Lightning Updates

The use and nature of public open space is already changing. Where will it go? How will it evolve? What do we need to do to make it more available and equitable? (Photo: CCP/Doherty) The global pandemic has almost instantly impacted public open space. Both for good...

Let's start with this. It's remarkable and it feels good. It's a 5 minute reminder of how much is often unseen. And for conservationists like us, it's a sign of the wildlife corridors all around, even at this micro scale.(Filmed in Pennsylvania over the course of a...

What's happening now is big. Bigger than most of us have ever experienced. It will cause dramatic change. The question is: how do we respond, and how do we advance conservation that benefits all?(Illustration: UK News-Observer/Chris Ridell)This is the time for...

Fifty years ago, Walter Cronkite, the "most trusted man in America'" summarized the first Earth Day in a two minute commentary that seems both remarkable and relevant today. It's well worth watching. This week we commemorate history -- the 50th anniversary of Earth...

Now, like never before, we are fully appreciating the value of our local parks and trails. Yet, not all communities have equal access to public open space. And, we're finding the access we do have may not be enough when we all need more close to home space outdoors....

In the face of overwhelmingly bad news, knowing what, when and how to communicate about our land conservation missions is challenging. Here are some suggestions. How do we communicate about land conservation with lives at risk, routine activity upended, and the...

We're launching a new platform for profiling and promoting Chesapeake conservation success stories. Help us build it out and promote your organization and conservation work.In this time when so many conservationists are constrained from working in the way we normally...

"Logging and other habitat disruption creates new opportunities for disease organisms to move from non human animals to people." (Photo: euflegtredd via Flickr licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) As this is written, we are all directly experiencing one of the impacts of...

Canvasback ducks afllight in the Chesapeake watershed, just a few weeks before they all head north to breed. (All images in thisLightning Update: Clandestine Wren Photography) In the face of concerning and constant news about Covid-19, the daily routine, or in our...

Norfolk, Virginia is at the forefront of facing rising sea level, as "nuisance flooding" (image below) is becoming ever more frequent. The city's Vision 2100 Plan (map above) addresses coastal flooding head on. (Map: Norfolk; Photo: Skip Stiles) A Note: We usually...