Farmers as Stewards: Private Lands Conservation for Salamanders and Ecosystems
“What happens on one property does not stop at the fence line. Streams connect neighbors and entire watersheds, and if everyone assumes someone else will take care of them, these systems continue to degrade.”
– Josselyn Lucas, ARC partner and Working Lands for Wildlife Aquatic Connectivity Framework Coordinator
In the Southeast, where most land is privately owned, farmers and other private landowners are stepping up as conservation leaders. Their everyday decisions about soil, water, and streambanks shape entire watersheds. By managing their land with care, they protect not just their own fields but the rare species and human communities that rely on clean, connected streams. Their stewardship creates ripple effects that are felt miles downstream.
Farmers as Conservation Leaders
Across the Southeast, farmers and other private landowners influence the future of rivers and streams, often without being recognized as the frontline protectors they are. Given that more than 90 percent of land is privately owned in the region, the fate of freshwater ecosystems depends largely on what happens beyond public lands.
On-the-ground decisions, such as how soil is kept in place and how streams are buffered and protected, can mean the difference between clear, healthy waterways and systems clogged by sediment and pollution. These choices affect entire watersheds and the communities and wildlife that rely on them.
Voluntary conservation programs connect landowners with technical support and federal incentives, making it possible to align productive agriculture with healthier streams.
“Private lands work is where conservation becomes real,” said Katie Maddox, ARC Working Lands for Wildlife Herpetofauna Coordinator. “Most landowners want to do right by the land. Our job is to help connect them with tools that support both their land use goals and wildlife recovery.”
Rather than asking farmers to choose between productivity and conservation, this approach recognizes them as key partners in doing both, people uniquely positioned to safeguard ecosystems and their neighbors.
Protecting Streams Protects Everyone
The benefits of cleaner, better-connected streams ripple through the landscape, giving at-risk species what they need to recover.
Take the Threatened Neuse River waterdog and Endangered Black Warrior waterdog. These fully aquatic salamanders spend their entire lives in streams, relying on rock crevices for shelter and breeding and on well-oxygenated, sediment-free water for foraging. Even moderate sedimentation can fill the cracks they hide in or make it harder for them to find and capture prey, turning what looks like a healthy stream into unsuitable habitat.
Eastern hellbenders, which breathe almost entirely through their skin, are similarly vulnerable and are proposed for federal listing across their range. They depend on cool, permanent streams with stable water flow and abundant hiding spots. Warm, low-oxygen water or excess runoff from nearby land can stress them, making survival and reproduction much harder.
These species are often among the first to disappear when a stream starts to become degraded. When water quality declines or connectivity is lost, their decreasing populations signal that the overall health of the ecosystem is at risk.
By protecting and restoring streams for salamanders, farmers and other landowners aren’t just helping rare species survive, they’re safeguarding whole systems: insects, fish, birds, people, and much more.
Turning Federal Support into On-the-Ground Action
Landowners are not alone in this work. Alongside our partners, we’re helping to coordinate these efforts as a win-win, not only for salamander conservation, but also for the long-term health of farmers’ property.
We’ve joined the US Department of Agriculture’s Working Lands for Wildlife Aquatic Connectivity Framework (ACF) initiative as a coordinating partner. The ACF is a national strategy that provides a way for farmers and other landowners to voluntarily implement practices that improve water quality and restore aquatic habitat, turning federal support into meaningful, on-the-ground conservation.
We’re connecting landowners with the expertise and the federal funding they need to balance productive agriculture with wildlife recovery. “I’ve seen firsthand how landowners can become the best stewards when they understand that conservation practices can benefit rare species and also improve soil health or reduce costs,” Katie explained. “Those conversations are when real change starts happening on the ground.”
We’ll soon be adding more Private Lands Biologists to our team. These Biologists work closely with landowners to plan and implement site-specific practices, from planting native trees and shrubs in riparian areas to establishing cover crops and improving grazing practices.
We also help landowners in the field when needed. The focus is always collaborative. Alongside our ACF partners, we support and advise, helping farmers achieve both conservation and productivity goals.
Bigger Than Salamanders: Conservation That Works
For many landowners, this work starts with something simple and tangible: protecting their property, often land that’s been passed down through generations.
When they see streambanks eroding year after year, fields losing soil, river crossings becoming unsafe, or floods hitting harder than before, the need to act becomes clear. The ACF provides a way to meet people where they are, addressing real challenges on working lands while delivering lasting benefits for property and wildlife.
That practicality is part of what makes this moment different. For the first time, aquatic systems in the Southeast are receiving coordinated attention at the scale they need, with farmers, conservationists, and agencies working from the same playbook.
Clean, stable streams support salamanders like Neuse River waterdogs, Black Warrior waterdogs, and eastern hellbenders, but they also recharge groundwater and strengthen the resilience of entire watersheds.
“Without private lands, recovery for many imperiled species is simply impossible,” said ARC Executive Director JJ Apodaca. By investing in partnerships rooted in relationships, science, and shared goals, we’re helping turn everyday stewardship into progress that ripples far beyond the fence line.
