Providing a Framework for Species Status Assessments of Southeastern Grassland Ecosystems Release Date: June 1, 2021 Southeast CASC researchers produced a scientific needs assessment for southeastern grassland species and ecosystems that is intended to help guide science-based management of grassland species. Grasslands in the Piedmont region of the Southeastern US. (Public domain.) Read the original news story posted by the Southeast CASC, here. Grasslands play an important role in the biodiversity of the southeastern United States but face a wide range of threats. Years of fire suppression, land-use change, and other human activities have significantly reduced the prominence of grassland ecosystems. Grassland managers and researchers from across the Southeast, led by the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and the USGS, gathered to address these issues through a multi-stakeholder workshop held in January 2020. Participants consisted of managers and researchers with diverse expertise on grassland conservation, including a number of Southeast CASC researchers. The workshop provided a scientific needs assessment for grassland species and communities of conservation concern in the southeastern United States.