Gregg Elliott, Author at Partnerscapes

Annual Blueberry Picnic in South Georgia Recognizes Important Conservation Partners

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, [...]

Gregg Elliott2020-08-14T15:43:49-05:00July 23rd, 2018|

Partners for Conservation Partners up with Arkansas Private Lands Biologists

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 [...]

Gregg Elliott2020-08-14T15:45:40-05:00July 23rd, 2018|

Partners for Conservation to Convene Learning Opportunity

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 [...]

Gregg Elliott2020-08-14T15:47:14-05:00June 18th, 2018|

Partners for Conservation at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference – Norfolk, Virginia

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.

Gregg Elliott2020-08-14T15:48:57-05:00April 22nd, 2018|