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Land & Water Stories

5 Conservation Projects Focused on Long-Term Success

To protect nature through the ages, creativity and local champions go a long way.

Lush vegetation surrounds thick tree trunks in an old-growth forest in Alaska.
Tongass National Forest In the Tongass National Forest old-growth forests of yellow cedar and red cedar, Sitka spruce and Western hemlock stand like wild cathedrals. © Erika Nortemann/TNC

Climate change and a drop in the world's biodiversity make it essential that we conserve more of nature faster than ever.

And so we’re speeding up our work. But sometimes to go faster, we must also go slowly (or at least deliberately). We need to ensure that our conservation efforts not only protect nature now but keep it protected throughout the years.

Enduring conservation is an active process that involves elements like:

  • Community icon

    Community

    Buy-in from local people sustains our work.

  • Partnership icon

    Partnership

    We can go so much further together than alone.

  • Funding icon

    Funding

    Long-term conservation costs money and needs long-term funding.

  • Science icon

    Science

    New methods help us protect more, and share successes with others.

  • Innovation icon

    Innovation

    Human creativity expands what conservation can be, finding new paths forward.

So how do these elements come together, and what does lasting conservation really look like?

Here are 5 projects where we’re finding the people and paths to make conservation last through the ages.
 


 

1 of 5

Breathing new life into the “Lungs of North America”

Centering the needs of Indigenous peoples is the key to securing the Tongass Forest's future.

Community icon   Partnership icon   Funding icon   Innovation icon

Lush green vegetation and moss covers the thick trunks of trees in an old growth forest in Alaska.
Tongass Old Growth With more biomass per acre than any other rainforest, the Tongass is a carbon storage powerhouse. In 2021, local leaders took the historic step of ending old-growth logging in the region. Now, the economic vacuum left by logging can be filled by sustainable opportunities like carbon markets. © Chris Crisman

Elements in this project:

Community, Partnership, Funding, Innovation

Southeast Alaska’s Tongass is the largest remaining coastal temperate rainforest on Earth. This lush landscape is called the “Lungs of North America” due to the massive amount of carbon it stores and the oxygen it produces.

For generations, the Tongass was the scene of tense conflict over old-growth timber cutting. Ancient forests were lost. Loggers and conservationists feuded, and both sides left out the voices of Indigenous peoples such as the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian.

12 years ago, with the scars still fresh, tribal governments, community groups, government agencies and TNC took a chance on an experimental partnership.

Harnessing the power of trust-building, the Sustainable Southeast Partnership has succeeded at developing sustainable economic solutions that support Indigenous stewardship and authority.

4 young adults wearing boots and jackets stand in a forest while holding various tools.
× 4 young adults wearing boots and jackets stand in a forest while holding various tools.
Within a carving shed, a man leans on a freshly carved totem pole of a sea wolf, made out of cedar wood
Cedar totem pole Sonny Peele works on a new totem pole in Hydaburg, AK. Cedar trees of totem pole-quality are becoming rare in the Tongass. SSP partners are working to address this scarcity. © Chris Crisman
Cedar totem pole Sonny Peele works on a new totem pole in Hydaburg, AK. Cedar trees of totem pole-quality are becoming rare in the Tongass. SSP partners are working to address this scarcity. © Chris Crisman

And now, the partnership can realize its vision across Southeast Alaska’s 22 million acres.

TNC and partners recently launched the Seacoast Trust, a fund to permanently support programs weaving Indigenous values into resource management, ecological revitalization, and economic development.

Seacoast Trust will fund efforts to restore salmon runs, bring forests back to health, establish forest carbon projects, increase local food sovereignty, and inspire Indigenous youth.

It’s the future of conservation, but the lesson is quite old: center efforts around the needs of communities who have long stewarded the land and the land will heal.



 
2 of 5

Raising coral superheroes

Think in-vitro fertilization, but with a lot more scuba diving.

Partnership icon   Science icon   Funding icon

Elements in this project:

Partnership, Science, Funding

Coral reefs aren’t just beautiful: they support roughly 25% of the ocean’s biodiversity and protect coastal communities from waves. In just three decades, 60% of the iconic coral reefs in the Caribbean have disappeared due to pollution, overfishing and climate change.

To give these reefs the best chance to survive and thrive, TNC is uniting some of the world’s best coral science to nurture a new generation of coral diversity.

And scientists are swimming in a sea of coral eggs and sperm to accomplish the mission.

Night Dive for Coral Gametes A member of the coral spawn expedition team in the Virgin Islands collects elkhorn coral gametes during a night dive.

It’s all part of TNC’s U.S. Virgin Islands Coral Innovation Hub, an international coral research center offering a powerful network to share and test techniques in the ocean and at a new land-based coral nursery.

Many coral species release their eggs and sperm only once or twice a year. The team checked nightly on elkhorn coral, and when the moment arrived, they collected enough to raise 750,000 coral embryos in protected nurseries.

By collecting across multiple colonies, the new coral have higher genetic diversity and a better chance of surviving warmer water or fighting off disease into the future.

When strong enough, these young corals can be planted back in the ocean in strategic locations where ocean currents can continue the natural genetic exchange between coral colonies.



 
3 of 5

Getting dams to go with the flow—for nature

More water at the right time goes a long way for freshwater ecosystems.

Science icon   Funding icon   Innovation icon

Huge cypress trees grow out of the water at a lake in Texas. The tree trunks widen dramatically near the water's surface. Many trees are displaying autumn colors with branches full of spanish moss.
Rebound of Caddo Lake A dam built in Texas in the 1950s to reduce urban flooding held back natural pulses of water. The disruption caused native forests at Caddo Lake to die off and populations of iconic paddlefish to decline. A TNC science partnership is restoring flows, helping the lake and nearby bayou bounce back. © Lynn McBride

Elements in this project:

Science, Funding, Innovation

The United States built many large dams during the 20th century to generate power, provide drinking water and reduce flooding in downstream towns. Along the way, these structures have disrupted how water flows through countless freshwater ecosystems.

Seasonal patterns of high and low flows help trigger important events in the lifecycles of freshwater animals and plants. Losing these natural pulses can stop whole ecosystems from functioning.

A desert river's banks are covered in reedy marshy plants and an island of the plants splits the river into two channels. The green vegetation contrasts against the red rock hills in the background.
Success on an arizona river Updated water flow from a dam on Arizona's Bill Williams River is helping native cottonwood and willow trees rebound, supporting many species, including 350 types of birds. © Tana Kappel/The Nature Conservancy
× A desert river's banks are covered in reedy marshy plants and an island of the plants splits the river into two channels. The green vegetation contrasts against the red rock hills in the background.
On a river close to a dam, a biologist writes notes next to a fish trap that looks like a large metallic funnel. The scientist is counting juvenile salmon.
Oregon's Willamette River TNC and the Army Corps are demonstrating that science-guided adjustments to dam operations and integrated floodplain management can increase benefits for people and nature. © Bridget Besaw
× On a river close to a dam, a biologist writes notes next to a fish trap that looks like a large metallic funnel. The scientist is counting juvenile salmon.
Success on an arizona river Updated water flow from a dam on Arizona's Bill Williams River is helping native cottonwood and willow trees rebound, supporting many species, including 350 types of birds. © Tana Kappel/The Nature Conservancy
Oregon's Willamette River TNC and the Army Corps are demonstrating that science-guided adjustments to dam operations and integrated floodplain management can increase benefits for people and nature. © Bridget Besaw

Removing all these dams is not practical—there’d be too much damage to historic towns and population centers. The solution is to recreate Mother Nature within the limits of these dams.

A TNC science collaboration is helping the US Army Corps of Engineers write up the unique prescription of flows that individual rivers need and then rework dam operations to achieve them.

A Sustainable Ebb and Flow at Caddo Lake

The partnership is not new—TNC and the Army Corps have worked together on rivers since 2002—but a new expansion is bringing a lot of momentum.

The program is already restoring over 5,000 miles of river (in places like Texas’s Caddo Lake and Arizona’s Bill Williams River) and new funding could soon more than double this range.

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Efforts like these are critical because rivers and freshwater ecosystems are the most threatened habitat type on Earth. Here’s where the conservation impact could truly endure: the sustainable water operations could one day apply to the more than 600 dams the Army Corps operates, potentially restoring flows across 53,000 miles of US rivers.



 
4 of 5

Making a wave in sustainable tuna

We helped launch a tuna company. Wait, what?

Community icon   Science icon   Innovation icon

A closeup of a skipjack tuna on a blue fishing boat
With the right methods, skipjack, a fast-growing species of tuna, can be sustainably harvested. Requiring catches to be offloaded at ports helps eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The practice also is safer for workers, who can leave the vessel if necessary.

Elements in this project:

Community, Science, Innovation

In the middle of the Pacific, the island nation of the Marshall Islands controls more than 750,000 square miles of ocean. Pacific Island nations have for many years leased tuna-fishing rights in their waters to large international fishing fleets, often with limited control over how sustainable the fleets' practices are.

Without safeguards in place, commercial tuna fishing can unintentionally catch sea turtles, sharks and juvenile tuna in their nets. Losing apex predators like sharks and long-distance grazers like sea turtles hurts marine ecosystems from deep water all the way to coastal dunes.

A skyward image of a hawksbill sea turtle gliding through clear blue ocean water. Above the turtle is the ocean surface glimmering with sunlight
Hawksbill Turtle The newly formed Pacific Island Tuna company is prohibiting the use of fish aggregating devices that often cause the accidental capture of sea turtles, sharks and juvenile tunas. © Jeff Yonover

Ceasing tuna fishing was not an option–tuna is important to the Marshall Islands’ economy and culture.

The solution? A new business model that puts the Marshall Islands in control of every link in the supply chain of skipjack tuna caught in its territory.

Pacific Island Tuna

TNC and the government of the Marshall Islands launched Pacific Island Tuna, a joint venture that helps ensure that tuna fleets haul in sustainable catches that also benefit local Pacific Island communities.

The partnership also directs long-term profits to climate resilience projects for low-lying communities. Hopefully, the model will grow to include other island nations as well.



 
5 of 5

Funding the future for a Central American rainforest

A forest teeming with wildlife is permanently protected. Thank the trees!

Partnership icon    Community icon    Science icon    Funding icon    Innovation icon

Holding notes on a clipboard, Dr. Elma Kay stands in a tropical rainforest and talks with two people.
Sustainable finance through carbon Elma Kay (center), biologist and head of the Belize Maya Forest Trust, talks through forest management. Once this part of Selva Maya matures, it will store more than 10 million tons of carbon. The sale of carbon credits will fund an endowment to manage the forest into the future.

Elements in this project:

Partnership, Community, Science, Funding, Innovation

Snaking across Belize, Mexico and Guatemala, Selva Maya makes up the largest tropical rainforest in the Americas north of the Amazon. It's home to 400 species of birds, 200 tree species and Central America’s largest population of jaguars.

When a 236,000 acre section of rainforest in Belize recently went up for sale, TNC and partners stepped up to purchase it, protecting it from being cleared for large-scale farming.

Together with an adjacent protected area that TNC helped establish over 30 years ago, the purchase bolsters protection along an 11-million-acre corridor of Selva Maya.

A small wild cat with big eyes, long whiskers and a leopard-like pattern looks around in a tropical rainforest.
Margay in Maya Forest A margay, a small nocturnal wild cat native to Central and South America. Selva Maya supports healthy populations of jaguars, ocelots and other increasingly threatened cats. © Tony Rath
× A small wild cat with big eyes, long whiskers and a leopard-like pattern looks around in a tropical rainforest.
Dr. Elma Kay wraps measuring tape around the circumference of a large tree in a rainforest.
Measuring Carbon Belizean biologist Elma Kay measures a tree to assess how much carbon it can store. The average tropical tree soaks up 50 pounds of carbon per year.
× Dr. Elma Kay wraps measuring tape around the circumference of a large tree in a rainforest.
Margay in Maya Forest A margay, a small nocturnal wild cat native to Central and South America. Selva Maya supports healthy populations of jaguars, ocelots and other increasingly threatened cats. © Tony Rath
Measuring Carbon Belizean biologist Elma Kay measures a tree to assess how much carbon it can store. The average tropical tree soaks up 50 pounds of carbon per year.

But the effort to protect this forest is only beginning. Illegal logging and farming threaten rainforests around the globe, even protected ones.

To ensure long-term protection for the forest, TNC and partners helped launch a local group to 1) carefully manage the preserve and 2) build strong ties with neighboring communities.

Farmers whose lands buffer the park are already helping deter poaching and logging.

Continuous management of a place like this requires dedicated funding, and for that, we can thank the trees! TNC worked with the Belize government to support the sale of credits based on the forest’s ability to store carbon dioxide. So trees here will continue to fight climate change while helping fund their own protection.