Environmental Stewardship

Expands, enhances and accelerates longleaf pine ecosystem restoration across its historical range. It is supported by federal funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service (USFS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and private funds from Southern Company, the American Forest Foundation and others.

The Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund builds on the success of the Longleaf Legacy Program, a former partnership between Southern Company and NFWF (2004-2011), which invested over $8.7 million into projects that will restore more than 87,000 acres of longleaf pine forest and the native species that rely on it.

Longleaf Stewardship Fund grants are awarded based on the following objectives:

• Restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem through collaborative and result-oriented actions that help advance the goals of the Range-Wide Conservation Plan for Longleaf Pine
• Maintaining, enhancing and expanding productive understory habitat of the longleaf pine ecosystem
• Aiding federal agencies in achieving their mission-oriented objectives
• Supporting recovery of iconic species through habitat enhancements
• Strengthening the capacity of local organizations to establish, advance or lead local longleaf pine ecosystem restoration efforts
• Expanding the number of landowners engaged in longleaf pine restoration and maintenance on private lands, and supporting working forests by demonstrating their environmental and socioeconomic benefits

Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund | NFWF

Fosters grassroots stewardship of natural resources nationwide through community-based wetland, riparian and coastal habitat restoration and education. Major funding is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Southern Company and other corporate sponsors.

Grants are awarded based on the following objectives:

• On-the-ground restoration: Must include wetland, riparian, in-stream or coastal habitat restoration
• Environmental education: Must integrate meaningful education through community participation or integration with K-12 environmental curriculum
• Partnerships: Must involve a diverse set of community partners
• Measurable results: Must result in measurable ecological, educational and community benefits

Southern Company supports on-the-ground wetland, riparian, in-stream or coastal habitat conservation and restoration projects in key areas served by its subsidiaries. Priority is given to projects that directly benefit at-risk species and habitats; address watershed and federal recovery or state wildlife action plans and coordinate with those plan coordinators; and, engage the public – particularly youth – in hands-on, outdoor conservation experiences that build awareness of the importance of protecting and recovering priority species and habitats.

Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program | NFWF

Southeast Aquatics Fund supports watershed-based restoration projects to improve the health of aquatic systems and secure populations of native freshwater aquatic species in the southeastern United States. Initial focal geographies include watersheds within the Alabama-Mobile-Tombigbee and the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Basins, as well as coastal watersheds along the Gulf of Mexico.

Priorities for the Southeast Aquatics Fund include implementing water quality and quantity best management practices. We do this by: providing landowner outreach and assistance, improving connectivity, restoring riparian and in-stream habitat, and supporting assessment and prioritization activities in targeted watersheds of the Southeast. This habitat-based approach benefits a diversity of species, from game species to at-risk aquatic species, helping reduce the possibility of future listings under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Southeast Aquatics | NFWF [nfwf.org]

Supports enhancing coastal habitats of the Gulf of Mexico and bolsters priority fish and wildlife populations, while strengthening resilience of the communities and ecosystems that are not expected to be addressed through Gulf Coast oil spill recovery funding. Program funding is provided by Shell Marine and Habitat Wildlife Program, Southern Company, NRCS and others.

Specific priorities focus on strengthening coastal resilience; advancing conservation and management on working lands for wildlife and water quality; and conserving living resources, particularly coastal birds.

To date, Southern Company has focused its support on coastal bird conservation.

Funds innovative tools and treatments needed to slow the spread of white-nose syndrome (WNS) and speed the recovery of surviving bat populations in North America. Major funding for this program is provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), with additional funding provided by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Southern Company.

WNS is a deadly disease caused by a fungus. It attacks bats during hibernation, and it could potentially push some bat species to the brink of extinction. The disease has been found in 32 states and five Canadian provinces, destroying an estimated six million bats in the past decade. This decline in bat populations poses a major threat to the ecosystems that rely on them.

Priorities of this Fund are to develop management solutions for WNS with revolutionary tools and techniques to minimize short- and long-term impacts of the disease. Proposed treatments may involve ecological, molecular, synthetic, biochemical, mechanical, and other strategies that reduce the impacts of WNS on bats and/or demonstrate new disinfection products or procedures to minimize reservoirs of the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) in hibernacula.

Bats for the Future Fund | NFWF

Southern Company has been protecting birds and their habitats since 2003. Each year, shorebirds undertake some of the longest migrations of any species on earth. Within the Atlantic Flyway, many shorebird species stop over at several critical migratory sites along the east coast of the United States, from Massachusetts to Florida. As they travel, Atlantic Flyway shorebirds are exposed to a diverse set of human-induced threats across this network of stopover locations.

The Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative aims to increase populations for three shorebird species within the flyway by 15 to 20 percent over a 10-year period. The three focal species – American oystercatcher, red knot and whimbrel – represent different migratory strategies and require specific approaches to address habitat loss, predation and human disturbance. To achieve this goal, the grant program supports five strategies: (1) conserve critical habitat, (2) restore habitat, (3) reduce human disturbance, (4) improve harvest management, and (5) monitor and assess progress.

Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative | NFWF