2021 Conference Presentation

Effective Collaborations: Virginia Eastern Shore Conservation Alliance & Shenandoah Valley Conservation Collaborative — 2021

Place-based partnerships can deliver ambitious and enduring conservation outcomes by engaging more people, covering a larger landscape, and tapping into a community’s social, cultural, and scientific capacity and networks.  What makes these collaborative efforts work? How do you build—or strengthen—one of these “force-multipliers” in your own landscape? Join this interactive session to hear from practitioners working in two of Virginia’s dynamic conservation partnerships.

The Virginia Eastern Shore Conservation Alliance has been working since the early 1990s to advance land conservation and management. An informal coalition of land trusts, local governments, and state and federal agencies, the Conservation Alliance meets quarterly to identify land conservation needs, secure funding and collaborate on acquisition and management, resulting in the protection of over 130,000 acres of land on the Eastern Shore during the past half-century. 

The Shenandoah Valley Conservation Collaborative formed in 2017 to accelerate land and water conservation in the region. The Collaborative brings together land trusts, watershed groups, regional nonprofits, and state and federal agencies in a partnership that coordinates expertise, identifies opportunities, and motivates conservation action in Augusta, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Page, Warren, and Frederick Counties. 

Presenters:

• Jill Bieri, The Nature Conservancy
• Jim McGowan, The Nature Conservancy
• Hali Plourde-Rogers, Virginia Eastern Shore Land Trust
• Kevin Tate, Shenandoah Valley Conservation Collaborative
• Emily Warner, Potomac Conservancy
• Kate Wofford, Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley

Presentation Slides: