Potential Future Expansion Research Articles

Mapping global land conversion pressure to support conservation planning

Proactively identifying where land conversion might occur is critical to targeted and effective conservation planning. Previous efforts to map future habitat loss have largely focused on forested systems and have been limited in their consideration of drivers of loss. We developed a 1-km resolution, global map of land conversion pressure from multiple drivers, referred to as the conversion pressure index (CPI). The CPI combines past rates of anthropogenic change, as measured by temporal human modification maps, with suitability maps for potential future expansion by large-scale development. The CPI thus offers a new way to measure a cumulative gradient of anthropogenic pressure as opposed to categorical land cover change. We find that nearly 23% of land across 200 countries have relatively high conversion pressure, potentially impacting over 460 million ha of intact natural lands. We illustrate how this information can be used to identify areas for proactive conservation to avoid future loss and ensure that national commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity and Paris Agreement Climate Frameworks are upheld.

Deep-Reinforcement-Learning-Based Motion Planning for a Wide Range of Robotic Structures

The use of robot manipulators in engineering applications and scientific research has significantly increased in recent years. This can be attributed to the rise of technologies such as autonomous robotics and physics-based simulation, along with the utilization of artificial intelligence techniques. The use of these technologies may be limited due to a focus on a specific type of robotic manipulator and a particular solved task, which can hinder modularity and reproducibility in future expansions. This paper presents a method for planning motion across a wide range of robotic structures using deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithms to solve the problem of reaching a static or random target within a pre-defined configuration space. The paper addresses the challenge of motion planning in environments under a variety of conditions, including environments with and without the presence of collision objects. It highlights the versatility and potential for future expansion through the integration of OpenAI Gym and the PyBullet physics-based simulator.

The Growth and Carbon Sink of Tundra Peat Patches in Arctic Alaska

AbstractRecent amplified climate warming in the Arctic has caused profound changes in terrestrial ecosystems, with the potential for strong feedback on climate change. Arctic tundra landscapes have developed patchy and thin organic soil (peat) layers at the surface that may continue to grow into mature peatlands and become a larger carbon sink under future warming. Here we use paleoecological analyses of multiple soil and peat cores collected from the North Slope of Alaska to document and understand the formation and development histories of tundra peat patches and permafrost peatlands. We find a consistent peat development sequence for peat patches, first from mineral soils to sedge peat during the Little Ice Age, and then to Sphagnum peat during the recent warming with high carbon accumulation rates. These findings suggest that climate cooling is likely critical for the initial peat buildup on tundra soils due to reduced decomposition, whereas climate warming triggers the regime shift into an increased abundance of Sphagnum mosses that are likely central to enhancing their carbon sink capacity. Additionally, peat patches become similar to permafrost peatlands in the vicinity in terms of ecosystem processes and carbon dynamics, and therefore may have developed the same ecohydrological feedback system to maintain their long‐term stability. This study implies that the potential future expansion of peat patches into peatlands may strongly alter the carbon balance of Arctic tundra, supporting the new United Nations Environment Programme's report that calls for incorporating widespread shallow peat into understanding the peatland–carbon–climate nexus.

International trademark protection strength: 1990–2020

AbstractThis paper presents a pioneering study that addresses the insufficient attention given to trademark rights in current indices that evaluate the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs). Our study sets itself apart from previous measures by defining the strength of trademark protection as the level of applicant friendliness within a country's trademark system. We introduce the innovative trademark protection strength (TPS) index, which focuses on 78 countries spanning from 1990 to 2020. Drawing on established theoretical components of the patent system, we deconstruct the TPS index into four distinct dimensions: international mechanisms, legislation, enforcement and administration. Our findings reveal the growth and subsequent stabilisation of global trademark protection strength, with reduced disparities observed after 2005. Importantly, we identify variations in improvement rates among countries with different income levels, thereby highlighting the influence of economic factors. By providing a detailed methodology and transparent construction of the TPS index, we ensure its replicability and potential for future expansion. The index's objective data and extended coverage facilitate the examination of various configurations of IPR systems, policy designs and their impact on the global economy.

DrivR-Base: a feature extraction toolkit for variant effect prediction model construction.

Recent advancements in sequencing technologies have led to the discovery of numerous variants in the human genome. However, understanding their precise roles in diseases remains challenging due to their complex functional mechanisms. Various methodologies have emerged to predict the pathogenic significance of these genetic variants. Typically, these methods employ an integrative approach, leveraging diverse data sources that provide important insights into genomic function. Despite the abundance of publicly available data sources and databases, the process of navigating, extracting, and pre-processing features for machine learning models can be highly challenging and time-consuming. Furthermore, researchers often invest substantial effort in feature extraction, only to later discover that these features lack informativeness. In this article, we introduce DrivR-Base, an innovative resource that efficiently extracts and integrates molecular information (features) related to single nucleotide variants. These features encompass information about the genomic positions and the associated protein positions of a variant. They are derived from a wide array of databases and tools, including structural properties obtained from AlphaFold, regulatory information sourced from ENCODE, and predicted variant consequences from Variant Effect Predictor. DrivR-Base is easily deployable via a Docker container to ensure reproducibility and ease of access across diverse computational environments. The resulting features can be used as input for machine learning models designed to predict the pathogenic impact of human genome variants in disease. Moreover, these feature sets have applications beyond this, including haploinsufficiency prediction and the development of drug repurposing tools. We describe the resource's development, practical applications, and potential for future expansion and enhancement. DrivR-Base source code is available at https://github.com/amyfrancis97/DrivR-Base.

Interactive responses to temperature and salinity in larvae of the Asian brush-clawed crab Hemigrapsus takanoi: relevance for range expansion into the Baltic Sea, in the context of climate change

We studied the potential of a recently introduced species, the Asian brush-clawed crab (Hemigrapsus takanoi), to expand its distribution range further into the Baltic Sea. H. takanoi has been documented in the southwestern Baltic Sea since 2014. The ability to persist and further expand into the Baltic Proper will depend on their potential to sustain all stages of their complex life cycle, including pelagic larvae, under the Baltic Sea's conditions. Range limits may be established by the tolerance to low salinity, which in addition may be affected by water temperature. A key question is whether local populations at the distribution limit (within the Baltic Sea) show increased tolerance to low salinities and hence promote further expansion. We quantified the combined effects of salinity (10–33 PSU) and temperature (15–24 °C) on larval development in four populations of H. takanoi (two from the Baltic and two from the North Sea). We found substantial differences in larval performance between the populations from the Baltic and North Seas. Larvae from the North Sea populations always showed higher survival and faster development compared with those from the Baltic Sea. Only weak evidence of elevated tolerance towards low salinity was found in the larvae from the Baltic Sea populations. In addition, larvae from the population located near the range limit showed very low survival under all tested salinity-temperature combinations and no evidence of increased tolerance to low salinity. There was no apparent genetic differentiation among the studied populations in the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit one gene (COI) implying high connectivity among the populations. In conclusion, the weak evidence of low salinity tolerance in Baltic Sea populations, and poor larval performance for the population located near the range limit, coupled with limited genetic differentiation suggest that subsidies are needed for populations to persist near the range limit. Alternatively, ontogenetic migrations would be required to sustain those populations. Monitoring efforts are needed to elucidate the underlaying mechanisms and document potential future range expansions.

Bottom-Up Analysis of Telemonitoring Costs: A Case Study in Slovenian Primary Care.

Telemonitoring improves clinical outcomes in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), however, cost structure analyses are lacking. This study seeks to explore the cost structure of telemonitoring for the elderly with AH and T2D in primary care and identify factors influencing costs for potential future expansions. Infrastructure, operational, patient participation, and out-of-pocket costs were determined using a bottom-up approach. Infrastructure costs were determined by dividing equipment and telemonitoring platform expenses by the number of participants. Operational and patient participation costs were determined by considering patient training time, data measurement/review time, and teleconsultation time. The change in out-of-pocket costs was assessed in both groups using a structured questionnaire and 12-month expenditure data. Statistical analysis employed an unpaired sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and chi-square test. A total of 117 patients aged 71.4±4.7 years were included in the study. The telemonitoring intervention incurred an annual infrastructure costs of €489.4 and operational costs of €97.3 (95% CI 85.7-109.0) per patient. Patient annual participation costs were €215.6 (95% CI 190.9-241.1). Average annual out-of-pocket costs for both groups were €345 (95% CI 221-469). After 12 months the telemonitoring group reported significantly lower out-of-pocket costs (€132 vs. €545, p<0.001), driven by reduced spending on food, dietary supplements, medical equipment, and specialist check-ups compared to the standard care group. To optimise the cost structure of telemonitoring, strategies like shortening the telemonitoring period, developing a national telemonitoring platform, using patient devices, integrating artificial intelligence into platforms, and involving nurse practitioners as telemedicine centre coordinators should be explored.

Optimization of solar-powered waste-to-energy systems for agricultural food waste reduction

This study presents the design and optimization of a solar-powered waste-to-energy (WTE) system aimed at reducing agricultural food waste and generating renewable energy for rural agricultural applications. The system integrates solar photovoltaic (PV) panels with an anaerobic digester, biogas generator, and battery storage to convert organic agricultural waste into biogas and electricity. The solar panels demonstrated an energy conversion efficiency of 62-64%, contributing to the overall energy needs of the waste-to-energy process. The anaerobic digester achieved biogas yields of up to 70 m³/ton from corn residues, with a methane content of 65%. The biogas generator converted this biogas into electricity with an efficiency that increased from 70% to 74% as the biogas input increased. The system reduced operational costs by over 87% compared to traditional diesel-powered systems, primarily due to the elimination of fuel costs. Additionally, the system was able to reduce agricultural waste by more than 85% and decrease CO₂ emissions by 60%, demonstrating its significant environmental benefits. Heat recovery from the biogas generator further increased system efficiency, recovering up to 70 kWh of heat for agricultural processes. The system also generated excess solar energy, allowing for potential energy storage or future expansion. This study provides a scalable and cost-effective solution to both waste management and energy generation in rural agriculture, promoting sustainability and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

Terrestrial Alien Flora of the Iberian Alboran Coast: Assessment, Attributes, and Future Implications

Although Mediterranean coastal regions in southern Spain have high floristic diversity and numerous Habitats of Community Interest (HCIs) identified by the European Union Directive Council, they are also vulnerable to invasive plants. In our study, we aimed to create a checklist of terrestrial alien taxa in the Iberian area of the Alboran coast, assess each species’ current invasion, analyse the influence of environmental attributes on invasion, estimate the richness of alien species per HCI group, and evaluate each species’ potential invasiveness based on its reproductive and dispersal attributes. The checklist that we developed includes 123 alien taxa, most belonging to the Asteraceae, Asparagaceae, and Poaceae families. Notably, 20% of the species are super invaders that occupy more than 20% of HCIs. We also identified Aloe vera, Cylindropuntia spp., Agave salmiana, Opuntia spp., and Paspalum spp. as incipient invaders with the potential for future expansion. Although most alien flora in the HCIs are not regulated by Spanish legislation (RDL 630/2013), monitoring and eradication plans are crucial. Advocating the cessation of using those plants in gardens and reducing anthropogenic pressure are also essential, as human activities worsen invasion dynamics and facilitate the introduction and establishment of invasive species.

Current Indications for Spinal Endoscopic Surgery and Potential for Future Expansion.

Endoscopic spine surgery (ESS) has evolved as a safe, effective, and efficient alternative for minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS). The innovation of full-endoscopic systems makes definitive decompression surgery through different approaches feasible. The approach can be determined according to the location of the target lesion or the surgeon's preference. During the past 2 decades, ESS has expanded its indications from lumbar to cervical spines. Except for decompression, endoscopy-assisted fusion surgery is also developing. However, ESS is still evolving and has a steep learning curve. The revolution of technologies and ESS techniques will enable surgeons to treat various spinal diseases more practically. In recent years, the application of the computer-assisted navigation system and augmented reality have reformed imaging quality and interpretation. The endoscopic rhizotomy techniques have opened a new way for MISS of chronic low back pain. This review introduces the current indications of ESS and its potential future expansion.

Expanded central role of the respiratory physiotherapists in the community setting.

The development of community hubs through the Slaintecare initiative will rely on respiratory physiotherapists and clinical nurse specialists for the management of chronic respiratory diseases. The role of the respiratory physiotherapist has evolved dramatically over the last decade. We review the increasing scope of practice of the physiotherapist and the evidence base for same. We pay particular attention to the role of the physiotherapist in areas such as pulmonary rehabilitation, sputum clearance, neuromuscular disease, chronic respiratory failure, ambulatory oxygen assessments and dysfunctional breathing. We give an in depth review of sputum clearance techniques. We also address areas of potential future expansion for the role of the physiotherapist such as prescription and initiation of non-invasive ventilation.

Therapeutic Potential of GLP-2 Analogs in Gastrointestinal Disorders: Current Knowledge, Nutritional Aspects, and Future Perspectives.

Although Glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor agonists have been used for almost two decades in the treatment of diabetes mellitus type 2 and, lately, in obesity, recent years have seen an increasing interest in the pharmacological agonism of other proglucagon-derived peptides, including GLP-2. Herein, we aimed to review the available evidence on the effects of GLP-2 agonism from animal and clinical studies. Furthermore, we summarize the current clinical applications of GLP-2 agonists among patients with intestinal failure associated with short bowel syndrome (SBS-IF) as well as potential future expansion of their indications to other intestinal disorders. Evidence from preclinical studies has highlighted the cellular trophic and functional beneficial actions of GLP-2 on small intestinal and colonic mucosa. Subsequently, pharmacologic agonism of GLP-2 has gathered interest for the treatment of patients with conditions pertaining to the loss of intestinal anatomical and/or functional integrity to a degree requiring parenteral support, collectively referred to as intestinal failure. GLP-2 analogs positively influence nutrient absorption in animal models and humans, although continued therapy is likely needed for sustained effects. The degradation-resistant GLP-2-analog teduglutide has received approval for the treatment of SBS-IF, in which it may decisively reduce patient dependency on parenteral support and improve quality of life. Another two longer-acting analogs, glepaglutide and apraglutide, are currently undergoing phase III clinical trials. The use of GLP-2 analogs is effective in the management of SBS-IF and may show promise in the treatment of other severe gastrointestinal disorders associated with loss of effective intestinal resorptive surface area.

Capturing the value of vaccination within health technology assessment and health economics: Literature review and novel conceptual framework

BackgroundVaccination provides significant health gains to individuals and society and can potentially improve health equity, healthcare systems and national economies. Policy decisions, however, are rarely informed by comprehensive economic evaluations (EE) including vaccination’s wide-ranging value. The objective of this analysis was to focus on health technology assessment systems to identify relevant value concepts in order to improve current EE of non-pandemic vaccines. MethodsFollowing a literature review, a novel Value of Vaccination (VoV) framework was developed with experts in vaccine EE from developed countries with established health technology assessment systems. ResultsForty-four studies presenting value frameworks or concepts applicable to vaccination were included. Eighteen unique value concepts relevant to EE were identified and defined. These were categorised within the VoV framework using three dimensions, moving from a narrow payer perspective to a more expansive and societal perspective. The dimensions were: (I) conventional payer perspective concepts (e.g., health gains in vaccinees, direct medical costs); (II) conventional societal perspective concepts (e.g., indirect health/economic gains to caregivers/households, productivity in vaccinees); and (III) novel societal concepts (e.g., financial risk protection, peace of mind, societal health gains, healthcare systems security, political stability, social equity and macroeconomic gains). While good quality evidence and methods are available to support concepts in Dimensions I and II, further work is needed to generate the required evidence for vaccination impact on Dimension III concepts. ConclusionsThe devastating effect on nations of the COVID-19 pandemic has helped to highlight the potential far-reaching benefits that many vaccination programmes can offer. This VoV framework is particularly relevant to policy decisions considering EE, and the potential future expansion of non-pandemic vaccination value considerations. The framework helps to understand and compare current value considerations across countries and payer versus societal perspectives. It provides decision-makers with a transparent and logical path to broaden consideration of VoV in EE.

Eptacog beta, a novel recombinant factor VIIa, for the treatment of hemophilia.

Hemophilia A and B are X-linked hereditary bleeding disorders due to factor VIII (FVIII) or factor IX (FIX) deficiency, respectively. Major advancements have been made in the care of patients with hemophilia, yet the development of inhibitors to infused FVIII or FIX continues to be a formidable challenge. The current first-line therapy for acute bleeding episodes in patients diagnosed with inhibitors are bypassing agents including activated prothrombin complex concentrates (aPCCs) and recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa). Eptacog beta (SevenFact; LFB Biotechnologies, Hema Biologics) is a new rFVIIa product produced via expression in the milk of transgenic rabbits. This emerging platform has demonstrated numerous cost advantages to traditional cell culture systems including a better ability to scale up production and better protein yields. Eptacog beta is currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the on-demand control of bleeding episodes in patients with hemophilia aged 12 to 75 with inhibitors. A potential future expansion of its current label could occur given the recent completion of two major phase III clinical trials evaluating its efficacy in children as well as its use for perioperative management. In this paper, we describe the preclinical and clinical literature documenting the development of eptacog beta and discuss its current and future application for the management of patients with hemophilia and inhibitors.

Integrating Lean and Sustainable Manufacturing Principles for Sustainable Total Productive Maintenance (Sus-TPM)

Abstract Total productive maintenance (TPM) is a systematic method to ensure equipment can function at the required performance to meet customer demand. The benefits of TPM are well known in lean manufacturing environments, and the technique is widely used to ensure no waste is created by defective equipment. Lean manufacturing principles and practices provide a solid basis to build upon to create more sustainable products, processes, and systems. TPM practices, therefore, can serve as a useful tool for more sustainable maintenance practices, leading to more sustainable manufacturing when additional criteria are incorporated into the existing foundation of the practice. This paper introduces a framework to integrate sustainability criteria and develop Sustainable TPM (Sus-TPM) as a complement to TPM practices. The approach to visually present the temporal sustainability performance variation of equipment by developing impact assessment trees using the Sus-TPM technique is presented. The application of the approach to an example is provided to demonstrate its benefits. Potential future expansions are also discussed to highlight how the Sus-TPM methodology could become an important tool for more sustainable manufacturing.

Seasonal and aridity influences on the relationships between drought indices and hydrological variables over China

In recent decades multiple drought indices have been developed to quantify drought characteristics and to examine drought effects. However, little is known about regional applicability of drought indices for monitoring seasonal droughts over China. Here we investigated the capacity of three commonly used drought indices (SPI, SPEI and scPDSI) for showing water deficit as compared to independent precipitation, root zone soil moisture (SM) and terrestrial water storage (TWS) estimates collected from satellite observation and model simulation, by using trend and correlation analysis of the drought indices and hydrological variables in different seasons and climatic zones from 2000 to 2019. Our results suggested that areas with a significant increasing trend in precipitation (p < 0.05) occupied 13.4–20% of the study area from spring to autumn. The corresponding area for SM varied from 20 to 26%. A wetting trend was dominant in drylands despite TWS depletion. A drying trend appeared in southern North China Plain and southwest China, where severe droughts in 2009 and 2011 led to substantial declines in SM and TWS. SPI and SPEI worked better than scPDSI in characterizing meteorological drought at the seasonal timescale, given that the inter-annual variation of precipitation was in consistent with that of SPI and SPEI in approximately 70–80% of China. scPDSI was suitable for agricultural drought monitoring in different seasons, and agricultural drought was well characterized by SPI and SPEI only in the summer. SPI, SPEI and scPDSI both showed worse performances in quantifying drought trend and magnitude in drier regions and seasons characterized by a low aridity index. Thus, potential future expansion of global drylands calls for an integration of human impact into hydrological drought modeling.

Improving predictions of invasive fish ranges combining functional and ecological traits with environmental suitability under climate change scenarios

Biological invasions represent one of the main threats to marine biodiversity. From a conservation perspective, especially in the context of increasing sea warming, it is critical to examine the suitability potential of geographical areas for the arrival of Range-Expanding Introduced and Native Species (REINS), and hence anticipate the risk of such species to become invasive in their new distribution areas. Here, we developed an empirical index, based on functional and bio-ecological traits, that estimates the Invasive Potential (IP; i.e. the potential success in transport, introduction and population establishment) for a set of 13 fishes that are expanding their distributional range into the Mediterranean Sea, the most invaded sea in the world. The IP index showed significant correlation with the observed spreading of REINS. For the six species characterized by the highest IP, we calculated contemporary and future projections of their Environmental Suitability Index (ESI). By using an ensemble modelling approach, we estimated the geographical areas that are likely to be the most impacted by REINS spreading under climate change. Our results demonstrated the importance of functional traits related to reproduction for determining high invasion potential. For most species, we found high contemporary ESI values in the South-eastern Mediterranean Sea and low to intermediate contemporary ESI values in the Adriatic Sea and North-western Mediterranean sector. Moreover, we highlighted a major potential future expansion of high ESI values, and thus REINS IP, towards the northern Mediterranean, especially in the northern Adriatic Sea. This potential future northward expansion highlights the risk associated with climate-induced impacts on ecosystem conservation and fish stock management throughout the entire Mediterranean Sea.

Quantifying patch-specific seed dispersal and local population dynamics to estimate population spread of an endangered plant species.

AimHabitat loss and fragmentation impose high extinction risk upon endangered plant species globally. For many endangered plant species, as the remnant habitats become smaller and more fragmented, it is vital to estimate the population spread rate of small patches in order to effectively manage and preserve them for potential future range expansion. However, population spread rate has rarely been quantified at the patch level to inform conservation strategies and management decisions. To close this gap, we quantify the patch‐specific seed dispersal and local population dynamics of Minuartia smejkalii, which is a critically endangered plant species endemic in the Czech Republic and is of urgent conservation concern.LocationŽelivka and Hrnčíře, Czechia.MethodsWe conducted demographic analyses using population projection matrices with long‐term demographic data and used an analytic mechanistic dispersal model to simulate seed dispersal. We then used information on local population dynamics and seed dispersal to estimate the population spread rate and compared the relative contributions of seed dispersal and population growth rate to the population spread rate.ResultsWe found that although both seed dispersal and population growth rate in M. smejkalii were critically limited, the population spread rate depended more strongly on the maximal dispersal distance than on the population growth rate.Main conclusionsWe recommend conservationists to largely increase the dispersal distance of M. smejkalii. Generally, efforts made to increase seed dispersal ability could largely raise efficiency and effectiveness of conservation actions for critically endangered plant species.

Harmonizing and publishing heterogeneous premodern manuscript metadata as Linked Open Data

AbstractManuscripts are a crucial form of evidence for research into all aspects of premodern European history and culture, and there are numerous databases devoted to describing them in detail. This descriptive information, however, is typically available only in separate data silos based on incompatible data models and user interfaces. As a result, it has been difficult to study manuscripts comprehensively across these various platforms. To address this challenge, a team of manuscript scholars and computer scientists worked to create “Mapping Manuscript Migrations” (MMM), a semantic portal, and a Linked Open Data service. MMM stands as a successful proof of concept for integrating distinct manuscript datasets into a shared platform for research and discovery with the potential for future expansion. This paper will discuss the major products of the MMM project: a unified data model, a repeatable data transformation pipeline, a Linked Open Data knowledge graph, and a Semantic Web portal. It will also examine the crucial importance of an iterative process of multidisciplinary collaboration embedded throughout the project, enabling humanities researchers to shape the development of a digital platform and tools, while also enabling the same researchers to ask more sophisticated and comprehensive research questions of the aggregated data.

Harnessing visitors' enthusiasm for national parks to fund cooperative large‐landscape conservation

AbstractSpillover impacts pose challenges for the management of protected areas (PAs). The issue of external threats encroaching on PAs has long been recognized, but a corollary—that PA conservation can increase costs borne by neighboring governments or landowners—is less well appreciated. In some contexts, basic principles of fairness and cooperation suggest that PA users should help pay these costs. Several countries have developed mechanisms for distributing the costs of spillover impacts to PA users, but not the United States. Here, we investigate whether and how US park visitors could help address one type of spillover, the need for wildlife conservation efforts beyond park boundaries, using a case study of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). We examine a “conservation fee” recently proposed in the Wyoming legislature, along with tax‐based alternatives. After exploring some costs of wildlife conservation in GYE, we estimate that a fee of up to $10 per vehicle could generate up to $13 million annually, and tax‐based approaches considerably more. We consider legal, political, and governance challenges, and ways to mitigate them. The GYE could serve as a demonstration site for visitor funding of cooperative, large‐landscape conservation, for potential future expansion in the US and beyond.