December 2017

Collaborative conservation is not one-size-fits-all. In fact, some have called collaboration processes a “black box.” Yet collaborative conservation has been viewed as a way to achieve balance and determine acceptable trade-offs between diverse human interests, ecosystem health, and the conservation and management of wildlife. Conservation Built to Last: Advancing Engagement, Inclusion, and Shared Purpose to Address the Challenges of the Future will discuss lessons learned through the challenges and successes of collaborative conservation. This is one of four concurrent special sessions at the 83rd North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference scheduled for March 26-30 at the Hilton Norfolk, The Main in Norfolk, Virginia.

WMI’s partners in Alaska and Canada have developed a new approach for proactive planning for landscape conservation that incorporates adaptive management in the context of uncertainty and change across the boreal forest. The result is a scientific framework for comprehensive conservation planning that includes consideration of both protected areas and lands managed for a variety of economic and cultural values.

As more than 11 million hunters slip into the woods to enjoy the bounty of our nation’s wildlife resources, they likely hear about a sometimes vague, and always concerning disease affecting deer, elk, and moose: Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Although scientists have known about the disease since the 1960’s and have been actively managing it for more than thirty years, CWD still manages to cultivate uncertainty, concern, and sometimes, downright paranoia.

The most basic question that conservation professionals often face is, “Why is this place important?” Biologists, managers, planners, researchers, and other resource professionals frequently focus on site-based issues and the determination of the relative importance of the site to achieving desired conservation objectives. However, several more complex, and often more important, questions are: “What other resources and conservation targets are also within the target and surrounding areas?” and Where do we get the most conservation ‘bang for the buck’?”