ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Climate change is top of mind after extreme weather events such as Hurricanes Florence and Michael, and North Carolina's land trusts have a significant role to play.

The latest climate science – from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – underscores the importance of natural areas such as forests and working farmlands in the fight against climate change, especially in protecting those places that have the ability to absorb carbon dioxide emissions.

Elsea Brown, is director of the Blue Ridge Forever Coalition, a collective campaign led by local land trusts and national conservation organizations. The group has worked to protect more than 40,000 acres of land.

"We're kind of in a unique position in that it's our responsibility to steward and protect the natural areas that are going to allow humans to be more prepared for the effects that we are going to see," she states.

Advocates hope climate solutions will include broad involvement across for-profit, nonprofit and civil sectors.

Without major changes, IPCC scientists warn that by the end of the century the average global temperature will be around 5.8 degrees warmer with the climbing carbon footprint.

For land trusts such as the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, climate change data has helped the organization plan with a long-term lens.

"Before we started using climate change data, we were looking at what land is most important to protect today," says Michelle Pugliese, the conservancy’s land protection director.

Now, with the new data, Pugliese says the conservancy is looking at what land is most important to protect long into the future.

Scientists and advocates alike say conservation goes beyond partisan politics. Brown calls it a unifying cause.

"Conservation is really something that can bring people together,” she states. “We all care about having a healthy environment and having clean air and clean water and healthy food for ourselves and for our families. It's really not something that belongs to one party or the other."

This month, an international panel of scientists released its sixth report on climate change with data affirming that natural areas reduce our carbon footprint.


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One hundred years ago today, the Izaak Walton League of America was founded in Chicago, with a mission of local stewardship of wild places, citizen science and celebrating outdoor traditions, and for the future, its leaders are spotlighting the value of community-led conservation.

Scott Kovarovics, executive director of the League, said from conserving land and restoring wildlife to reducing water pollution, achievements have been driven by grassroots engagement. He pointed out it includes hunters and anglers who want to conserve wildlife, and protesters who demanded cleaner air and water in the 1960s and 70s.

"Folks are coming together in their own communities to respond to what's most significant there," Kovarovics explained. "In some places, it may be that invasive plants and animals are taking over the landscape, you know. In other places, it's maybe wildlife at risk, or it's water pollution, or it's any number of things."

He noted the League provides the tools and training for things like water-quality testing, and emphasized the model for citizen science is even more important now, with climate change and increasing threats to the natural world.

Gary Struck, president of the League's Illinois Division, said in the last century, they have fostered reforestation efforts by supporting tree-planting in the Shawnee National Forest, and in former strip-mining areas.

He added early on, they also helped get the General Assembly to pass the first bond issue for conservation funded through hunting and fishing licenses, among other conservation wins. He stated today, connecting families with the outdoors is a big focus.

"Looking forward to the next 100 years, the Illinois Division is going to continue its effort to connect the youth with the outdoors," Struck remarked. "That will include wildlife identification, and outdoor skills such as fishing."

Struck stressed they will continue to focus on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, including silt migration in the Kankakee River. And he encouraged people to participate in the group's Clean Water Challenge, by monitoring and cleaning up local streams and ponds.

An alliance of environmental groups and lawmakers has released an ambitious, wide-ranging set of goals for the 2022 Arizona Legislature.

The coalition of 31 conservation groups and 13 elected officials is backing myriad causes they want legislators and the governor to consider over the next five months.

Rep. Andrés Cano, D-Tucson, lead Democrat on the House Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee, said lawmakers have options now to stave off future problems, which they should take advantage of while they still can.

"We have an urgent and unique opportunity right in front of us," Cano contended. "Mitigating the drought that we are in and creating a smarter, more sustainable economy will not only save our state in the long run, but it will spur innovation and strengthen our economy."

The coalition's priorities include action on climate change, water supplies, voting rights, environmental justice, land protection and restoration, and other "green issues." Republican lawmakers say they plan to focus on tightening election security, blocking COVID-19 vaccination mandates, and funding and regulating the state's education system.

The conservation groups' list includes several environmental justice issues.

Doug Bland, executive director of Arizona Interfaith Power and Light, wants to improve social conditions often forcing low-income neighborhoods and communities of color to live in substandard conditions.

"Breathable air and drinkable water should be a basic human right, but it's not so in Arizona," Bland argued. "If you live in South Phoenix or Maryvale, the incidence of asthma, especially among children, is three times higher than it is in Scottsdale."

Hazel Chandler, grassroots coordinator for Elders Climate Action, calls Arizona "ground zero" for the effects of a warming planet. She said the debate about whether climate change is real is over.

"We ask the Legislature and Gov. Ducey to pass legislation to develop climate resiliency plans, so Arizona is better prepared for the worsening impacts of climate change," Chandler urged.

The session, which opened this week, is set to run through mid-May.

Pennsylvania state parks are making a move to go plastic-free and reduce waste, starting with their concession stands, to help meet the Commonwealth's sustainability goals.

By the end of this year, more than 15 state park food concessionaires will have updated contracts, including eliminating plastic straws, cutlery and food packaging. The renewed agreements also require vendors to convert to using compostable or paper-based products when a park offers on-site composting.

Shea Zwerver, executive policy specialist at the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), said cutting down on litter also helps the overall park ecosystem.

"How we can reduce our amount of waste from the beginning?" Zwerver remarked. "That's eliminating these avoidable items, but then also, transitioning to those bio-based or paper-based compostable options, because they can be broken down and returned back into nutrients."

The department is also adopting solar energy, transitioning to electric-powered vehicles and pursuing LEED-certified buildings as part of its sustainability efforts.

Pennsylvania parks saw a 26% increase in visitors from 2019 to 2020 as more people looked for outdoor activities in the pandemic.

Ben Monk, manager of Beltzville State Park, said the spike in visitors also led to more trash left behind. He pointed out the new paper product requirement at Beltzville can help address it.

"I think as the technology progresses, doing these things all of a sudden are easy," Monk asserted. "And I think as these, switching over to compostable materials and things like that, as they become easier, I think people will adopt them more, and we'll be much better off in the long run."

Beltzville made the switch to paper products during last Memorial Day. As future contracts with vendors expire in other state parks, DCNR will update them with the new requirements.