For the second year in a row, we were not able to gather in person in October due to the pandemic, but we were able to organize some stories of collaborative conservation from across the country, virtually, as well as hear from a couple of our national conservation leaders.

With approximately 70% of the land in the United States in private ownership, voluntary conservation efforts are critical to sustain fish and wildlife, soil health and all natural resources. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (PFW) has been providing voluntary technical and financial assistance to private landowners for over 30 years and continues to be critically important to conservation of federal trust species and a catalyst for public-private conservation partnerships across the country.

After much consideration and debate, the Partnerscapes board has decided not to hold an in-person Private Lands Partners Day in 2021. This was not an easy decision, but with ongoing Covid restrictions in Oregon and travel restrictions remaining in place for many public agencies, it was the best decision.

On May 6th an initial report was released on the Administration’s vision for what has been previously called 30x30. Renamed the America the Beautiful Initiative, the report outlines principles to achieve conservation of thirty percent of our Nation’s lands and waters by 2030. While light on specifics, there are a lot of things that Partnerscapes can relate to. . .

Partnerscapes has been seeking input for planning of Private Lands Partners Day through a survey as our country and individual states continue the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. So far, 90 individuals have responded, and we wanted to provide a report on the results thus far, even while leaving the survey open for a bit longer.

Partnerscapes wants to hear your thoughts, preferences, and comfort level in regards to how we should proceed with the meeting this year. We have developed this SHORT online survey for that purpose. Our thinking is that even when restrictions are relaxed, that there may be a lag between when people are legally able to gather in the hundreds and when they are comfortable, and willing, to do so.

We are pleased to release a report summarizing what we learned from our West-wide survey of collaborative conservation, including insights about collaboratives, their accomplishments and how they are evaluating their efforts and sharing with others.