A special session at the 77^th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Atlanta, Georgia will take an objective look at the trends, current status, and foreseeable future of the fiscal landscape facing fish and wildlife. "Making Conservation Funding Competitive in an Era of Fiscal Constraint" will be held on Wednesday March 14, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to noon, concurrent with three other special sessions. The session is co-chaired by Scott Yaich of Ducks Unlimited and David Thorne and Bob Ziehmer of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Throughout the United States, the conservation of habitats and landscapes capable of supporting thriving fish and wildlife populations is becoming increasingly constrained by complex and unprecedented challenges to land and natural resource uses. Competitive pressures on water resources are escalating while the decades-long decline in wetland loss has reversed. High commodity prices, subsidization of risk, and new technology have fostered the conversion of once un-farmable fields to productive cropland at rates not seen in decades. The development of energy resources is fast outpacing the ability of fish and wildlife managers to assess potential environmental impacts and respond with appropriate policies and guidelines.

Unfortunately, the sluggish economy and accumulating federal deficit have severely constrained the resources available to state and federal agencies and their non-governmental partners to address these challenges through active management. Compounding this loss of fiscal resources is the decline in the number of state hunting and fishing license holders over the last two to three decades. The fish and wildlife conservation community has recognized these new realities and is now grappling with the burden of addressing the diverse challenges at a time when resources are increasingly stretched and the use of regulatory approaches is under assault.

During the Special Session, speakers will present perspectives and examples of strategies that fish and wildlife managers will need to apply in order to address current conservation goals in the face of fiscal and political constraints. Additionally, presentations will highlight effective approaches to ensure that existing levels of funding are being used as effectively as possible to address the most important, crosscutting conservation issues. Finally, the Session will provide examples of the kinds of innovative and entrepreneurial approaches that will be needed to bring new partners, expanded resources, and consequential results to the enterprise of fish and wildlife conservation.

The 77^th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference will take place from March 12-17 at the Hilton Atlanta.