer the call, who will? It is up to us, my friends.
-Dwayne Estes Ph.D., Executive Director
DONORS
We can't express enough how deeply we appreciate the support of the BAND Foundation. BAND has supported SGI from the beginning, with an initial gift of $20,000 in 2016. This planning grant helped co-founders Dwayne Estes and Theo Witsell lay the foundation for SGI. This was followed by a $250,000 challenge grant in June 2017, and after obtaining the required match in December 2017, BAND continued to show its support for SGI by awarding us a second challenge grant in August 2018, this time for $350,000. BAND's leadership in supporting and guiding SGI has been truly transformational, and this support is now manifesting in on-the-ground success!
The Stella Boyle Smith Trust, of Little Rock, AR, provided a generous gift to support SGI's core operations, which will be integral to building SGI’s citizen science efforts in Arkansas and development of a the Southeastern Grasslands Conservation Plan, to be launched in 2019.
The Woltz Charitable Trust supported SGI's core operations, especially enhancing our activities in Southern Appalachia, the original home of the Woltz family.
The Sam Shine Foundation of New Albany, Indiana provided funding that helps support conservation of small-scale native grassland remnants through community-led efforts as well as building our efforts in the greater Louisville area.
Philanthropist George Lindemann helped develop SGI's citizen science program in biodiversity exploration and provided core funding that enabled us to hire two SGI interns, who played leading roles in documenting rare shortleaf pine-post oak savanna remnants on the Cumberland Plateau. Their work in 2018 has been critical to our understanding of this rare ecosystem, to SGI's efforts, and our vision of large-scale savanna restoration on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau.
The Vanderpoel Conservation Foundation of Chicago, Illinois provided gifts to SGI in both 2018 and 2017, in part to carry on the work of the late Tom Vanderpoel, a leader in Chicago grassland conservation and an inspiration to SGI.
VOLUNTEERS
In 2018 our volunteer teams worked on a multitude of projects, including on-the-ground restoration, seed collection and processing, biodiversity documentation, mapping grasslands, and helping to conduct native plant rescues from sites being developed.
We have identified many ways for volunteers to become a part of the SGI team. The roles of SGI volunteers are nearly as diverse as our native grasslands! Our volunteers:
- use SGI training and the latest mobile technology to catalogue biodiversity in the field
- help to compile historical documentation that tells the story of our native Southeastern grasslands
- assist in maintaining living collections in a Research & Teaching Garden at Austin Peay State University (APSU)
- become experts at native seed collection and cleaning
- get their hands dirty in the field with restoration
- assist SGI staff in the APSU herbarium
- wrangle invasive exotic species
- assist with research
- work alone or in groups.
“SGI’s volunteer day opened the community’s eyes to the unprecedented loss of the Southern grassland ecosystems. But it also gave us a lesson on the resilience of nature and with that a bright path for communities to take action in the restoration of these landscapes.” — volunteer David Pineros
Theo Witsell, co-founder of SGI and Chief Ecologist. Theo, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, works to explore our native grasslands and gathers and synthesizes data on their ecological and historical significance. He is regarded as one of the most experienced field botanists in the Southeast, and he has some of the sharpest eyes in the business.
Alan Weakley Ph.D. is a leading botanist and plant community ecologist with broad experience throughout the eastern U.S. He is based in Chapel Hill where he serves as Director of the Herbarium at our partner institution, UNC's North Carolina Botanical Garden. Alan dually serves as Chief Botanist for SGI. Read more about Alan here and here.
JJ White, SGI's Administrative Assistant, was the glue in 2018 that held SGI together and she kept us running smoothly on a daily basis. Her duties included coordinating scheduling among all team members, helping set up contracts, assisting with grant writing, preparing budgets, ordering, processing receipts, proofing, and managing the office.
Gregg Elliott, Director of Communications. Gregg, who runs a successful conservation communications business from Memphis, TN, leads innovative efforts to tell SGI's story and efficiently connect with partners, volunteers, members, donors, the media, and others to spread the word about SGI.
Cooper Breeden, serves as SGI's Plant Conservation Coordinator and dually serves as statewide rare plant coordinator for the Tennessee Plant Conservation Alliance. Cooper works directly on conservation of rare grassland species in concert with partners such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Tennessee Division of Natural Areas, and he also leads volunteers across Tennessee.
Mason Brock, Manager of Collections at the APSU Herbarium at SGI headquarters. Mason oversees the preservation of 130,000+ specimens of plants, many collected for SGI's grassland biodiversity projects. He is also a leader in documenting grassland biodiversity in Kentucky and Tennessee and directly works with volunteers who collect specimens and work in the herbarium.
Michelle McInnis joined our team at the very end of 2018. She serves as SGI's Volunteer Engagement Coordinator while also working to obtain her master's degree at APSU studying the biodiversity of rare riparian grasslands in Southern Appalachia. She has hit the ground running thanks to her previous experience with volunteer coordination in New England, Chicago, and the Everglades.
Brittney Viers is SGI's first ever grasslands coordinator now serving the Interior Plateaus and part of the East Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregions. She oversees our NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) grant working with a total of 11 partners led by the American Bird Conservancy. The programs under our Grasslands RCPP include EQIP, CSP, and WRE. These programs provide financial assistance for landowners who wish to pursue native grassland restoration. Brittney embarks on this 5-year funded position in a joint role with SGI and Quail Forever. She brings a 10-year track record of working successfully with private landowners to design native grassland seed mixes and restore habitat, putting her Master's in Botany to good use. Additionally she will inspire and work with dozens of volunteers to develop community-led grassland conservation teams throughout the Interior Low Plateau focal region.
RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
Joey Shaw Ph.D. In 2018, we brought Joey onto the team as a Research Associate. Joey is a professor of botany at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga and is considered one of the leading authorities on the flora of the Southern Appalachians and Mid-South regions. For SGI, he manages a number of government-funded projects.
JoVonn Hill Ph.D. is an SGI Research Associate based at Mississippi State University's Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM). He is one of the leading experts in North America on grasshoppers, ants, and other insect and pollinator groups. He and his team at MEM are working hand-in-hand with SGI on multiple projects to investigate pollinator diversity in native grasslands.
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
Shown from left to right, the APSU Center for Field Biology-based team of Graduate Research Assistants. Their youth and energy adds an incredible dimension to SGI which can't be described in words.
- Cooper Breeden, SGI Plant Conservation Coordinator, studying historical ecology of limestone glades using tree ring cores
- Thomas Murphy, Graduate Research Assistant & Manager of the SGI's Native Plant Teaching & Research Garden at APSU, studying new species of the southeastern U.S.
- Michelle McInnis, SGI Volunteer Engagement Coordinator & Graduate Research Assistant, studying riparian grasslands of Southern Appalachia
- Mason Brock, Collections Manager for the APSU Herbarium at SGI headquarters
- Zach Irick, SGI's Southern Appalachian Grassland Coordinator & Graduate Research Assistant, finishing his studies on describing numerous new plant species
- Darrell Brandon, Graduate Research Assistant & leading SGI's efforts to develop a regional seedbank facility, studying grasslands of powerlines on the Cumberland Plateau
- Claire Ciafre, Graduate Research Assistant studying the flora and ecology of rare wet grassland communities and also new species
- Dwayne Estes, our fearless leader and academic advisor to this talented team
INTERNS
Collaborative Effort to Restore 1,000s of acres of Private Lands in TN and KY to Native Grasslands. In a 10-organization partnership led by the American Bird Conservancy, SGI helped secure a grant from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) aimed at restoring several thousand acres of native grassland on private lands in parts of central and western Kentucky and Tennessee. Additional partners include the state fish & game agencies for both states, Quail Forever, Bridgestone Americas, TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation, Arnold Engineering & Development Ctr., National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, and the National Wild Turkey Federation.
Teamwork and Public Engagement Key to Urban Grassland Conservation on 1000+ acres. Nashville Metro Parks and Recreation awarded SGI two grants in 2018. The first grant supported citizen science-led biodiversity exploration at the 900-acre Stones River Bend Park and the 650-acre Mill Ridge Park. This project is a collaboration among SGI, Nashville Metro Parks, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, Tara Armistead Landscape Architect, Hodgson Douglas Landscape Architects, and The Nature Conservancy of Tennessee. The second grant allowed SGI to help develop a restoration and management plan for historical Fort Negley, a Civil War fort overlooking downtown Nashville.
5,000-acre Coal Creek Farm Biodiversity Survey of Imperiled Cumberland Plateau Savannas. George Lindemann provided support for shortleaf pine savanna studies on the Cumberland Plateau. SGI will develop a model for Cumberland Plateau savanna restoration using a species inventory from the farm and then expand it to a much larger area. The work will pave the way for additional conservation efforts in the region that incorporate a combination of canopy thinning, prescribed fire, and grazing, especially in areas currently dominated by loblolly pine plantation or recovering clearcuts.
Roundstone Native Seed Gift Leads to SGI's First Prairie Restoration (15 acres) with Tennessee State Parks. Roundstone Native Seed Co. LLC provided a very generous donation of regional-genotype seeds of 47 native prairie species, herbicide, and labor to restore 15 acres of prairie in cooperation with Dunbar Cave State Park & Natural Area in Clarksville, TN. This restored prairie--known as Boone's Prairie--is going into its third year and is already serving as an outdoor classroom for Austin Peay State University biology classes, a destination for local citizens, and a training ground for SGI's Volunteer Corps.
Working to Understand the Threat Climate Change Poses to Southern Native Grasslands and Grassland Species. The US Geological Survey's Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center awarded SGI funding to convene and engage experts to develop a climate change and grasslands needs assessment, which will identify the core needs of rare species of the Southeast associated with native grassland ecosystems. In late 2019 SGI will host a gathering of experts and stakeholders, and SGI will lead a team of national collaborators to draft a white paper. Numerous federal agencies will be well represented as part of this needs assessment, including the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Geological Survey, US Forest Service, and Environmental Protection Agency.
SGI Launches 60 Southeast-wide Grassland Biodiversity Projects on iNaturalist. Whether you are 9 or 90, walk into any limestone glade across 11 counties of central Tennessee and use your smartphone to photograph plants, lichens, bugs, birds, whatever, and you can help SGI document the biodiversity of Southeastern grasslands! We have established 60 iNaturalist projects spanning from Virginia to Florida west to Arkansas and Missouri, with more to come in 2019. Check out our online training modules and click here to see an example of one of SGI's iNat projects, Southern Blue Ridge Mountains Grass Bald Biodiversity.
SGI's Volunteer Corps will Take to the Highways of Tennessee to Map Grasslands and Develop Roadside Management Plan. In September 2018, the Tennessee Department of Transportation awarded SGI a grant to document remnant native grasslands along more than 4,000 miles of Tennessee's highway system, develop a native grassland conservation plan for Tennessee's highway corridors, and create a 30-acre educational prairie along Interstate 24 in Clarksville, Tennessee. Leading the way throughout this 2-year study will be more than 100 trained and empowered volunteers searching the byways and backroads of Tennessee to map and inventory remnant grasslands. We call it "Rubbernecking for Science"!
SGI and Mississippi Entomological Museum Team Up with Tennessee Valley Authority and the Electric Power Research Institute for Study of Importance of Power Line Grasslands to Pollinator Biodiversity. In August 2018, the Tennessee Valley Authority awarded SGI a grant in support of a 3-year study to document pollinators and plants in 15 remnant native grasslands associated with power line corridors in the Cumberland Plateau ecoregion of Alabama and Tennessee. These remaining grasslands are the highest quality remnants left in the entire ecoregion. SGI will partner with the Electric Power Research Institute and the Mississippi Entomological Museum, which will lead efforts to document bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, wasps, and other pollinators from these native remnants as well as all of the plants that these insects are using. The federally-endangered Green Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia oreophila) and federally-threatened White Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integrilabia) are heavily dependent on these remnants.
A Cultural and Natural History Study of the Grasslands of the Great Valley of southwest Virginia, America's First Highway to the West. From the 1730s onward, the grassy floor of the Great Valley of western Virginia served as a highway for westward migration. In 2018, SGI embarked on a journey with Senator Bill Frist and his wife Tracy Frist to use their 800-acre Sinking Creek Farm as an outdoor laboratory to explore a part of our nation's past which has been lost. Their contribution will be especially critical to SGI's efforts to develop its educational and outreach goals. Through this project, we will begin to tell the untold story of how southeastern grasslands impacted the cultural and natural history of the Southeast, with particular reference to the Southern Appalachians.
Tennessee's Highest Quality Wet Grasslands. Thanks to three grants from the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation's Division of Water Resources, SGI is leading efforts to document the best remaining grassland wetlands in Tennessee. This includes collecting data on plant species composition and vegetation structure. For example, the picture at right shows Goose Pond Registered National Natural Landmark at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee. Historical data suggest the area surrounding the open marsh was once fire-maintained oak savanna. After 150 years of fire suppression, however, the grasslands that once came to the edge of the marsh have been replaced by forest, leading to loss of species that need the wetland/upland ecotone and further leading to changes in the wetland proper. This is one of many wetlands we are studying over a two-year period.
Endangered Species Conservation. SGI, in partnership with the Tennessee Plant Conservation Alliance and the US Fish and Wildlife Service along with Section 6 endangered species funding from the Tennessee Division of Natural Areas, is preparing a "safeguarding plan" for the federally-endangered Whorled Sunflower (Helianthus verticillatus). This rare species is found at just five sites in the world. All but a couple of these populations are on private property and are threatened with extirpation due to herbicide application, woody plant succession, and agricultural practices. This project will involve numerous partners to ensure the survival of this beautiful but rare sunflower.
New Species Discovery. Our Director of Research, Dr. Alan Weakley, is leading an ambitious effort out of his home base at the North Carolina Botanical Garden to describe 30 new plant species from the grasslands of the Southeast within the next three years. Graduate Research Assistant, Claire Ciafre, found a new species of sedge in central Tennessee and is collaborating with botanists from the New York Botanical Garden to study and name it. Our Research Associate, Dr. JoVonn Hill at the Mississippi Entomological Museum, named 21 new species of grasshoppers in 2015 and discovered another new species (pictured at right) in 2018 during our Coal Creek Farm biodiversity survey. A new mouse and new crayfish still await official naming from Southern grasslands, as do 99 plant species. No wonder the Southeast was named recently as the world's newest biodiversity hotspot!
SGI Biodiversity Explorers Document Diversity in Pristine Appalachian Riparian Grasslands. In October 2018, the National Park Service awarded SGI two grants to conduct work at Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area and the Obed Wild & Scenic River. These funds will support biodiversity exploration of two river systems, respectively: Clear Fork of the Big South Fork River and Clear Creek. Student-led research will explore these rivers’ pristine riparian, flood-maintained native grasslands known as riverscour barrens, which are extremely rugged and remote. These unique small-scale grasslands are super high quality and are home to more than a half-dozen plant species, such as Locust Fork Goldenrod (Solidago arenicola), that are endemic to these habitats and found nowhere else outside the Cumberland Plateau region.
OUTREACH
- The 2018 Green Screen festival in Georgia featured SGI's introductory video in March and we had more than 4,000 views of our 15-minute mini-documentary.
- Dwayne Estes received Tennessee's 2017 Conservationist of the Year award from the Tennessee Wildlife Federation in spring 2018.
- SGI recruited more than 375 volunteers from across 60+ communities.
- SGI collaborated with more than a dozen prospective partner organizations.
- SGI's Facebook page reached 5,000 followers by the end of December.
- The SGI website received 15,000 unique visitors and 52,000 page views since launching April 2017; in 2018 the website averaged 1,253 visitors per month.
- SGI attained more than 800 subscribers to our newsletter.
- Our blog series reached 1,000 readers by the end of 2018.
- Presentations by SGI staff reached more than 6,500 people by end of 2018.
PARTNERS
- American Bird Conservancy, The Plains, Virginia
- American Indian Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Applied Ecological Services Inc., Broadhead, Wisconsin
- Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas
- Arnold Air Force Base, Tullahoma, Tennessee
- Big South Fork National Recreation Area, US National Park Service, Oneida, Tennessee
- Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), Fort Worth, Texas
- Bog Learning Network, Southern Appalachians
- Bridgestone Americas Corporation, Nashville, Tennessee
- Central Hardwood Joint Venture, Reeds Spring, Missouri
- Citizens for Conservation, Chicago, Illinois
- Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, California
- Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance, Athens, Georgia
- Growild, Inc., Fairview, Tennessee
- Highlands Biological Station, Highlands, North Carolina
- Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, Frankfort, Kentucky
- Kentucky Heartwood, Berea, Kentucky
- Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, Frankfort, Kentucky
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas
- Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, US Forest Service, Golden Pond, Kentucky
- Little River Canyon National Preserve, Mentone, Alabama
- Mississippi Entomological Museum, Starkville, Mississippi
- Missouri Prairie Foundation, Columbia, Missouri
- Mt. Cuba Center, Hockessin, Delaware
- Nashville Metro Parks and Recreation, Nashville, Tennessee
- National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, Knoxville, Tennessee
- National Science Foundation, Washington, DC.
- National Wild Turkey Federation, Edgefield, South Carolina
- Natural Areas Association, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
- NatureCITE, Springfield, Missouri
- NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia
- North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Obed Wild and Scenic River, US National Park Service, Wartburg, Tennessee
- Piedmont Prairie Partnership, Raleigh, North Carolina
- Quail Forever-Pheasants Forever, St. Paul, Minnesota
- Reflection Riding Arboretum & Botanical Garden, Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Roundstone Native Seed LLC, Upton, Kentucky
- Sinking Creek Farm, New Castle, Virginia
- Society for Range Management, Littleton, Colorado
- State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
- Tennessee Department of Transportation, Nashville, Tennessee
- Tennessee Division of Natural Areas, Nashville, Tennessee
- Tennessee Division of Water Resources, Nashville, Tennessee
- Tennessee Naturalist Program, Nashville, Tennessee
- Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation, Nashville, Tennessee
- Tennessee Plant Conservation Alliance, Clarksville, Tennessee
- Tennessee State Parks, Nashville, Tennessee
- Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Knoxville, Tennessee
- Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Nashville, Tennessee
- The Nature Conservancy of Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee
- University of South Carolina Herbarium, Columbia, South Carolina
- University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, Tennessee
- University of West Alabama Herbarium, Livingston, Alabama
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cookeville, Tennessee
- Weed Wrangle, Nashville, Tennessee
- Wild Ones, Tennessee Valley Chapter, Chattanooga, Tennessee
SGI 2018, BY THE NUMBERS
- 20,000 = the estimated number of people we reached in 2018
- 6,700 acres surveyed for native grasslands
- 107 native grassland species planted
- 40 native grassland species targeted for seed collection for SGI restoration projects
- 15 acres restored (mighty oaks from little acorns grow!)
- 12 grassland plant species completely new to science discovered
- 2 peer-reviewed publications published in scientific or conservation journals
- 2 MOAs signed with partner organizations
- 1 grassland plant species completely new to science described and published
- 1 animal species completely new to science discovered: a grasshopper (Melanopus species novum)
- 0 = the percent chance that we won't succeed