Outdoor News Bulletin

A long time ago, a Nevada friend and neighbor, who had previously lived in rural interior Alaska for many years, made a simple remark in passing that has always stuck with me and leaves me once again contemplating its significance. He made the remark after passing by my house and seeing a pile of roughly 10 cords of black oak firewood and a freshly taken cow elk hanging visibly. His remark was equally simple and profound. He said, “You’d be a rich man in Alaska with that woodpile and elk.”

In the book "The Codex of the Endangered Species Act Volume II: The Next 50 Years", edited by Lowell E. Baier, John F. Organ, and Christopher E. Segal, a compelling chapter by Jimmy Bullock, Jr. and Cindy Dohner titled "Conservation without Conflict: A Collaborative Approach to the Endangered Species Act" outlines a transformative vision for wildlife conservation in the United States. This chapter, rich with historical context and practical examples, argues that voluntary, collaborative approaches involving private landowners, government agencies, and conservation organizations can achieve more sustainable and effective outcomes than traditional regulatory methods under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Recently, conservation leaders from across the nation and representing broad sectors attended the 90th annual North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Louisville, KY. This year, partners from the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) staff, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), the Wildlife Management Institute, and the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society (NAFWS) hosted a special session at the conference titled “Beyond the Boundaries: Exploring Opportunities for Cross-regional Landscape-scale Conservation”. The session provided an overview and update on each of the regional partnerships and delved into the potential for, and growing interest in, creating a unified national framework for collaborative conservation.