The five Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) that span the north Pacific coast, northwestern Canada and all of Alaska joined with the Alaska Climate Science Center (AK CSC) and University of Alaska Fairbanks to host a 2-day conference in Anchorage last month. The goal of the "Climate, Conservation and Community in Alaska and Northwest Canada" conference was to share information among the scientists, managers and decision makers involved with research projects funded by the AK CSC and five LCCs over the past four years as well as other work relevant to the issues identified as important to the communities in the region.

Nearly 150 people from Canada and the U.S. participated in a combination of plenary and special sessions that included over 75 presentations and multiple opportunities for networking. Topics ranged from "What is the role of science in resource management and decision making?" to "What's new in climate science and why should we care?" Given the international nature of the landscape and the diverse Native American, Alaska Native and Canadian First Nations engaged with the LCCs, presentations covered a broad spectrum of issues and perspectives.

National LCC coordinator, Dr. Elsa Haubold, and Dr. Robin O'Malley, policy and partnership coordinator for the USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, shared their thoughts with the audience on the importance of collaboration across scientific disciplines, jurisdictional boundaries and ecological landscapes to meet the challenges posed by climate change. Dr. Haubold told the participants this was the first time a regional group of LCCs had come together to share information and seek ways to leverage their efforts across such a vast area.

To build on the momentum from the conference, members of the steering committees for the five LCCs and representatives of the AK CSC met the day after the conference to explore ways to improve communication and collaboration across this vast, diverse area. The one-day meeting, supported by the Wildlife Management Institute, provided the opportunity for each LCC to share information on the geography, issues and approaches they have used. With this common knowledge, the participants broke out into five groups to focus on processes for identifying, prioritizing and filling cross-LCC science needs; strategies to better inform conservation of species and habitats to advance common conservation objectives for the five LCCs; coordination of business practices among the five LCCs; strategies to increase and leverage funding or other resources and influence other entities to produce products/take actions that support LCC missions; and two-way communication and outreach about the science and information products LCCs are producing as well as improving our listening to conservation partners, agencies, residents, communities and other public stakeholders.

Outcomes from the meeting included agreement on the need for expanded cross-LCC collaboration, including support for greater efficiency in internal operations, conservation initiatives, fundraising, communication, and science; agreement that LCCs should develop a stronger, clearer and shared narrative about LCC objectives, focused on people and human benefits; and recognition that collaboration is valuable, but not on every topic or issue and LCCs need to be strategic and deliberative about the actions where collaboration brings the greatest benefits. Participants identified three immediate action items to support these agreements as well as numerous other strategies that could be implemented over the next several years to enhance the effectiveness of the LCCs.

At the conclusion of the conference and multi-LCC steering committee meeting, the LCCs and AK CSC discussed hosting a similar gathering in the fall of 2016, but with even broader participation. In addition to the scientists and managers who attended this year, the LCCs and AK CSC agreed the next session should invite people who live in the region to attend to improve the connections between climate, conservation and communities. (cs)