The Midwest Conservation Blueprint is a basemap of priority lands and waters for conservation in the Midwest. It reflects 20+ social and environmental values across society that will achieve a thriving landscape of healthy lands and waters supporting wildlife, fish, and plants, embraced by all who live, work, and recreate in the Midwest. Specifically, it serves as an invitation to better coordinate voluntary conservation actions and investments across the Midwest by focusing and aligning conservation work across organizations, attracting, and directing funding for conservation, and connecting partners and opening the door to everyone. This resource is now available to the conservation community and can be found at Midwest Landscape Initiative (mlimidwest.org).

The Midwest Landscape Initiative (MLI), started in 2018, is a collaboration of Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies member states, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Geological Survey to identify shared landscape-scale fish and wildlife conservation priorities and to work with others to develop and implement effective conservation solutions. The MLI helps identify shared conservation and management priorities that require the development of scalable collaborative solutions to achieve healthy, functioning ecosystems.

The MLI identifies priority conservation issues in the Midwest where supported and coordinated work across state, federal, or other jurisdictional boundaries can most affect improved conservation outcomes and efficiency. The partners welcome and rely on voluntary participation and action by agencies, organizations, or individuals who share in regional conservation priorities or find common ground in actions that will benefit management of their lands while also benefitting fish and wildlife – “coalitions of the willing.” The MLI uses the best available science to help identify and guide conservation actions and an adaptive management approach to change and innovate as they learn.

The Midwest Landscape Initiative will offer a virtual workshop on using the Midwest Conservation Blueprint on November 16, 2023, from 12-1pm CT. Those interested in discussing ideas for using the Blueprint with MLI staff, watching demonstrations, and ask questions should register for this interactive workshop in advance. A recording of the October 2023 Blueprint webinar is also available for viewing.