An official website of

Shared Governance

The idea of “governance” is central to how collaborative conservation works. In fact, collaborative conservation and democracy share several key principles…

Centering Well-being in 2025

The skills that the collaborative conservation field requires can offer us some amazing tools for centering well-being, including trust, relationship building, and thoughtful facilitation. What are your intentions for 2025? And how does your collaborative practice inform them?

Storyteller’s Circle 2024

Thanks to the 280 people who have engaged with the Storyteller’s Circle over the past two years! What started as an idea between peer-mentors matched during WCCN’s Confluence in 2022 has blossomed into an enthusiastic and motivated group of conservation communicators. These virtual sessions over the past two years have built up enough momentum that […]

Mentorship Match at Confluence 2024

A reflection by Nicole Reese This year, Confluence 2024 included a Mentorship Match, an opportunity for attendees to be paired for a mini-mentorship experience. Roughly 65 people participated in the Mentorship Match, and the result for many was a connection to learn from their mentor/mentee and also to get a taste of the potential benefits […]

Threaded Together: Strategies for Engaging Emerging Leaders

The session at Confluence reminded us that this work – engaging young people in conservation, cultivating their passion, and creating opportunities for growth – are the building blocks for a career of impact. They are also key components of mentorship, and feedback from this session will inform the creation of a mentorship toolkit, which will be available later this year.

Collaborative Conservation Tools & Resources

photo by Miguel Angel

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”.

Reflections on Confluence 2024 Keynote Speaker: Lorraine Marquez Eiler

Lorraine Marquez Eiler, who is a Hia C-ed O’odham Elder, and the co-founder and board vice-president of the International Sonoran Desert Alliance (ISDA – https://www.isdanet.org/), was our keynote speaker for Confluence 2024. And I couldn’t have been more honored and excited when she accepted our invitation to come speak with the Confluence audience as our keynote. Lorraine is a collaborative visionary with decades of experience, not only working with partners from a variety of professional backgrounds, but among partners from three different nations – the Tohono O’odham Nation, Mexico, and the United States.

Relationship Building and Networking for Communicators – Presentation by Lucinda Morris

Why is networking so important, especially for communicators? How can we make our communications more effective and reach wider audiences through relationship building and collaboration? Lucinda Morris of the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture (ppjv.org) and the Northern Great Plains Joint Venture (ngpjv.org) presented and led this month’s hour-long, topic-based discussion. Here we share our thoughts […]

Ask Atti: What We Love About Collaboration

Atti, a peach-faced lovebird, pictured with a speech bubble saying, "What do you love about collaboration? -Rox"

“Dear Atti, what do you love about collaboration?” – Rox  Atti, the Peach-faced Lovebird, studiously gathered responses from other WCCN (Western Collaborative Conservation Network) partners to support Rox, and this is what he found- just in time for Valentine’s Day!  The things Atti loves about collaboration are many; it’s hard to pick just one favorite! […]

Search