Over the last decade, Private Lands Partners Day (PLPD) has evolved to become the premier national gathering of private landowners and resource professionals engaged in public-private conservation partnerships.
During August, Partners for Conservation convened two different groups of collaborative conservation practitioners in Boise, Idaho. The objective of the workshops was to provide information on the basics of diverse conservation partnerships, what it takes to build effective collaborations, as well as roadblocks and opportunities for collaborative conservation in western working landscapes. Each of the two groups, which included agency employees, landowners and representatives of nonprofit organizations, spent a day and a half talking about the basic building blocks of collaboration including effective and transparent communication, building trust and credibility, and establishing a shared vision of success that all participants can buy into. Everyone learned more about the “people to people” skills of building effective conservation partnerships. The groups also provided input to Partners for Conservation on the types of support they need most to sustain collaborative efforts that address their social and economic concerns—in addition to ecological concerns—all of which form the three legs of the stool for diverse, multi-perspective collaborative conservation efforts. The discussions were captured and Partners for Conservation is pleased to share the report “Collaborative Conservation Workshops 2018” developed from the proceedings. Partners for Conservation hopes to continue these efforts and toward that end we are hosting a session titled “Diverse Conservation Partnerships for Team Leaders” scheduled for late February 2019. Support for this series of learning sessions was provided by the Hewlett Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Two hundred people gathered in Springfield, Missouri October 2-4 for the 11th annual Private Lands Partners Day. Attendees from 32 states saw first hand some of the public-private conservation partnership efforts engaging private landowners and private lands in Missouri. In addition, they heard presentations from landowners from all over the country about the partnerships and stewardship in which they were engaged, ranging from innovative grazing cooperatives to generation of alternative energy in conjunction with pork producers. Participants also heard from state and national leaders including Acting Chief of the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service Leonard Jordan and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. The conference also featured a multiple-perspective and interactive panel on land ownership succession planning. A report summarizing the meeting will be available in the near future, available to attendees, future attendees, and anyone else who would like to learn about the meeting. Partners for Conservation and the local planning team are already beginning to develop the 2019 meeting, which will be held in Ogden, Utah September 24-26. Watch the newsletter and social media for information on the meeting in the weeks ahead.
Partners for Conservation invited conservation partnership practitioners from across the West to Boise the last week in August to share experience and learn from one another regarding the foundational elements of collaboration, such as: initiating conversations with diverse perspectives, establishing relationships, maintaining transparency, building trust, discovering a shared vision, and getting things done. The gathering included two different sessions, each of them one a day and a half long and including landowners, public agency staff, and representatives from several nonprofit organizations that are all participating in one or more collaborative conservation efforts. Many of the conversations revolved around the time and commitment it takes to build and maintain the relationships and maintain effective communication between the partners, as well as engaging potential partners new to the collaborative approach. The attendees also provided a number of great ideas related to how Partners for Conservation can help support individuals and partnerships that seek to utilize the collaborative approach to sustain landscapes. A report summarizing the week is in preparation and will be available later this fall, and future gatherings are in the works. Partners for Conservation would like to thank all the participants as well as the presenters, which also included landowners, agency, and nonprofit staff. We would also like to thank the Hewlett Foundation for financial support as well as the public partners that supported the event, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.
In just six weeks Private Lands Partners Day 2018 will convene in Springfield, Missouri. The planning team and hosts, with the support of a diverse group of generous sponsors, have been working over the last year to bring this one-of-a-kind experience back to the middle of the country for the first time since 2015. Focusing on the themes of healthy partnerships, healthy land, and healthy communities as well as honoring the lessons of Aldo Leopold and his connection to the state, the agenda should have something for everyone working in conservation partnerships with private landowners. As in recent years, we are expecting attendees from around 30 different states to include about half landowners and half conservation partners. A number of Missouri dignitaries will be speaking and Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke and Acting Chief of USDA-NRCS Leonard Jordan have both been invited. Registration information can be found here and the registration deadline, September 17th, is fast approaching so please register today if you can join us in Springfield!
In late June, Partners for Conservation Board Director and South Georgia landowner and tree farmer Reese Thompson hosted an annual gathering of partners, neighbors, and friends known as the Blueberry Picnic. Some years ago, Reese purchased a tract of land for his wife Pam Thompson for Valentine’s Day. In addition to longleaf pine, the tract had a blueberry patch, which is notable since Pam is a registered dietician who according to Reese “lives on fresh fruit.” Reese did some investigating and determined that it didn’t pencil out to operate the blueberry orchard as a part of his commercial enterprise, but it was a nice amenity and did produce blueberries every summer. The Thompsons decided that they would host an annual “blueberry picking” to ensure that the berries were put to good use. The blueberry picking has evolved into the blueberry picnic that Pam and Reese host as a big annual “thank you” to all the individuals and organizations that have assisted and are assisting with their efforts to restore, manage, and better understand the plants and animals that comprise their piece of the longleaf pine ecosystem. But it is not just Pam and Reese that host, daughter Audrey and son Reese, two years old, are also a big part of the event, along with neighbors and friends. This year over 100 folks came out including partners from many organizations such as USDA-NRCS, The Nature Conservancy, Longleaf Alliance, The Orianne Society, [...]
In May, Partners for Conservation was honored to be invited to participate in a Private Lands Biologist Training session in the Mississippi Delta region of Arkansas. This biennial event draws together private lands biologists employed by local, state, federal, nonprofit, and for-profit corporations that work with landowners all over the state. Some of the organizations represented include local conservation districts, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas Forestry Commission, University of Arkansas Extension, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Partners Program, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Quail Forever/Pheasants Forever, The Nature Conservancy among a number of others including some from neighboring states. The group spent two days together hearing from a number of speakers, including actual landowners, about topics critical to working with landowners. With the diverse organizations represented, much of the training presented related to a better understanding of landowner and agricultural producer perceptions, needs, and values. Arkansas, like many states in the Central and Eastern United States, is overwhelmingly private land where wildlife and natural resource management does not occur without the engagement and partnership of landowners. Every agency and organization represented had a slightly different set of services that they could offer landowners, which is good since landowner needs and interests when it comes to conservation are also diverse. This group of private lands biologists in Arkansas clearly demonstrates a strong sense of community and partnership as they work together to help Arkansas landowners interested in conservation. Towards the [...]
Later this summer, Partners for Conservation will be convening a couple of invitation-only learning opportunities focused on the “people” part of collaborative conservation and public-private partnerships. Attendees will come from a number of landscapes across the West where people are engaged in public-private conservation partnerships. The group assembled to deliver the session, as well as the invited participants, will represent a broad range of agency, landowner, and nonprofit organization perspectives. The landscapes represented will include a broad range of western geographies. As Partners for Conservation has learned over the last 10 years, successful and sustainable conservation partnerships share certain attributes no matter where you go in the country. This was further evidenced in the Collaborative Conservation report released by Partners for Conservation this year, resulting from conversations with individuals engaged in conservation partnerships at many geographic scales across 11 western states. The goal of these sessions is to transfer basic principles and lessons-learned regarding interpersonal communication, relationships, and partnerships among people with diverse perspectives, all of which form the foundation of large-scale conservation partnerships. Partners for Conservation anticipates learning a lot from these sessions as well, specifically the types of support that would be most helpful for individuals of all perspectives who are putting in the blood, sweat, and tears every day to make public-private conservation partnerships work. Given what PFC has learned from ten years of Private Lands Partners Day gatherings across the country, it is a foregone conclusion that whatever [...]
Partners for Conservation board and staff attended the recent North American Wildlife and Natural Resource Conference held in Norfolk, Virginia. This is likely the biggest annual gathering of fish and wildlife management agency staff and nonprofit conservation organizations in the U.S., with attendees coming from all over the country to share information on challenges and opportunities related to fish and wildlife conservation.
Partners for Conservation convened its annual meeting and February board meeting February 6 and 7 in Dallas, Texas.
VIDEO: Gary and Sue Price at their 77 Ranch in north central Texas.
