We at the Western Collaborative Conservation Network (WCCN) and the Center for Collaborative Conservation (CCC) have put together a collaborative, live document: “Collaborative Conservation Tools and Resources”.
This document originates from a session at WCCN’s Confluence 2024. The session was an opportunity for sharing tools and resources that could be useful in assisting with collaborative conservation efforts.
“This conference has been great for sharing tools I may not have known we needed. Sharing of experiences, tools, and resources is the best way to discover and increase available tools and resources.”
WCCN Confluence 2024 Participant
Three tools and resources (shared below) were highlighted. Participants also answered three questions (compiled here) about collaborative conservation tools and resources, including:
1. What tools or resources do you find useful?
2. What tools or resources are you looking for and not finding?
3. Find-a-collaborative: Do you have any entries you’d like to add when the tool is ready?
Highlighted Tools and Resources
Conservation and Adaptation Resources Toolbox (CART)
Anna Weinberg (University of Arizona)
The Conservation and Adaptation Resources Toolbox (CART) is a multi-organizational partnership directed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and the University of Arizona that supports peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing on issue-based conservation challenges that span geographies and jurisdictions. CART develops case studies (210 searchable collaborative conservation case studies to date) and decision-support tools that communicate lessons learned from on-the-ground activities and applied research.
National Forest Foundation Toolbox of Resources
Jaimie Baxter (National Forest Foundation)
Collaborative groups and organizations learn best from each other. The National Forest Foundation’s (NFF) Toolbox of Resources is a comprehensive resource library built and organized for collaborative conservation and stewardship practitioners. NFF is in the process of refreshing this tool to include recorded webinars, example governance documents, a list of available grant opportunities for capacity building, and frameworks for evaluation and reporting on collaborative outcomes.
Jon Peterson (Network for Landscape Conservation) and Tahnee Robertson (Southwest Decision Resources)
Find-a-Collaborative is an inventory and searchable map of collaborative groups and support organizations/entities working on conservation and resource management across the US. The purpose is to help collaborative groups and support organizations more easily find and connect with each other for shared learning and problem-solving. The map, which began with a Western US focus, is now merging with a national effort. Sign up to add your collaboratives and support organizations!
Tools That Your Network Finds Helpful
In a survey at Confluence 2024, participants answered this question: “What tools or resources do you find useful?” Their responses are compiled in the collaborative, live document: “Collaborative Conservation Tools and Resources”. If you have a tool or resource you would like to be added to this “one-stop-shop”, email conserve@colostate.edu and/or leave a comment in the document here.
Tools, Skills and People that Network Participants are Seeking
In the survey, participants also answered this question: “What tools or resources are you looking for and not finding?” Their responses are compiled as well in “Collaborative Conservation Tools and Resources”..
Each one of our organizations has limited capacity, but through the power of collaboration, we can transcend that. If your organization is already working on any of the topics in the list, let us know so we can share it across the Network! Email conserve@colostate.edu and/or leave a comment in the document here.
