Hudson Valley Conservation Strategy
We’re saving the land that matters most by identifying and protecting climate-resilient properties that benefit people, wildlife, landscapes, and economies.
Worldwide, the conservation community is grappling with the challenge of ensuring that plants and animals have the ability to adapt to climate impacts such as rising sea levels, increasing temperatures, less predictable rainfall, and extreme weather. This capacity is essential for their — and our — long-term survival. These climate impacts, combined with development pressures, are leading to the destruction of habitats that provide plant and animal species with what they need to survive
What's at stake?
Around the world, wildlife populations have declined by 73% in the last 50 years, according to a recent study by the World Wildlife Fund. Habitat loss is a major reason that wildlife populations are struggling, and protecting open spaces is one of the most important actions we can take to help maintain the Hudson Valley’s biodiversity (variety of plants and animals) and the health and well-being of its communities.
What we're doing
Scenic Hudson designed the Hudson Valley Conservation Strategy (HVCS) to help protect the globally important biological richness and ecological function of the Hudson River Valley — and to safeguard the region’s climate resilience.
The strategy identifies and prioritizes the most efficient combinations of potential land conservation projects that will achieve targets in biodiversity, climate resilience, and landscape connectivity, using rigorous regional data on climate resilience and natural resources generated by non-profit, state agency, and academic partners. Additionally, data from Scenic Hudson’s Foodshed Conservation Plan was overlaid to identify and prioritize productive farmland.
In all, the strategy highlights 760,000 acres in the 11 counties of the Hudson Valley region that represent the most efficient potential conservation investments for achieving a resilient, functional, and productive landscape.
The HVCS was designed as a tool to support Scenic Hudson and partners in making good decisions about investing in open spaces worth saving. It also provides a strategic framework that helps land trusts and land conservation agencies advance their unique missions while aligning their efforts for the benefit of the region’s land, water, people, and wildlife.
Resources
Hudson Valley Conservation Strategy (PDF)
For data requests, please contact Steven DiFalco.
