Practitioners' Network for Large Landscape Conservation | December 2015
|
|
MESSAGE FROM OUR CO-CHAIRS
|
Thanks to you, the Practitioners' Network has made great strides this year! We are stronger financially, have an improved governance structure, and are making good progress on a number of strategic priorities.
We are truly excited about the work we've accomplished this year, and we are tremendously grateful for your partnership in taking the Practitioners' Network to this next level.
Our Coordinating Committee (the Network's leadership team) has been working on a number of important initiatives that will be coming your way in 2016, including a new primer on large landscape conservation, new ways to learn about other large landscape conservation initiatives (to include a survey in the spring for you to provide or update information about your work), a new exchange program focused on building leadership and capacity, and more online tools and resources.
We are grateful for the work you do every day to improve the health and vitality of our natural and cultural landscapes, and we wish you, your colleagues, and your families a happy and productive 2016.
Bob Bendick, Co-Chair
Emily Bateson, Co-Chair
|
JOB AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
|
|
|
The Practitioners' Network is Hiring!
This leadership position will play an important role in delivering the Network's priority projects for 2016 and will work closely with the Network's Coordinating and Executive Committees and the Network Coordinator.
Link to Request for Proposals
Proposals are due by 6 PM MST, January 15, 2016.
|
Practitioner Fellowships from Colorado State University's Center for Collaborative Conservation
The 2016-2017 Fellows competition is now open.
These are 18-month fellowships with an award up to $8,000.
The application deadline is
January 27, 2016.
Visit the Center's Application Materials page to review the Request for Proposals, application instructions, and Frequently Asked Questions.
|
|
LARGE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION
AND PLANETARY THRESHOLDS
|
Ever wonder about how to talk about the importance of large landscape conservation? Check out this six-minute talk by Gary Tabor, Director of the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, and Executive Administrator of the Practitioners' Network.
|
Large Landscape Conservation and Planetary Thresholds |
|
NEW RESOURCES FROM OUR PARTNERS
|
|
|
The Regional Conservation Partnership Handbook
In December, Highstead and the Regional Conservation Partnership (RCP) released
The RCP Handbook
, a resource aimed at driving collaborative conservation in New England, New York, and beyond. The RCP Handbook captures the experiences of RCPs to date and outlines 10 steps identified as important to RCP success.
|
Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) Network Conservation Science Plan
In November, the LCC Network released its new
Conservation Science Plan. The plan is the result of a collaborative process that identified common science and technical priorities and practices that transcend individual LCC geographies.
|
|
|
The memo directs agencies "to avoid and then minimize harmful effects to land, water, wildlife, and other ecological resources (natural resources) ca
used by land- or water-disturbing activities." It also authorizes mitigation at the landscape scale.
In particular, the memo notes that "large-scale plans and analysis should inform the identification of areas where development may be most appropriate, where high natural resource values result in the best locations for protection and restoration, or where natural resource values are irreplaceable."
|
Large Landscapes and Agroforestry
A Guest Column by Susan Stein, Director,
National Agroforestry Center, USDA
|
Landscape-scale efforts often involve linking land uses and asking people to manage their land for more than one outcome.
Agroforestry, the intentional combination of agriculture and trees to create sustainable farming and ranching systems, provides important opportunities for managing for multiple outcomes and bringing agricultural, forestry, and community partners together.
For example,
riparian buffer corridors can provide wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities, and flood control all while improving water quality;
forest farming can keep forestland intact and maintain native forest plant communities while providing an income source to a forest landowner; and
windbreaks can increase regional biodiversity and support pollinator populations while protecting a crop from wind damage and soil erosion.
Landscape-scale approaches only make agroforestry implementation more effective, facilitating resource sharing, mutual learning, specialty crop cooperative development, and improved environmental performance from these practices.
The
USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) is a partnership of US Forest Service State & Private Forestry, US Forest Service Research & Development, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. NAC's mission is to accelerate the adoption of agroforestry through a national network of partners. NAC researchers synthesize information and provide tools for land managers, such as
AgBufferBuilder, a GIS-based computer program used for designing vegetation buffers around agricultural fields, and the
Conservation Buffer Guide, designed for planning buffers in rural and urban landscapes. NAC also provides technology transfer assistance through publications and workshops.
NAC has a new email update you can subscribe to called Agroforestry Connection, which shares information on agroforestry-related publications, events, and other items of interest. It is published about six times per year. To subscribe, visit
http://eepurl.com/4HKB1 or the
NAC home page.
|
NETWORK INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
|
|
PNLLC's LinkedIn Group
Join the Network's LinkedIn group to connect with other practitioners, share resources, ask questions, and more!
Join the LinkedIn Group
|
Two-Page Fact Sheet
We've developed a
two-page fact sheet that explains the Network and how to get involved! We invite you to take a look.
|
Share Your Feedback
The Network wants to provide meaningful resources and activities that advance your work -- let us know how we're doing -- what do you find useful? what else would you like to see?
Contact
Shawn Johnson, Network Coordinator, with your suggestions and feedback!
|
|
|
|
PO Box 1587
Bozeman, MT 59771
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
|