In October of 2007, Highstead established its Regional Conservation Program to promote regional conservation initiatives like Wildlands and Woodlands and to advance forest protection and management throughout southern New England and adjacent New York. Highstead’s Regional Conservation Program seeks to assist and complement the many efforts across the greater New England region in three main ways:
- Creating Constituencies for Forest Conservation: Foresters and Forest Landowners; Land Use Planners and Communities
- Advancing Conservation Innovation ; and
- Promoting Regional Conservation Partnerships .
Creating Constituencies for Forest Conservation
Highstead and its partners believe that many more woodland owners and municipal officials need to be engaged in conservation for the Wildlands and Woodlands Vision to be realized across the Northeast. Three groups of people can have a big impact on what landowners and towns do: professional foresters, land use planners and community opinion leaders.
Foresters and Forest Landowners
Private lands that are actively managed with the assistance of consulting foresters and protected from development can be powerful sources of information for landowners and local community leaders regarding the benefits of long term management and permanent conservation. In collaboration with the Norcross Wildlife Foundation and Connecticut Forest & Park Association , Highstead organized a Forester to Forester Conservation Workshop (March 2009) for 33 public and private foresters in CT, RI, and MA. This workshop helped to raise awareness among public and private foresters as to the role that they can play in getting accurate information to forest landowners on management and conservation options.
Wildlands and Woodlands Forest Management Working Group
The Forester to Forester Conservation Workshop coupled with meetings of the Wildlands and Woodlands Partnership led to the formation of the W&W Forest Management Working Group. This group of public and private foresters and land trust staff meet periodically to discuss issues common to the forests of Southern New England. Highstead’s Regional Conservationist provides administrative support to this group.
Woodland Councils 3 Year Outreach Effort to Foresters, Forest Landowners and Municipalities
A group of woodland councils Highstead helped convene starting in 2008 was awarded a grant from the US Forest Service in the fall of 2009 to provide coordinated outreach and training programs for landowners, towns, and foresters on conservation restrictions or easements. This program’s design was informed by the Forester to Forester workshop. One outcome of this program will be an increase in the number of foresters trained in monitoring conservation restrictions.
Other Presentations provided to foresters:
2009 Wildlands and Woodlands: A Vision for Sustaining Forested Landscapes. Society of American Foresters Future of CT’s Forests Forum. Yale, New Haven, CT.
2009. Wildlands and Woodlands: Lessons Learned From Early Implementation. New England Society of American Foresters 89th Annual Meeting. Portland, ME.
Land Use Planners & Community Opinion Leaders
Small rural towns in the Northeast often have volunteer-run boards or commissions. Regional Conservationist, Bill Labich is using his eight years' experience as a land use planner to assist regional conservation partnerships to enroll local and regional planners, volunteer and professional, in conserving forest lands. Highstead is also committed to supporting the Coverts Program in CT which trains community leaders on the basics of forest and wildlife habitat management and land conservation. Bill is also promoting a greater understanding by planners and conservationists of effective land use codes including zoning bylaws that can increase the amount of protected forests and smart development.
Presentations:
2008 The W&W Vision and the Role of Planners. Southern New England America Planning Association Conference: Providence, RI.
2009 The Wildlands and Woodlands Partnership as an example of a conservation partnership. Massachusetts Land Trust Conference. Worcester, MA.
2010 Role of planners in realizing the Wildlands and Woodlands Vision. Massachusetts Citizen Planners Training Collaborative. Worcester, MA.
Advancing Conservation Innovation
One of Bill’s primary roles is to enhance the sharing of new ideas and lessons to advance the conservation and stewardship of forests. For example, many towns and conservation groups are making great strides in developing new ways to reach landowners with information on land protection and management and then to increase the funding for these activities.
Highstead and Bill support and promote the W&W vision and share new thinking on forest conservation regionally by:
- Coordinating the Wildlands and Woodlands Partnership, a multistate group of 100 people from 50 member organizations including state agencies, universities, forestry and wood products businesses, and landowner and conservation groups, and developing its new website www.wildllandsandwoodlands.org.
- Co-authoring papers that present the implementation of Wildlands and Woodlands as complementary to smart growth, sustainable development, and to sustaining the integrity of ecological services in urbanizing areas.
Promoting Regional Conservation Partnerships
Regional conservation partnerships are informal collaborations of public and private organizations and agencies that work together to advance land conservation and stewardship. Activities range from landowner education and outreach to managing coordinated land protection projects. Bill is in Communication with over 20 partnerships (at various stages of their development) throughout the Northeast:
- Providing information on best practices (e.g. current research and database on regional conservation partnerships)
- Facilitating collaboration among partnerships and others (e.g. convening meetings of regional partnership collaborators and support collaborative fundraising)
- Increasing GIS support to new or emerging partnerships
- Conservation planning assistance through our fall internship program
- Generating media that supports deeper understanding of forest conservation issues (e.g. 2008 Wildlands and Woodlands Update and W&W website )
- Delivering presentations at conventions, conferences, and trade shows
