The Northeast Fish and Wildlife Diversity Technical Committee (NEFWDTC) convened for their fall meeting September 17-20, 2012 in Lanoka Harbor, NJ at the Murray Grove Retreat Center with hosts Dave Jenkins and the New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Program staff. The NEFWDTC is composed of State Wildlife Diversity Program Managers or their designees from 13 northeastern states and D.C. The NEFWDTC provides leadership for fish and wildlife diversity for the northeast states.  

This meeting focused on funding and outreach of Fish and Wildlife programs including the Regional Conservation Needs (RCN) Grant Program, State Wildlife Grants, North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (NALCC), and Threatened and Endangered Species.  There was considerable discussion of the upcoming revisions of State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAP) and finalizing a northeast regional list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need. The committee was updated on the progress of the NE Climate Change Working Group, the NE Habitat Technical Committee, and the web based reporting and decision support tool, Wildlife Tracking and Reporting Actions for the Conservation of Species (TRACS).

The NEFWDTC provides technical oversight of the RCN program.  During this meeting, the team reviewed the proposals for the 2012 grant cycle and made their recommendations for which projects should receive funding. This year the committee is also overseeing two directed RCN projects – Synthesis of RCN and NALCC products for SWAP Revisions and Database Framework for Common Elements of the SWAPs.

Highlights included delicious meals and a field trip to Island Beach State Park and Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center.