2024 Southeast CASC Retrospective

As we wrap up the year, let’s take a look back at everything that happened at the Southeast CASC in 2024!

In 2024 we…

Hosted VIPs

We started the year off with a bang when we welcomed Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and USGS Director Dave Applegate for a conversation with students, scientists, and community partners about climate adaptation in the Southeast.

Shortly after, Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior, Laura Daniel-Davis, was hosted by the University of Puerto Rico to announce $2.75 million investment in Puerto Rico’s climate workforce with SE CASC and PR-DNER. And in November we officially launched the Puerto Rico CLIMA fellows program.

Connected in person

We attended the 2024 Caribbean Conservation Community of Practice meeting in Arecibo, PR.

And held a staff retreat in Asheville, NC.

And connected virtually!

We hosted 12 webinars as a part of our science seminar series. View a collection of our science seminars here.

• Southeastern Plants Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need
  • Jointly hosted alongside the Atlanta Botanical Garden, and the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS).
• A Vivid CAnVAS – Visualizing Climate Projections for Status Species Assessments
  • Kathie Dello (NC Climate Office), Corey Davis (NC Climate Office), & Haven Cashwell (Auburn University)
• Climate-Driven Changes in Land Management Practices and Wildland Fire Smoke in the Southeast
  • Megan Johnson (NC State University)
• Projecting Habitat for Imperiled Bird Species in the Southern Appalachians
  • Sam Flake (NC State University)
• Priorities and Opportunities for Enhancing Collaborative Wildlife Conservation in the Southeast
  • Kaitlyn Tiffany & Nils Peterson (NC State University)
• A Spatiotemporal Recommendation Engine for Prescribed Burning in the Southeast US
  • Reetam Majumder (SE CASC postdoctoral fellow)
• The Pet Trade and A Comprehensive Approach to Assessing Invasive Species Risk
  • Brett Scheffers (University of Florida)
• New Project Lightning Talks
  • Eve Brantley & Thorsten Knappenberger (Auburn University), Georgina Sanchez (NC State University), Meredith Martin (NC State University)
• Partnering with Fire – Learning from Tribal Nations and Indigenous Practices
  • Jointly hosted alongside the South Central CASC and the US Forest Service
• Climate and land-use change impacts on the distribution and abundance of non-native fish in the Tennessee and Cumberland River Basins
  • Xingli Giam (University of Tennessee- Knoxville)
• Bridging Borders: Collaborative Approaches to Watershed Resilience
  • Global Change Seminar with Ansgar Leefken (University of Rostock, Germany), Bill Hunt (NC State), and Andrew Fox (NC State Coastal Dynamics Design Lab)

Welcomed New Staff

In 2024, we added four talented staff to the Southeast CASC:

• Maira Brondizio, ORISE Climate Science Program and Communications Scholar 
• Lydia Campbell, Program Manager
• Legna Torres-García, Puerto Rico- CLIMA Fellows Coordinator
• Brian Dailey, Climate Adaptation Fellow

Hosted Federal Details from various agencies

• Bryan Saunders joined us as acting Assistant Regional Administrator from the EPA
• Forrest Vanderbilt joined us as acting Assistant Regional Administrator from the USGS Patuxent Research Refuge

Bid Farewell to

• Charlotte Lee, Climate Adaptation Postdoctoral Fellow
  • In November 2024, Charlotte joined USDA as the National Climate Hub Coordinator.
• Reetam Majumder, Climate Adaptation Postdoctoral Fellow
  • In August 2024, Reetam joined the University of Arkansas as an Assistant Professor of Statistics 
• Alex Loomis, ORISE Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Southeastern Rare Plants
  • In February 2024, Alex joined NOAA as a Habitat Resources Specialist

Created a New Cohort of Global Change Research Fellows

We welcomed a new cohort of Global Change Research Fellows from across the Consortium institutions:

The fellows began their program with a field intensive at the Great Smokey Mountains Institute at Tremont! There, we met with National Park staff, resource managers in Cherokee, and were joined by experts who taught on foundational topics like climate modeling, co-production, and ethical tribal engagement. 

The following 2024-25 Researcher Spotlights were shared in 2024.

• Bigyapti Nepal
• Halina Pyzdrowski
• Gwen Kirschke
• Jamie Huerta
• Kurt Naquin
• Ally Brown

Stay tuned for more Researcher Spotlights on our Global Change Research Fellows in 2024!

Wrapped the 2023-24 Cohort of Global Change Research Fellows after an excellent year together

They hosted two Global Change Seminars in 2024:

• State of Change Documentary Screening
• Becoming Better Climate Educators: An Interactive Research and Arts Workshop

The following 2023-24 Researcher Spotlights were shared in 2024:

• Kurt Naquin
• Titilayo Tajudeen
• Kaleb Goff
• Megan Carr
• Darian Ng
• Mikiah Carver
• Jenero Knowles
• Julianna Duran-Jolley

Hosted our 2024 Science Communications summer interns

You can read more about our interns, Eleana Paneda and Zavier Avery, and their experiences in their reflection blogs:

• Eleana Paneda’s Southeast Summer
• Zavier Avery’s Summer as a Science Communication Intern

Released Publications

In 2024, SE CASC researchers published 12 new manuscripts that are listed in our database. Here’s a sampling of some article write-ups:

• A New Framework to Address the Why Behind Urban Biodiversity Inequity
• How a Common Economic Theory Could Help Save Endangered Frogs
• New Species of Silverfish Discovered in Southeastern Caves
• Brook Trout Populations Are Different in Neighboring Streams Due to Climate Impacts
• Improving Children’s Connection to Nature Requires More Than Just Language Changes

Developed New Products

• The SE CASC podcast to have in depth conversations on hot topics in the Southeast.
• Research Affiliate features on social media to show off some of our incredible research affiliates and foster collaborations.
• Updated state fact sheets to reflect the latest science happening across our footprint.
• Emily Nastase, 2022-23 Global Change Fellow and Artist in Residence, illustrated six iconic Southeastern species.

Coming up in 2025:

Join us

• Join us for the first science seminar of the year on January 22 featuring New Project Lightning Talks.
• We’re teaming up with NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), Southeast Drought Early Warning System (SE DEWS) for a 3-day regional workshop in Raleigh addressing drought and low-flow in the Southeast.
• We will host the 2025 SE CASC Science Symposium on Sept 9-11, 2025, stay tuned for more information!

Call for projects

The call for consortium project ideas is out until Jan 24, 2025, learn more here.

Internships & Fellowships

• Applications are open for the 2025-26 Global Change Fellows cohort until Jan 6, 2025.
• Applications are open for the science communications internship for summer 2025 until Jan 17, 2025.
• PR CLIMA fellows will be selected and begin their program.