An official website of
The Western Collaborative Conservation Network (WCCN) promotes and supports community-based collaborative conservation efforts that strengthen and sustain healthy landscapes, vibrant communities, and thriving economies.
The Western Collaborative Conservation Network connects partners across more than nine states in the West to advance the practice of community-based collaborative conservation. Read on to learn how we make it happen.
Confluence is the WCCN’s biennial gathering that provides an indispensable space for learning and professional community-building within the collaborative conservation field. This gathering’s location interchanges between Fort Collins, CO (where the WCCN is based), and hubs of collaborative conservation across the West.
We are individuals and organizations across the Western United States, working in forests, grasslands, and watersheds.
Students and early career professionals
Learn more about our members, where they are located, and how to connect with us!
Join our mailing list to receive regular collaboration opportunities and our quarterly newsletters that promote stories to learn and engage in with our network across the West.
Join our mailing list to receive regular updates and our quarterly e-newsletters that promote opportunities to learn and engage with our network across the West.
This content is member-driven, so share your photos and opportunities with us! We want stories from your state, including photos, case studies, job postings, internships, collaboration events, and training opportunities. Share a story anytime by emailing us at conserve@colostate.edu.
You can view our most recent WCCN quarterly newsletters and other news items here.
Convenes the collaborative conservation community, virtually and in person, to strengthen collaboration skills and sharpen tools, and build the capacity of collaborative groups. Peers learning from peers, on the ground, across varied landscapes and communities, is a priority. Confluence is the signature event co-hosted regionally every 18 months.
Convenes conservationists new to the field of collaborative conservation with innovative visions for the future of conservation work and the motivation, passion, and collaborative mindset to work toward that vision. We invite collaborative conservationists at all career levels to join our Emerging Leaders Working Group conversations which cover topics including mentorship, supporting emerging leaders, and so much more.
Check out some of the network’s emerging leaders in our Emerging Leaders blog series!
We are currently developing a mentorship toolkit of best practices – click HERE to learn more.
Join us for deep discussions and peer support. We meet 3rd Tuesdays from 1:00pm-2:30pm on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86715994181. Contact Jessica Archibald to get involved.
Convenes collaborative groups with any interest or skill level in mapping and Geographic Information Systems with the goal of sharing ideas and resources that can enhance collaboration through the use of geospatial technology. This group also serves as a community of practitioners to help one another troubleshoot problems or learn about new techniques for using GIS.
The WCCN GIS Working Group has recently launched a new Google Group for anyone interested in GIS in the conservation realm. This platform is intended to serve as an information-sharing platform and a place to ask for advice, get GIS-related questions answered, and connect with other GIS practitioners in the conservation realm.
If you are looking for GIS support and community, join the group by following this link: https://groups.google.com/g/wccngis. We also invite you to check out our new website!
Collaborative Governance Working Group
Identified and encouraged ways public land management agencies can institutionalize collaborative conservation as a way of doing business. This working group developed and shared keys to success for public agency personnel as effective collaborative conservation partners and leaders:
Sustainable Funding Working Group
Convened funders and practitioners to explore regional funding capacity issues for collaboratives and developed strategies to reduce barriers and fill needs.
The Sustainable Funding Working Group focused on learning about and addressing funding challenges for the WCCN, including the many organizations that are part of the WCCN.
Read about conservation collaboratives throughout the American West– how they are structured, the work they do, their challenges and advice by reading our blog series titled, Collaboratives Behind the Scenes.
The WCCN also has an Emerging Leaders blog series, which features individuals new to the conservation field with an innovative vision for the future of conservation and the motivation, passion, and collaborative mindset to work toward that vision.
Many supporters give money and/or time to make the WCCN work. Core financial support for the WCCN comes from:
We believe that increased collaboration builds stronger communities and creates enduring conservation actions.
To learn more, contact
the WCCN Director, Aireona Bonnie Raschke, Ph.D. at araschke@colostate.edu.
