Lightning Updates

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...

Everybody's favorite place for siting solar panels -- making use of already developed land. In this case, the roof of a mall in Frederick MD. But look at all that additional space over the parking lots! (Image: solarbuildermag.com) Fossil fuel extraction has...

A compelling new short video -- Twenty & Odd -- explores the trauma, resilience, and beauty of the African American experience in our country through the lens of sites protected by the National Park Service. (Image: NPS) The Chesapeake Conservation Partnership is...

A recently released report on Pennsylvania's Conservation Landscapes highlights successes and outlines key findings for supporting landscape-scale collaboration. (Image: PA DCNR)Pennsylvania has focused regional collaboration around large Conservation Landscapes since...