Center for Conservation Solutions

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Conservation Forestry Update Newsletter - Fall 2009

We want to hear from you!

The Foundation’s Center for Conservation Solutions (CCS) conserves and enhances ecosystem services on family forests by developing and disseminating innovative approaches for family forest owners to manage their lands for both ecological and economic gains.

The success of the Center hinges on three key strategies: engaging forest owners—often for the first time—in innovative conservation strategies, leveraging partners who can extend our impact to a broader target audience, and creating synergies between on-the-ground conservation and policy efforts. The Center focuses on a select number of high-impact issues, where family forest owners are facing the greatest challenges and opportunities. The Center brings staff expertise to four core program areas: Conservation Incentives, Prescribed Fire, Forest Adaptation, and Conservation Partnerships. We promote innovative on-the-ground strategies that make conservation forestry understandable and accessible to a growing number of forest owners. Our work—whether hosting a demonstration day or publishing a “how-to” management handbook—intentionally leverages local, state and national partners, tapping an ever-growing network engaged in sustainable forestry.
 
Center initiatives are multi-year, ecosystem-based, collaborative efforts that strive to create a landscape-level change in forest conservation. Our initiatives bring together local, regional, and national partners to develop and promote conservation forestry strategies. The collective impact of family forest owners who adopt conservation forestry practices plays a major role in habitat and watershed conservation. The critical involvement, support, and expertise of forest owners, conservation groups, private organizations and public agencies allows for the implementation of regionally appropriate conservation projects on family forestlands across a landscape. These cooperative efforts utilize and augment the strength and expertise of each partner, resulting in a greater conservation benefit than any one partner could achieve alone.

Center for Conservation Solutions 2008 Annual Report