Federal agencies enter alliance for three resilient lands

A coalition of federal agencies announced three new landscape partnerships under the Resilient Lands and Waters initiative on Wednesday, consisting of California’s Headwaters, the Russian River Watershed and Montana’s Crown of the Continent.

The Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will work together to conserve and restore the areas, which are key landscapes, in the face of climate change.

"From the redwoods to the Rockies to the Great Lakes and the Everglades, climate change threatens many of our treasured landscapes, which impacts our natural and cultural heritage, public health and economic activity," Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said. “The key to making these areas more resilient is collaboration through sound science and partnerships that take a landscape-level approach to preparing for and adapting to climate change.

Federal, state and tribal partners will work in the coming months to develop strategies for both the three new landscapes and the first set that were declared on Earth Day 2015. These strategies will include wildfire management, promotion of healthy forests and the improvement of water quality.