Partners for Conservation at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service All Biologist Meeting
In early October Partners for Conservation Executive Director Steve Jester and Texas Board Director Gary Price participated in a panel on communication and partnership among diverse perspectives at a session held near Hunt, Texas for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists in the southwestern states. PFC was grateful to be invited to present as part of a morning session focused on leadership and communication. The panel prior to PFC’s focused on leadership and, not surprisingly, many leadership qualities or prerequisites are also critical to communication among and between different perspectives.
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In Case You Missed It – Materials from Private Lands Partners Day 2019
If you were not able to attend Private Lands Partners Day 2019 in Ogden, Utah you missed a great opportunity to meet and hear from a great group of landowners and conservation partners that are working together to address common challenges across the country. You can, however, sample at least a portion of what attendees were able to see and hear by taking a look at these
materials, which
include photos as well as videos and slides from the Thursday presentations. Hope to see you October 6-8, 2020 near Redmond, Oregon for Private Lands Partners Day 2020.
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A PFC video from PLPD
This
30-minute video from PLPD 2019 is about raising kids, cattle, and birds on Creswell Oaks, the Salyers/Higley/Hunt family ranch in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. With very few ranches left in the Willamette Valley, generational succession is a major turning point. Partnerships for riparian restoration, water quality, and oak woodland/savanna plus a conservation easement have helped. A partnership with the American Bird Conservancy discovered that Creswell Oaks has the largest known population of Vesper Sparrows, which prefer nesting on short, clumpy grasses (the same conditions you get with cattle grazing.)
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Meet McDonald's Flagship Farmer Gary Price
Here's the video introducing Gary Price of 77 Ranch in Texas as one of the McDonald's first Flagship Farmers in the U.S. The Flagship Farmers program recognizes that the most trusted sources of stewardship information and knowledge for farmers and ranchers are each other.
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Our Lands
This beautifully shot
video by Our Lands highlights how land and soil are possibly the most under-appreciated resources we have, yet their conservation is vital to humanity. We need to have an important discussion on what can be done to protect the planet through proper land management, and the land managers need to be part of it.
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Partner/Private Lands News
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Ranching & Agriculture
Hot Off The Press: The Land Report Rockies Special Issue presented by Mirr Ranch Group
Pennsylvania safeguards 27 farms in 15 counties
Why Colorado's Proposition DD pairs water projects and sports betting
Iowa's farmers – and American eaters – need a national discussion on transforming US agriculture
The synergy between cattle ranches and conservation
Fruits of Ann Arbor’s greenbelt program apparent in 53 farms after 15 years
Outreach strategies cropping up to help growing number of female farmers
Farmers and city dwellers share conservation goals
Want to save the Earth? Start at home with a land trust
NY Farm Fights to Stay Alive in Rapidly Developing Area
“60 Minutes” interview with Land O’Lakes CEO underscores urgency of climate resilience
Silvopasture workshops in Minnesota
Water
New partnership brings together ag, conservation, economics to help improve water quality in Minnesota
Water experts to test polluted waters in the Buffalo Creek watershed of PA to find the source
How can Vermont better support land stewards? By paying Vermont farmers to implement conservation projects on their land.
Wildlife, Recreation & Education
Where are all the pheasants? Habitat loss is tied to more farming. Pheasants decline as acres of once protected land are returned to production.
Kirtland’s warbler no longer needs Endangered Species Act protection
Forests
Forest Management Wetland Stewardship Initiative extends partnership to 2022
On-site sustainable forest management ‘woods walk’ offered in AuSable Forks, NY
'Shared stewardship' agreement in NC aims to better protect federal, state lands
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A NOTE FROM THE CHAIR
Hello from Ovando!
Very excited that I was able to attend one of the Regenerative Farming and Ranching workshops held the third week in October in New Mexico. Got to hear some great speakers talking about soil health, which we all depend on whether we are ranching, farming, producing wildlife habitat, or just as participants eating and drinking. I was also very excited that I was able to attend with my son, Brady. Getting the next generation in the door to these learning experiences, whether it is the Soil Health Academy or our own Private Lands Partners Day, is so important in providing the tools and information that coming generations will need to sustain our working lands and rural communities for people and wildlife.
The challenges we all face are just heading in one direction and things are likely to be much harder for those that come next.
Yours in Conservation,
Jim Stone
Montana
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Our Amazing Grasslands
Meet the
Suelflow family in White Lake, South Dakota. "Integrating intensive management into grasslands and cropland provides new opportunities for economic gain while improving soil health, increasing plant diversity, and wildlife habitat...My farm is finally starting to perform more like an ecosystem." - Reid Suelflow.
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Playas Work for Kansas: Putting Money in my Pocket
Andy Hineman is a dryland farmer in Lane County, Kansas. He is focused on increasing the efficiency of his operation, which includes taking many of his playas out of production and enrolling them in a conservation program. “In our combines we've got yield mapping capabilities, so it's easy to look at each field that has playas. It's pretty evident those are a big fat zero on most of the years compared to the rest of the field. It makes it pretty easy to decide to enroll it into a program that's going to be beneficial for the environment and wildlife — and put money back in my pocket.””
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#FridaysOnTheFarm
Each Friday, meet diverse farmers, producers, and landowners through
#FridaysOnTheFarm stories. Visit local farms, ranches, forests, and resource areas where USDA customers and partners do right and feed everyone.
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Nature's Good Neighbors
A marriage of opposites? Can a committed condor biologist and conservationist find happiness with a guy whose living focuses on the search for oil? Absolutely, provided the two share a core belief: that it is possible for conservation and industry to work hand-in-hand.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service launched
Nature’s Good Neighbors in 2018, a series of stories showcasing conservationists across the nation, many of whom are private landowners with some on the PFC board!
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Private Lands Conservation Events & Funding Announcements
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EVENTS
Soil Health Summit scheduled Nov. 6-7 in Bismarck, ND. Registration is $50 for adults and free for students.
JOBS
Western Landowners Alliance
Chief Program Officer (CPO) position
open until filled. Santa Fe, NM location preferred. Reporting to the executive director, the CPO will provide strategic direction and oversight of WLA’s policy and program work. The CPO will lead a team of program and policy staff, providing support and coordination to team members and partners as well as direct implementation as needed.
Read the full
program officer job description and how to apply
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking a dynamic and creative
Fish and Wildlife Administrator (GS-15) to lead the Ecological Services program in the North Atlantic-Appalachian Region. The position has managerial responsibility and accountability for programs, issues and policies relative to the protection of fish and wildlife resources across 14 states and Washington, D.C, conserving some of our nation’s most iconic places, including forests of the Great North Woods, the Great Lakes, streams and forests of the Appalachian Mountains, marshes and beaches of the Atlantic Coast, and large landscapes such as the Chesapeake Bay.
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ABOUT PARTNERS FOR CONSERVATION
Partners for Conservation (PFC) is a private landowner-led organization which communicates and collaborates on conservation partnerships for working landscapes to benefit present and future generations.
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