March 2026

Dear Network Friends,

Outside with the kids on a warm evening last week before an overnight rain set in, a vibrant purple splash caught my eye—the first crocus bloom, a moment I look forward to each year.

Spring brings renewal, with pent-up energy bursting forth in flourishes of color and growth, bringing a buoying sense of uplift. As I reflect on the state of the world and what it means for our landscape work, it seems premature to suggest that we are into spring—we are continuing to wrestle with the disruption and dismantling of the agencies, programs, and policies that have long supported the conserving, stewarding, and restoring of our lands and waters.

But I am sensing that we, as a movement, are starting to think ahead to that season, and realizing that our goal can’t be to get back to ‘before times’—not if we truly want to advance integrated, landscape-level outcomes capable of shifting the trajectory on the interwoven challenges facing our lands and waters. Rather, what is the forward-looking vision that seeds new possibility: When the energy of spring returns, what is the shape of the systems and institutions that allows us as a movement to deliver a resilient, just future for the landscapes and communities that we care about?

This all is very much on my mind as I reflect on this month’s Bulletin. We have, in Ground Shift, an emerging venue aspiring to that reflective space of looking ahead—what is it that we should be aiming for? And to that implicit follow-on question—what do we need to get there?—the release of the Catalyst Fund impact evaluation report feels especially germane: Insights around the essential role that place-based collaboratives play in delivering outcomes for our lands, waters, and communities—and the critical role of collaborative capacity in driving those outcomes—seem paramount as we think about resetting the conservation and stewardship movement on a durable foundation.

As always, I am heartened to know that this community is connected in the ways that it is—and please stay in touch as we all look ahead to spring, literally and figuratively!

Catalyst Fund Impact Evaluation

Ground Shift

Jonathan S. Peterson

Director, Network for Landscape Conservation

Cover photo: Morning sunshine on crocuses in western Massachusetts. Photo by Jonathan Peterson.

In 2019 we envisioned the Catalyst Fund as a prototype response to the “collaboration disconnect”—that is, the disconnect between what is generally understood about landscape conservation & stewardship (i.e., that collaboration is essential for working across jurisdictions to achieve ecologically significant impact) and how such efforts are funded (i.e., funders prioritize direct project implementation and little if any funding is focused on supporting the collaborative process).

An early grantee gave voice to this disconnect especially clearly: “Grantors are typically interested in the project. It’s like they think that the part that makes the project happen, the collaborative structure that allows us to do this work…all of that just happens on its own and doesn’t take any resources of investment.”

The Catalyst Fund’s core idea is that directing resources to the collaborative structure and process of place-based landscape collaboratives can be catalytic in positioning those collaboratives to more effectively advance their landscape visions and goals over time. A newly released independent evaluation of the program validates this idea, “affirming the premise of the Catalyst Fund,” and highlighting how collaborative capacity investments can enable greater conservation and stewardship outcomes. 

This report is valuable to us from a program perspective, but we sense it is more widely relevant too. Specifically, as we filter what emerged from the evaluation through our lens as practitioners in this field, we see a set of key insights for the field of practice as a whole:

• Landscape collaboratives are proven vehicles for scaling up, accelerating, and sustaining conservation and stewardship impact.
• A landscape collaborative’s performance (i.e., what it achieves) is directly connected to its function (i.e., how it operates)—and optimizing the former requires investing in the latter. 
• Collaborative capacity is critical to enabling collaboratives to generate a set of interconnected benefits—which build upon one another in a process that delivers conservation and stewardship impact. 
• Fostering practitioner capacity is vitally important.

Across seven grant cycles now, we have had the privilege of supporting 103 landscape collaboratives—including 36 that are Indigenous-led—and have distributed more than $2.5 million in collaborative capacity funding. As we consider what if any adaptations make sense in light of the evaluation and as we work to secure additional resources to sustain the Catalyst Fund into the future, we are pausing the program this year and will not be releasing an RFP. We continue to believe deeply in the premise of the Catalyst Fund and the critical need to strengthen collaborative capacity for landscape conservation & stewardship—and look forward to sharing more on the future of the Catalyst Fund soon.

Writing in High Country News, Tracy Stone-Manning, former director of the Bureau of Land Management under President Biden, and Lynn Scarlett, former deputy secretary of the Interior under President George W. Bush, reflect on our management of public lands and how “many of today’s challenges are not just technical or financial. They are baked in and structural. They reflect institutions and policies built for a different time, under different assumptions, facing different realities.” What is needed, they argue, is moving beyond incremental fixes—it’s time for “fresh thinking and many more voices at the table.” The two now are among the founding members of Ground Shift, which aims to reimagine how we relate to and manage our public lands in the face of today’s accelerating and increasingly complex challenges. As reporting from Axios highlights, Ground Shift is setting out to create an “ideas hub” that allows folks to look beyond immediate regulatory and legislative fights of the moment and instead to look to the future.

In that spirit, Ground Shift is offering a platform for a series of essays, inviting innovators and thought-leaders from across perspectives to reflect deeply on the future that we want for our public lands and waters—and the cutting-edge thinking and creativity that will be needed to get us there. A number of thought-provoking essays have already been published and all are worth reading. In particular, Scarlett writes powerfully about the power of collaborative landscape conservation and stewardship, noting that “the challenges facing our public lands demand landscape-scale, durable, inclusive, science-informed, bottom-up, outcome-focused strategies. In other words: collaborative conservation powered by healthy and active democratic processes.” Equally powerful too is Luis Villa of Latino Outdoors reflecting on the value in embracing systems thinking and how, in the face of complex challenges, we need to move past one-size-fits-all approaches; instead “we need more options on the table, more people at the table, and more creativity in how we approach socio-environmental challenges.” In a similar vein, Brian Yablonski of the PERC shares a powerful quote that underscores how “all knowledge is localized, particular to a time and place, and when dispersed individuals are free to act on their knowledge, order merges from the bottom up”—likewise underscoring the need to create pathways that allow locally-led efforts to emerge from those closest to the landscape.

It is worth spending time reading through the essays and the insight and inspiration they offer—and be sure to check out a panel discussion scheduled for Thursday, April 2. But we know big ideas aren’t just emerging from a few leaders; you all are pushing them forward in landscapes across the country as well. And this is a conversation that is broader than just public lands too—in a complex world we need to move beyond reductive approaches and increasingly recognize the interconnections. As venues like Ground Shift create space for us to envision the future we wish to bring forward, we look forward to seeing the insights and ideas that you all in this broader landscape community of practice bring forward and contribute in shaping these important conversations.

Additional Landscape Conservation & Stewardship News

The Nature Record: Although official efforts to conduct a first-of-its-kind National Nature Assessment were terminated following the change in administrations, as the New York Times reports efforts continued under voluntary leadership and the preliminary draft has now been released.

Read the article—and explore the draft assessment

Summary report from the Salazar Center’s 2025 International Symposium on Conservation Impact invites continued reflection around the themes and insights that emerged, as we consider the multiple pathways that will be needed in seeking out a resilient, nature-positive future in North America.

Read the summary—and explore the companion report, Three Perspectives on Biodiversity Conservation Strategy

Collaborating Well: New resource highlights four dimensions of collaborative leadership that enable people to work collaboratively more effectively.

Learn more

The Nature Conservancy spotlights collaboration between local and state transportation and natural resource agencies across the Appalachians to build road infrastructure with nature in mind—and highlights a Northeast Habitats and Highways video series that celebrates success stories, provides practical tools, and elevates real-world examples that show how wildlife-friendly design can become standard practice.

Read TNC’s article and explore the video series—or read this Forbes editorial by former Senator Bill Frist

Care for ourselves, care for earth: A new report from the Conservation Capacity Project underscores how individual well-being functions as essential infrastructure for conservation nonprofits, offering lessons from funders, practitioners, and movement leaders on building the regenerative capacity that allows the conservation community to imagine and build towards a better future. 

Read the report

Poll results from Colorado College's 16th annual State of the Rockies Conservation in the West find that Western voters across party lines continue to be strongly in favor of funding and stewardship for public lands and natural resources, and are increasingly concerned about rollbacks to public land, water, and wildlife protections.

See the results

In January, the Salazar Center continued to expand its What’s Next for Nature essay series, releasing a new batch of essays—six this time, bringing the series to 15 in total—as it continues to spark inspiration and reflection in exploring the complex, dynamic relationship between democracy and conservation.  

Explore the new essays and the entire series

The nature gap: Report from the Center for American Progress highlights how communities of color and those with low incomes are more likely to live in nature-deprived areas—with current federal rollbacks deepening rather than addressing these disparities.

Read the report

Signs of a river healing: The Revelator reports on on-the-ground restoration work underway following the historic removal of dams on the Klamath River, as Tribal crews and partners are revegetating 2,200 acres of former reservoir beds and salmon are already returning to habitat inaccessible for over a century.

Read the article

Post from Conservation Corridor spotlights new research on how to identify and prioritize the critical parcels that hold wildlife corridors together across fragmented landscapes, offering practical guidance for practitioners navigating difficult decisions about where to focus limited conservation resources.

Read more

High Country News article looks at how the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are using their landmark water compact, Tribal sovereignty, and traditional ecological knowledge to restore the Jocko River and other waterways on the Flathead Reservation, weaving Indigenous cultural values into every step of the recovery effort.

Explore the article

Reporting from Mountain Journal explores questions around what is and is not appropriate for public land use, as a proposal for a public-private affordable housing development on Bridger-Teton National Forest land around Jackson, Wyoming, highlights the tension that many gateway communities are facing around untenable housing pressures.

Explore more

A CBC/Radio-Canada feature journeys from Banff to Yellowstone, highlighting the complex challenges and the intertwined efforts of public parks, Tribes, and conservation organizations in restoring bison as a free-roaming keystone species across the Yellowstone to Yukon corridor.

Hear more

Article in Rocky Mountain Outlook highlights a major milestone, with the number of wildlife crossing structures throughout the Yellowstone to Yukon region now exceeding 200—and celebrates the decades of investment that has made the corridor one of the most connected mountain landscapes on the planet.

Read the article

Inside Climate News article examines research showing that Everglades restoration is functioning as a meaningful carbon sink—absorbing the equivalent of 10% of Florida's transportation emissions—while underscoring the complexity of methane emissions from freshwater marshes.

Read the article

Article in From the Ground Up spotlights coastal habitat restoration efforts in Massachusetts' Great Marsh, where a coalition of state agencies and land trusts is deploying newly scaled, cost-effective techniques to restore salt marshes, eelgrass meadows, and oyster reefs—and warns that without urgent action, decades of marsh drowning may soon be irreversible.

Read more

Article in The Guardian highlights how the Quapaw Nation has taken the lead in remediating the Tar Creek Superfund site in northeast Oklahoma—one of the most contaminated places in America—and is transforming toxic mining waste into restored grassland on their ancestral homeland.

Learn more

Capacity Assessment Tool: A new resource from TREC offers shared frames for understanding a team’s collective capacity to carry things out.

See the resource

Upcoming Conferences & Events

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April 6-9, 2026 – After the Flames Conference and Workshop: Tools and Tactics for Communities and Agencies Impacted by Wildfire

Cle Elum, WA

April 13-14, 2026 — Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition Annual Meeting

Bend, OR

April 13-16, 2026 — National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration

Omaha, NE

April 13-17, 2026 — Buffalo Beyond Borders Gathering

San Antonio, TX

April 14-16, 2026 — Collective Impact Action Summit

Virtual

April 30, 2026 — 10^th Biennial Northern Rockies Conservation Symposium

Jackson, WY

May 4-7, 2026 — Native American Fish and Wildlife Society 2026 Annual National Conference

Verona, NY

May 4-7, 2026 — Gulf Conference 2026: The Annual Meeting of the Gulf of America Alliance

Mobile, AL

May 7-9, 2026 — 2026 New Horizons in Conservation Conference

New Haven, CT

May 12-14, 2026 – National Adaptation Forum: Action Today for a Better Tomorrow

Pittsburg, PA

May 19-21, 2026 — Confluence 2026—The Future of Collaboration: The Power of Working Across Divides

Fort Collins, CO

May 2026 — National Executive Forum on Health and Outdoor Recreation

Washington, D.C.



June 2-5, 2026 — Conservation Finance Bootcamp

New Haven, CT

June 30 - July 2, 2026 — Western Governors' Association 2026 Annual Meeting

Deer Valley, UT

September 22-25, 2026 — Restore America's Estuaries: 2026 Coastal & Estuarine Summit

San Francisco, CA

October 21-22, 2026 — California Landscape Stewardship Network @10: Celebrating Progress, Inspiring Action, Shaping What's Next

Tahoe City, CA

November 5, 2026 — Regional Conservation Partnership Network Gathering: Cultivating a Shared Food Future Through Conservation, Community, and Collaboration

Amherst, MA

Session proposals for the RCP Gathering are currently being accepted through May 15.

February 9-11, 2027 — Salazar Center's 2027 International Symposium on Conservation Impact

Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico

Landscape Conservation Job Board

* * * *

Associate Director, Kittatinny Ridge Conservation Landscape

Learn more

Director, Sustainable Southeast Partnership

Learn more

Program Manager, Oregon Climate and Agriculture Network

Learn more

Executive Director, River Network

Learn more

Finance and Administrative Director, Institute for Conservation Leadership

Learn more

This section of the Landscape Conservation Bulletin is intended to be a space to share job postings that will be specifically relevant to landscape conservation practitioners. We welcome submissions: if your organization would like to widely distribute a posting please be in touch.

Webinars & Additional Resources

The National Forest Foundation's Collaborative Capacity Program for Forests & Communities is currently accepting proposals for grants to advance collaborative activities that support wildfire resilience, recreation opportunities, land & watershed restoration, and rural economies. Applications due May 4, 2026 for Community Partner Applicants, with applications due July 13 for Tribal Applicants.

* * * *

Reimagining Public Lands Management for the Future

A Ground Shift Live Panel Discussion

April 2, 2026

Seeds of Radical Renewal Fellowship

A week-long leadership training course from Emergence Magazine

June 16-20, 2026

Through the Looking Glass: Fundamentals of Western Conservation Leadership

An 8-month intensive leadership development experience with two in-person and on virtual session, plus monthly session.

Begins October 2026

Steps to Resilience

A self-guided workshop from the Climate Smart Communities Initiative

Building Blocks of Trust Training Series

A self-directed training series from the River Network and Water Now Alliance

NatureConnect 

NatureConnect is a diverse suite of services, tools, and workshops offered by the Center for Large Landscape Conservation to help partners achieve connectivity and landscape conservation goals. 

Connectivity 101

A free, online course developed by the Center for Large Landscape Conservation and partners in the Wildlife Connect Initiative with technical support from UNDP Learning for Nature. Conservation professionals and other interested parties can now register for the course to learn about conserving and restoring ecological connectivity to support a healthy planet. 

Conservation Finance Boot Camp Short Course

Following cancellation of the 2020 Conservation Finance Boot Camp, the Conservation Finance Network compiled a 4-part video short course, which is available via the above link.



America Adapts: The Climate Change Podcast

A weekly podcast that explores the challenges presented by adapting to climate change and the approaches the field's best minds believe are already working.

The Green Mind

A podcast that explores the intersection of social and environmental advocacy, and seeks to uncover the actions people are taking around the world to showcase the symbiotic, yet sometimes tumultuous, relationship between people and nature.

Recordings of past webinars of the Connected Conservation webinar series are available on the National Park Service Connected Conservation website.

Recordings of past NLC Landscape Conservation in Action webinars are available on the Network's Landscape Conservation in Action Webinar Series page.

The Network for Landscape Conservation is the community of practice for practitioners advancing collaborative, cross-boundary conservation as an essential approach to protect nature, culture, and community in the 21^st Century.

www.landscapeconservation.org

Contact Jonathan Peterson, Network Director, for more information. 

Contributions of news, upcoming events, resources, and job postings for future Bulletins are welcomed. We also welcome inquires for potential future "Perspectives: Landscapes Conservation in Action" stories; please be in touch if you are interested in sharing stories and insights from your work.