March 2017 Newsletter

 
Partners for Conservation in Washington DC

Partners for Conservation board directors were in Washington DC for meetings twice during March to share their stories of collaborative conservation and public-private partnership with elected officials, agencies, nonprofit partners and the incoming administration.  For the second year in a row, visits were conducted in partnership with the directors from the board of the Intermountain West Joint Venture. which is a broad-based group including landowners, nonprofit organizations and industry representatives. When a diverse group goes back with a shared message it is always powerful.  This is particularly true in the current environment where efficient and effective partnerships, providing multiple outcomes, at scale are recognized as key to getting things done.

  
Meet Burner Bob!

If you live in the Great Plains or east you are probably familiar with the bobwhite quail.  You may also be aware that many of the landscapes in his national neighborhood were maintained in part by fire. He still needs fire as do the other species that live with him and people for agricultural and timber production.  

Burner Bob is the brainchild of brainchild of PFC Director Reese Thompson (Georgia).  One of the problems with reintroducing fire, through prescribed fire, to fire-adapted landscapes is that Smokey Bear has done such a great job spreading his message that to many says all fire is bad. Reese borrowed a page from Smokey's playbook and has created a character and associated educational material to find a way to connect with people, particularly young people on the need for fire in many landscapes.

Burner Bob is just getting started but he has already put in appearances at the Georgia statehouse during Prescribed Fire Week, the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition and is helping get landowners to a prescribed fire field day in Georgia.  Thanks to Reese and Burner Bob for starting another great conservation communication story!
Save the Date! Private Lands Partners Day Oct 3-5, 2017 - Maine

Make plans to attend the 10th Annual Private Lands Partners Day this year in Bangor, Maine hosted in partnership with Keeping Maine's Forests.  This annual gathering is the premier national meeting of landowners and partners engaged in collaborative conservation to sustain working landscapes.  See the  Save the Date for details. More information available soon watch our Facebook page and newsletter announcements!

Also if your landscape is interested in a future Private Lands Partners Day  in your landscape, hosting proposals are now being accepted for 2018 and 2019, check out the call for proposals.
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A NOTE FROM THE CHAIR

Hello from Ovando!

I ts great to be in Montana getting ready for spring.  Having spent two weeks in March talking to folks back in DC its good to be home.  It was great getting back to share the story of collaborative conservation with friends old and new.  

One thing we noticed is that people were generally more positive than what you might think from the news coming out of there day after day.  People there want to hear about what is working out in the country instead of just hearing about what is broken.

That works well for Partners for Conservation since our story is consistent from year-to-year, we can get more done for people, nature and landscapes by partnering up to find solutions that last.  We heard over and over about the need for more stories about what is working, why it is working and what can we all learn.  

Lucky for us, we have stories (as well as some tall tales!) and we are not shy about sharing either in DC or in our landscapes.  The biggest challenge is to continue to gather these stories and finding ways to share them that our short attention spans can grasp.  We will continue to work on it and I would encourage you to share your story that you continue to write with your public and private partners every day!

Yours in Conservation
Jim Stone
Montana

 
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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Consider Joining Partners for Conservation
 
Consider becoming a member of Partners for Conservation.  Partners for Conservation works to support collaboration and public-private partnerships as the first choice for conserving our national  working landscapes for people and nature.  More information on membership can be found on our website.