Key Theme: Indigenous conservation

Webinar: Flowing across boundaries: A story of Indigenous-led collaboration among nations to protect salmon and Indigenous culture in the Wolastoq

The Wolastoq River, also known as the St. John River, is the second longest river on the eastern seaboard, flowing from Northern Maine in the U.S., across the border into Canada and eventually emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. A century ago, North Atlantic salmon thrived within this system, but the combined pressures of hydroelectric dams, overfishing, declining water quality, and climate change have led to the species’ decline: it is now considered an endangered species in both the U.S. and Canada. The Maliseet Nation (also known as the Wolastoqiyik, “people of the beautiful river”) and their traditional lands extend across the international border, and salmon has an important role in Maliseet culture.

In this session of our Connecting for Conservation webinar series, panelists explored how the Maliseet nation formed a collaborative international committee of Indigenous nations, Canada and the US federal representatives, and other NGO partners for the benefit of the Wolastoq River watershed and the species that depend on it. The speakers also shared their work to create an Interim Statement of Cooperation and their efforts to develop a Statement of Stewardship.

Chief Ross Perley, Chief of the Tobique First Nation

Chief Perley is the Chief of the Tobique First Nation of the Maliseet Nation, the largest rural Wolastoqiyik and Maliseet Nation reserves in New Brunswick, Canada. The Tobique First Nation (Neqotkuk) is located along the northern shore of the Tobique river, one of the major watersheds of the Wolastoq River. Learn more about Chief Perley.

Chief Clarissa Sabattis, Chief of the Houlton Band

Chief Clarissa Sabattis is Chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, in Maine. She is an RN, and since being elected in 2017 has been focused on ensuring tribal sovereignty and self-governance for her people, while navigating the effects of Covid-19 on her community. Learn more about Chief Sabattis.

Ken Moraff, Director, Water Division, EPA New England Region

Ken has led major environmental projects such as including the Boston Harbor and Charles River cleanups and has helped EPA develop innovative approaches to complex challenges including nutrient pollution and contaminated stormwater runoff. He worked previously with EPA-New England’s enforcement program and the City of Cambridge, MA. Learn more about Ken.

This webinar is produced in partnership with the Maliseet Nation Conservation Council.
Maliseet Nation Conservation Council

Dates

Date Start Time End Time
April 6, 2022 12:00 pm 1:15 pm

Contact Information

Jen Kovecses: jen.kovecses@colostate.edu

Key Themes

  • Community-based conservation
  • Crossing boundaries
  • Indigenous conservation

Watch the webinar recording

Webinar: Advancing a North American Framework for Protecting Climate-Critical Forests

In this session of our Connecting for Conservation webinar series, panelists from Canada and the U.S. discussed the importance of protecting North American forests to achieve durable outcomes for people, biodiversity, and the climate.

The U.S. and Canada have made unprecedented commitments to climate and biodiversity, including the protection of 30% of their lands by 2030. To meet these goals, countries need strong foundations to create robust policy frameworks that protect the carbon-rich forests of North America. The panel highlighted weaknesses in current national forest carbon accounting practices in Canada and ways the government can leverage forest protection to achieve climate goals, as well as new spatial tools to map mature forests for the conterminous U.S. to inform national conservation and climate target setting. Together, they explored the need to address underlying barriers to the realization of strong forest-climate solutions policies, and opportunities for the countries to work together to address them and create a new model of global forest leadership.

Pictured: Tongass National Forest, Alaska. Photo by Dominick DellaSala.

Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala, Chief Scientist, Wild Heritage, Project of Earth Island Institute

Dr. DellaSala is Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage and former President of the Society for Conservation Biology, North America Section. He is an internationally renowned author of over 250 science papers on forest and fire ecology, conservation biology, endangered species management, and landscape ecology. Learn more about Dr. DellaSala.

Graham Saul, Executive Director, Nature Canada

Graham joined Nature Canada 2017 and has more than 25 years of experience working on social and environmental justice issues. Previously, he worked for Friends of the Earth Canada and Oil Change International and Climate Action Network Canada and is a founding member of Ecology Ottawa. Learn more about Graham.

 

This webinar was produced in partnership with Nature Canada, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Wild Heritage.
Nature Canada (logo), NRDC (logo), World Heritage (logo)

Dates

Date Start Time End Time
March 22, 2022 12:00 pm 1:00 pm

Contact Information

Jen Kovecses: jen.kovecses@colostate.edu

Key Themes

  • Biodiversity
  • Climate change
  • Healthy landscapes
  • Indigenous conservation

Watch the webinar recording

2022 Symposium on Conservation Impact

Watch the Symposium recordings!

In 2022, the symposium focused on transboundary conservation, specifically across the US-Mexico border, which spans nearly 2,000 miles across six distinct ecoregions and shapes a landscape that is home to more than 15 million people. The region represents a unique opportunity to explore how to improve conservation outcomes for both people and ecosystems – and how to do so in the context of multinational, transboundary collaboration. The symposium explored:

  • Opportunities for, and barriers to, effective conservation in Mexico and the border region
  • Climate change impacts on ecological and human communities
  • How to balance cultural needs, sustainable economic development, security, and the health of natural systems
  • The role of Indigenous leadership in conservation
  • How the region’s distinct history and biogeography offer insights and learnings for other parts of North America
  • And more!

Watch the recordings from Thursday and Friday.

 

 

Past Symposia:

  • 2021: Next steps for the Biden administration’s America the Beautiful initiative
  • 2020: North American cities enhancing natural systems to improve community health and support climate resilience
  • 2019: Landscape connectivity – conservation policy, practice, and research
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Wilburforce Foundation, Great Outdoor Colorado, Center for Collaborative Conservation, and New Belgium Brewing

Key Themes

  • Biodiversity
  • Community-based conservation
  • Connectivity
  • Crossing boundaries
  • Indigenous conservation
  • Large landscapes

2022 Agenda

Watch Day 1 in English & Spanish

Watch Day 2 in English & Spanish

Past Symposia

Pathways to a Just and Equitable Future Forum

This third forum in the Network for Landscape Conservation‘s Future of Landscape Conservation series focused on the fundamental importance of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in collaborative landscape conservation. This conversation builds from the Weaving the Strands Together: Case Studies in Inclusive and Equitable Landscape Conservation report, which the Network released in early 2021 in partnership with the Salazar Center for North American Conservation.

Dr. Mamie Parker opened the forum with a keynote address and then moderated a panel discussion featuring:

  • Curtis Bennett – Director of Equity & Community Engagement at National Aquarium, and steering committee member of Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition
  • Patrick Gonzales Rogers – Executive Director of Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition
  • David Lamfrom – Vice President of Regional Programs at the National Parks Conservation Association
  • Martha Williams – Principal Deputy Director of USFWS, acting director

Dates

Date Start Time End Time
March 31, 2021

Contact Information

Contact the Network to learn more.

Network for Landscape Conservation

Key Themes

  • Community-based conservation
  • Connectivity
  • Diversity equity inclusion
  • Healthy landscapes
  • Indigenous conservation
  • Large landscapes

Watch the webinar recording

2021 Virtual Symposium on Conservation Impact

In 2021, the symposium served as the first major public convening focused on next steps for the Biden administration’s America the Beautiful initiative. Top-level officials from the U.S. Departments of Interior and Agriculture, as well as the White House Council on Environmental Quality, explored how to conserve 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030.

The two-day event featured researchers, practitioners, and political leaders from Canada, Mexico, and Indigenous territories, who—along with their U.S. counterparts—explored the state of progress toward similar large landscape conservation goals at the continental scale, and highlight lessons learned from other national-level efforts, such as Canada’s Pathway to Target One. A variety of keynote presentations and panels events focused on transboundary partnerships, the role of Indigenous nations, and best practices to achieve large landscape goals in the face of climate change in North America. Together, we looked at science and data, policies, and case studies to better understand the benefits that transboundary work can deliver for biodiversity, climate, and human resilience.

You can watch the full recording of Day 1 and Day 2, and session recordings from the symposium include:

Thriving Cities Challenge Finalist Pitch Fest

Contact Information

Catie Boehmer: catie.boehmer@colostate.edu

Sponsored by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Trinchera Blanca Foundation, VF Foundation, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, Great Outdoors Colorado, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Alaska Conservation Foundation, Northern Latitudes Partnerships, and Wilburforce Foundation

Key Themes

  • Connectivity
  • Crossing boundaries
  • Healthy landscapes
  • Indigenous conservation
  • Large landscapes

Watch recorded sessions

2021 Agenda

Past Symposia

Blackfeet Indian Reservation

Partner Webinar: Environment Justice, Equity, and Inclusion for Indigenous Americans

In collaboration with an unprecedented coalition of university centers across the western United States, the Salazar Center is co-hosting a new webinar series! Conservation Conversations will explore the conservation challenges of the future and identify specific policies, programs, and strategies to help secure the long-term health of the nation’s natural resources, wildlife, and landscapes, and broaden the benefits for all Americans.

This installment of the series was hosted by the O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at University of Montana, and panelists discussed ways to address current conservation challenges such as racism, sexism, and longstanding practices of exclusion of BIPOC while addressing climate change, co-existence, and the loss of biodiversity so that all Americans can benefit from the knowledge and expertise that Indigenous Americans have to offer in helping to guide the conservation of our natural resources for generations to come.

Dates

Date Start Time End Time
Oct. 21, 2020 12:00 pm 1:00 pm

Contact Information

Dominique Gómez: dominique.gomez@colostate.edu

Conservation Conversations webinar series

Key Themes

  • Biodiversity
  • Climate change
  • Community-based conservation
  • Diversity equity inclusion
  • Healthy landscapes
  • Indigenous conservation

Watch the webinar recording

Learn more about the Conservation Conversations series

Partner Webinar: Another Way of Knowing – Indian Tribes, Collaborative Management & Public Lands

In collaboration with an unprecedented coalition of university centers across the western United States, the Salazar Center is co-hosting a new webinar series! Conservation Conversations will explore the conservation challenges of the future and identify specific policies, programs, and strategies to help secure the long-term health of the nation’s natural resources, wildlife, and landscapes, and broaden the benefits for all Americans.

The third installment of the series was be hosted by Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment at Colorado Law and highlighted lessons learned from Bears Ears National Monument, specific recommendations about integrating collaborative management between tribes and federal agencies on public lands, and the ways traditional knowledge can enrich our understanding of the natural world.

Dates

Date Start Time End Time
Aug. 25, 2020 12:00 pm 1:00 pm

Contact Information

Dominique Gómez: dominique.gomez@colostate.edu

Conservation Conversations webinar series

Key Themes

  • Community-based conservation
  • Conservation policy
  • Diversity equity inclusion
  • Healthy landscapes
  • Indigenous conservation

Watch the webinar recording

Learn more about the Conservation Conversations series

Webinar: Building Community Trust

Building trust is critical to successful conservation programs. Understanding the communities you are working in, their beliefs and histories, is critical to establishing a solid foundation, along with careful thinking on your approach to engagement. In this Connecting for Conservation session, two expert practitioners discussed their work and shared best practices.

Photo courtesy of Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, originally appearing on Yale Environment 360.

Robert Bonnie

Executive in Residence, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University

Learn more about Robert

 

Dr. Stephanie Malin

Associate Professor, Sociology, Colorado State University

Learn more about Dr. Malin

 

 

Dates

Date Start Time End Time
May 14, 2020 12:00 pm 1:00 pm

Contact Information

Dominique Gómez: dominique.gomez@colostate.edu

Key Themes

  • Community-based conservation
  • Connectivity
  • Crossing boundaries
  • Diversity equity inclusion
  • Healthy landscapes
  • Indigenous conservation

Watch the webinar recording

Webinar: Indigenous Approaches to Conservation

This installment of the Connecting for Conservation webinar series was the second in a two-part series on indigenous approaches to conservation. It served as a continuation of a conversation around Native American heritage and tribal stewardship, which began at the Salazar Center’s 2019 symposium and featured Loren BirdRattler and Terry Tatsey of the Blackfeet Nation and Eli Enns of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation.

The webinar featured Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Dr. Clint Carroll, and Dr. Dominique David-Chavez in a discussion of Indigenous approaches to conservation.

Dina Gilio-Whitaker

Lecturer, American Indian Studies, California State University San Marcos

Learn more about Dina

 

Dr. Clint Carroll

Associate Professor, Native American and Indigenous Studies, CU Boulder

Learn more about Dr. Carroll

 

Dr. Dominique David-Chavez

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Native Nations Institute, and Colorado State University Department of Forest & Rangeland Stewardship

Learn more about Dr. David-Chavez

 

 

Dates

Date Start Time End Time
March 5, 2020 12:00 pm 1:00 pm

Contact Information

Dominique Gómez: dominique.gomez@colostate.edu

Key Themes

  • Community-based conservation
  • Diversity equity inclusion
  • Healthy landscapes
  • Indigenous conservation

watch the webinar recording

Webinar: Indigenous Leadership on Climate Change

This inaugural Connecting for Conservation webinar series was the first in a two-part series on indigenous approaches to conservation. It served as a continuation of a conversation around Native American heritage and tribal stewardship, which began at the Salazar Center’s 2019 symposium and featured Loren BirdRattler and Terry Tatsey of the Blackfeet Nation and Eli Enns of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation.

The webinar featured Dr. Beth Rose Middleton and Sara Smith in a discussion of indigenous leadership on climate change.

Dr. Beth Rose Middleton

Associate Professor of Native American Studies, UC Davis

Learn more about Dr. Middleton

 

 

Sara Smith

Midwest Tribal Climate Science Liaison, College of Menominee Nation 

Learn more about Sara

 

 

Dates

Date Start Time End Time
Feb. 20, 2020 1:00 pm 2:00 pm

Contact Information

Dominique Gómez: dominique.gomez@colostate.edu.

Key Themes

  • Climate adaptation
  • Climate change
  • Diversity equity inclusion
  • Healthy landscapes
  • Indigenous conservation

Watch the webinar recording

2019 Symposium on Conservation Impact

The inaugural Salazar Center International Symposium on Conservation Impact established a forum to track, incent, recognize, and reward progress on conservation challenges across North America. It convened 200+ thought leaders from the arenas of conservation policy, practice, and research around the theme of landscape connectivity. Attendees represented 10 different city, county, state, and national agencies; 40 non-profit organizations and universities; and 19 funders from 15 states, Canada, and Mexico. Together, we explored opportunities to connect and collaborate across urban and rural, public and private, and wild and working lands; how landscape-scale conservation is critical to environmental and human health; and what opportunities and challenges exist surrounding their conservation and stewardship.

The Center also launched its first competitive prize for conservation impact at the symposium. The prize is one way in which the Salazar Center is pursuing bold new incentives to advance impactful, community-based conservation partnerships that support conservation at scale.

Speakers included:

Dates

Date Start Time End Time
Sep. 24, 2019 8:00 am 6:00 pm

Location

McNichols Civic Center Building

144 W Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80202

Key Themes

  • Biodiversity
  • Climate change
  • Connectivity
  • Conservation funding and finance
  • Conservation policy
  • Crossing boundaries
  • Diversity equity inclusion
  • Healthy landscapes
  • Indigenous conservation
  • Large landscapes

Watch highlights from the symposium

Download Presentations

Past Symposia