Nevada-based Conservation Network Continues to Attract Interest
The Nevada Collaborative Conservation Network (NCCN) is a state-wide effort to promote, support and incentivize local, community-based, collaborative conservation efforts in order to create and maintain thriving ecosystems and associated wildlife, communities and economies. This effort began in late 2016 and is spearheaded by representatives from over 15 local, state, federal and non-profit agencies and organizations.
In early May, members of the NCCN gathered in Elko for the first in a series of workshops to connect with each other and learn about existing efforts in Nevada and Utah. This series is supported in part by the Partnering to Conserve Sagebrush Rangelands effort. Approximately 40 people attended this session, with the majority of participants representing locally-led conservation groups in Nevada. It was the first time that these groups have been brought together to build relationships, share information and help network existing groups together. Representatives from the Community-Based Conservation Program (Dr. Terry Messmer), the Sagebrush Ecosystem Alliance (Calee Lott) and the West Box Elder Coordinated Resource Management group (Jay Tanner) also shared their experiences and lessons learned from similar efforts in Utah.
From left to right: Duane Coombs, Calee Lott and Jay Tanner.
Calee Lott shared some of her experiences with communications in her job with the Sagebrush Ecosystem Alliance.
“History does not define the future,” said Calee Lott with the Utah-based Sagebrush Ecosystem Alliance. “The NCCN is redefining the future of conservation in Nevada by paving a path for success by turning challenges into opportunities.”
During the two-day meeting, the group promoted interpersonal communication and discussed topics including actions that could be taken to address barriers and capacity issues and defining the role of the group in relation to other efforts in the state. Feedback from this session was extremely positive, with many participants expressing interest in having follow-up workshops to continue networking and learn about resources available to increase the capacity of locally-led groups to implement conservation projects on the ground. A second session is being planned for late 2018/early 2019.
“The NCCN is a much-needed avenue to share challenges and opportunities in conservation across Nevada,” said Jon Griggs, ranch manager at the Maggie Creek Ranch and representative for the Results Oriented Grazing for Ecological Resilience (ROGER) collaborative group. “I was grateful to participate in the recent workshop, which enabled me to interact with like-minded folks who share a passion for Nevada's Rangelands.”
For more information about the second session, please contact Duane Coombs at duane.coombs@iwjv.org.