Outdoor News Bulletin
Midwest Landscape Initiative: An Innovative Partnership in the Midwest
The Midwest Landscape Initiative (MLI) brings people together to catalyze conservation solutions. Founded in 2018 by leadership from state and federal fish and wildlife agencies, MLI embarked on a new effort to convene state, federal, and other conservation partners to collaboratively develop solutions to our shared priority conservation challenges. At their August 2025 retreat, MLI partners updated the vision and mission statement for the regional landscape collaboration.
The MLI is a standing committee of the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA). MAFWA is an organization of 13 state and 3 provincial Midwest fish and wildlife agencies formed in 1934. MAFWA’s mission is “to provide a forum for state and provincial fish and wildlife agencies to share ideas and information, pool resources, and initiate action to benefit the management and conservation of fish and wildlife resources in the Midwest.” MLI covers the same geography as MAFWA, a central location that allows for and requires coordination and collaboration across regions and partnerships.
More than 150 individuals are involved in MLI through membership in committees, working groups, or teams. Anyone is welcome to join MLI, and all committees and working groups are co-chaired by a state and federal representative. This co-chair structure ensures that the priorities and strategic direction of MLI are co-produced, with state and federal entities having equal influence and voice.
The steering and technical committees of MLI come together at an in-person retreat every year to set strategic direction, discuss timely topics, and strengthen connections among members. At the August 2025 retreat, the MLI committees discussed and finalized new mission and vision statements for the organization. This effort stemmed out of a recognition that MLI should more intentionally center people and their role in ecosystems and conservation. MLI strives to incorporate and consider social science at every level of the organization, and that effort led to a stronger focus on the two-way flow of benefits between people and the lands and waters upon which we all depend. That principle is now better reflected in MLI’s mission and vision statements.
MLI’s Mission: Fostering community to catalyze conservation solutions together.
MLI’s Vision: Healthy lands and waters across the Midwest for the wellbeing of people and nature.
The MLI structure supports collaboration through a clear hierarchy connecting regional leadership, technical expertise, and specialized working groups. The steering committee is comprised of state fish and wildlife agency directors and regional federal agency leadership. The Technical Committee reports to this group and oversees four working groups: Communications and Engagement, At-Risk Species, Habitat Assessment, and State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) and Landscapes. A Pollinator Team operates under the At-Risk Species group to address emerging conservation needs.
Driving Action Across the Midwest/MLI Projects
Through the MLI, a relatively small federal investment leverages state and other partner resources to deliver impactful results on the ground. As of June 2025, the Initiative has worked with partners to direct more than $65 million to impact 116,000 acres, and 800 stream miles for a thriving network of lands, waters, and communities. A few projects supported by the partnership include:
Midwest Conservation Blueprint: The Midwest Conservation Blueprint is a basemap of priority lands and waters for conservation across the Midwest, reflecting a diverse set of 20+ social and environmental values. It serves as an invitation to all those in the region to work in a more coordinated and collaborative way to amplify our individual efforts into a broader collective impact. The Habitat Working Group oversees the co-development and application of the Midwest Conservation Blueprint.
Project Coordination Support: State-led tallgrass prairie conservation in the Midwest strengthens ecosystems, supports grazing economies, safeguards soil and water, enhances hunting and other recreation opportunities, and preserves habitat—reducing the risk of future species listings. With MLI’s facilitation and Midwest Conservation Blueprint mapping, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri secured $4.7M in funding to conserve, restore, and connect 28,000 acres, benefiting both wildlife and communities.
Midwest Grasslands Summit: In response from multiple groups, such as farmers, agronomists, corporate sustainability officers, and wildlife biologists, a summit was held to accelerate collaboration on grassland conservation that was hosted by MLI and in cooperation with the Upper Mississippi Joint Venture and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Representatives from government agencies, Native Nations, NGOs, industry and agricultural groups and private landowners gathered to develop a shared path forward for grasslands, and in doing so, identified several issues around which to convene and plan into the future.
State Wildlife Action Plan Support: State Wildlife Action Plans are foundational to conserving fish and wildlife biodiversity across the nation while being uniquely tailored to each state. MLI supported Midwestern states in their plan revision through several means, including adoption of best practices for a lexicon, a synthesis of various inventory and monitoring programs, and development of a Midwest Regional Habitat Classification system that links to state-level program classification but that allow for improved coordination.
Collaboration in a Changing Landscape
Following the Midwest Grasslands Summit, MLI will sponsor a Midwest Grasslands/Tallgrass Prairie working group to carry forward the vision and actions identified at the summit. This Midwest working group will function alongside and in coordination with other grassland efforts across the country, including the Upper Mississippi/Great Lakes Joint Venture Eastern Tallgrass Conservation Delivery Network, relevant AFWA and MAFWA working groups, the JV8, Central Grasslands Roadmap Initiative, the Center for Pollinator Conservation, and state-level grassland collaboratives. This coordination among initiatives will provide efficient and effective implementation of grassland conservation at meaningful spatial scales.
[The Midwest Conservation Blueprint] serves as an invitation to all those in the region to work in a more coordinated and collaborative way to amplify our individual efforts into a broader collective impact.
Over the next few years, the MLI will engage with partners to expand the existing prioritization of the Midwest Conservation Blueprint to include nearshore waters of the United States portion of the Great Lakes. By integrating the priorities and waters of the Great Lakes with the Midwest Conservation Blueprint, we hope to connect and amplify the existing and diverse partnerships, planning, and implementation activities across the Great Lakes Basin. Initial conversations and listening sessions for this process took place in 2025 to coordinate many partners including 199 participants across 50 organizations. Participants worked to refine the proposed development process, brainstorm socio-ecological indicators that will be spatially reflected in the blueprint, and suggest spatial data layers. A workshop to review progress and evaluate next steps will be held on September 30.
The MLI community will continue to serve as a forum for those taking conservation action across the Midwest to collaborate in a proactive manner. MLI provides space for those responsible for putting conservation on the ground to connect with strategic thinkers in the region.
Participation in MLI is voluntary and strategic, and open to any interested individuals. The hope is for conservation partners at every level to value MLI’s framework and products and become engaged with the collaboration. If your organization would like more information, please reach out to staff directly using the “Contact Us” link on the MLI website. We look forward to collaborating with you on future projects.
