The 2022 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 concluded on Friday, October 7, 2022. The morning started with a keynote address from Assistant Secretary of Water and Science Tanya Trujillo, on the importance of federal collaboration as critical to the successful management of our vital river systems. 

To complement this, a panel of experts including Roberto Salmon, Jennifer Pitt, Carlos de la Parra, and Anne Castle discussed the complex and innovative Colorado River Minutes process that has allowed the two countries to reach agreements that preserve the river ecosystems and the human livelihoods that rely on a sustainable water supply to prosper. 

Calixto Mateos-Hanel, Managing Director of the North American Development Bank, shared the innovative ways in which NADB is funding work that simultaneously fosters sustainable development while meeting environmental goals.  

The morning concluded with an incredible panel of NGO leaders sharing the work they are doing to integrate climate resilience into their conservation work throughout the borderlands. Thank you to Serge Dedina, Fay Hartman, and Jon Dale for sharing the innovative projects you all are doing to help your communities adapt and prepare for the effects of climate change. 

It takes a lot of passion, collaboration, planning, and science to make conservation happen. But none of it happens if we can’t pay for it. The afternoon sessions of Friday dove into innovations and ideas of ways to pay for the work with examples from the borderlands including a panel discussion on why business needs biodiversity, moderated by Jennifer Gooden, President Biophilia Foundation, which advances biodiversity conservation on private lands by fostering systemic change through people, their communities, and direct action. Participants then heard from experts from philanthropy in the US and Mexico who spoke about the role they see for the future of philanthropy in the borderlands and beyond to help further conservation goals.  

The final speaker of the Symposium was Ron Rael, a designer, activist, trained architect, author, and Eva Li Memorial Chair in Architecture at the University of California Berkeley. His research interests connect Indigenous and traditional material practices to contemporary technologies and issues. He is a thought leader within the topics of additive manufacturing, border wall studies, and earthen architecture. His moving presentation gave participants hope and a vision for the future as we continue to have constructive conversations that create meaningful change.  

You can now watch all of the recordings from Day 2 of the Symposium in English and Spanish. For more, including the pre-conference webinars, be sure to visit the Center’s YouTube Channel.  Please note, due to a power outage on Friday morning, some session recordings are incomplete.  

Symposium Day 2 Recordings    

Welcome and introductory remarks 

• Beth Conover, Executive Director, Salazar Center for North American Conservation 
• Tony Frank, Chancellor, Colorado State University System 
• Luis Benitez, Vice President for Government Affairs and Global Impact, VF Corporation (emcee) 

Federal perspectives on transboundary rivers 

• Tanya Trujillo, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior 

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Multi-national cooperation on water: Interstate compacts as a model for transboundary cooperation 

• Roberto Salmon, Founding Partners, Luken Center for Strategies in Water and the Environment, and Former Commissioner, Mexico-United States International Boundary and Water Commission 

• Carlos de la Parra, Chair of the Board, Raise the River 
• Jennifer Pitt, Colorado River Program Director, National Audubon Society 
• Moderated by Anne Castle, Senior Fellow, Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment at the University of Colorado Law School 

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North America Development (NAD) Bank: Promoting sustainable development while protecting the environment across the U.S.-Mexico border 

• Calixto Mateos-Hanel, Managing Director, North American Development Bank 

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Climate impacts to biodiversity and water in the border region 

• Jon Dale, Director, Rio Grande Valley & Mexico, American Forests 
• Serge Dedina, Executive Director, WILDCOAST 

• Fay Hartman, Conservation Director, Colorado River Basin Program, American Rivers 
• Moderated by Jen Kovecses, Assistant Director, Salazar Center for North American Conservation 

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Financing ambitious conservation across the border: Innovations in financing critical conservation in Mexico 

• Lorenzo Jose De Rosenzweig Pasquel, Founder and CEO, Terra Habitus 

Business needs biodiversity: Case studies from the U.S. and Mexico 

• Valeria Cañedo, Conservation Biologist, Wild Sonora Collective 
• Alejandro Espinosa Trevino, Biodiversity Conservation Manager, CEMEX 
• Alberto Garza Santos, Chairman, Promotora Ambiental S.A.B. (PASAB MX) 
• Moderated by Jennifer Gooden, President/CEO, Biophilia Foundation 

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The role of philanthropy in the future of climate resilience and transboundary conservation 

• Renee Gonzalez, Director, Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature 
• Ted Kowalski, Colorado River Initiative Lead and Senior Program Officer, Environment Program Walton Family Foundation 

• Emily Warren Armitano, Director, Land Conservation and Water Programs, Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation 
• Moderated by Beth Conover, Executive Director, Salazar Center for North American Conservation 

Buttons: Watch in English | Watch in Spanish 

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A vision for the future: Ambitious ideas for advancing conservation for healthy landscapes and people in the borderlands 

• Ron Rael, Chair, Department of Art Practice, and Professor of Architecture, Eva Li Memorial Chair, University of California Berkeley 

Closing remarks 

• Beth Conover, Executive Director, Salazar Center for North American Conservation 
• Luis Benitez, Vice President for Government Affairs and Global Impact, VF Corporation (emcee) 

The 2022 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 started on Thursday, October 6, 2022. We heard from amazing speakers representing Cuenca Los Ojos, Sierra Club Borderlands, the Tohono O’odham Nation, and the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University. The first panel of the day, moderated by Teresa Martinez of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, discussed their social and cultural connections to the borderlands and what is at risk if we do not act intentionally to heal and reframe the narrative of how we view the region while there is time to preserve the resiliency of the area. 
 
Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau shared the importance of collaboration between the U.S. and Mexico and how conservation is a key solution for addressing the complex geopolitical issues of the region. He advocated that “The right approach to durable conservation is having it come from grassroots organizations” and shared the department’s commitment to working with local communities to ensure solutions best serve those in the region. 

The panel on connectivity in the borderlands brought together experts who reflected on successes that can be replicated and scaled:  

Luke Cole: We need to use what’s in your water portfolio wisely – which is happening more and more in the borderlands. And we should continue to learn from tribal partners; never lose sight of the blueprints that are in front of us on the wise use of water that can augment and guide our technological advances.  

Rurik List: We need to restore ecosystems, all ecosystems, and part of that restoration includes connectivity. In particular, we need to address the impacts of the border wall on that connectivity.  

Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta: We need science-based planning in our efforts and a renewed focus on governance that incorporates the needs of nature and humans.  

Next, Pete McBride shared powerful photographs and stories from his expeditions to inspire attendees to respect and protect wild places.  After ten years documenting expeditions in some of the most challenging locations in the world, Pete turned his attention to his own backyard, understanding the plight of the Colorado River and other natural treasures under threat, like the Grand Canyon. With writer Kevin Fedarko, Pete completed a 1,207-kilometer (750-mile) thru-hike of the entire length of the canyon. They learned from many canyon lovers, park officials, and Native tribal residents throughout the area that development plans poised to forever change one of America’s most iconic landscapes. His talk highlighted the conservation challenges as visitation numbers grow and development pressures mount. Even in the face of such adversity, a small group of people come together and have a huge impact on preserving the sacredness of the canyon. 

Participants ended the day by learning about some of the impacts that the US-Mexico border wall has had on the borderlands’ amazing biodiversity, human, and ecological linkages.   

Dinah Bear, who is an attorney and consultant and served for 25 years as General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel at the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), shared insights from her professional experience with border issues from both an environmental and humanitarian perspective, including work related to border barriers and to prevention of migrant deaths.  

Following Dinah’s presentation, Dr. Sharon Wilcox, Senior Texas Representative for the national conservation organization Defenders of Wildlife, moderated discussion with a panel of experts with a wide range of perspectives on living with and addressing the impacts of the border wall.   

And so much more! You can now watch all of the recordings from Day 1 of the Symposium in English and Spanish. For more, including the pre-conference webinars, be sure to visit the Center’s YouTube Channel.  

Symposium Day 1 Recordings   

Welcome and introductory remarks 

• Beth Conover, Executive Director, Salazar Center for North American Conservation 
• Jordan Dresser, Chairman, Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation 
• Luis Benitez, Vice President for Government Affairs and Global Impact, VF Corporation (emcee) 

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Setting the stage: How do we define transboundary conservation in the borderlands? 

• Valerie Gordon, Secretary/Treasurer of the Board, Cuenca Los Ojos 

Social ties: Culture and connectivity in the borderlands 

• Irasema Coronado, Director & Professor, School of Transborder Studies, Arizona State University 
• Verlon Jose, Governor of the Traditional O’odham Leaders, Tohono O’odham Nation 
• Erick Meza, Borderlands Coordinator, Sierra Club 

• Moderated by Teresa Martinez, Executive Director, Continental Divide Trail Coalition 

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America the

America the Beautiful and how cooperative conservation can serve the U.S. and Mexico 

• Tommy Beaudreau, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior 

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Connectivity in the borderlands: Exploring important ecological pathways across land, water, and air 

• Luke Cole, Director, Sonoran Institute 
• Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta, Director of the Coastal Solutions Fellows Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology 
• Rurik List, Head of the Research Area on Conservation Biology, Metropolitan Autonomous University – Lerma 
• Moderated by John Sanderson, Director, Center for Collaborative Conservation, Colorado State University

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Chasing water in drying times: Challenges and successes in the Colorado River Basin — snow to sea 

• Pete McBride, Contributing Photographer, Writer, Filmmaker at National Geographic and Smithsonian Magazine 

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Learnings across transboundary river basins: Case studies from the Colorado and Rio Grande 

• Lorelei Cloud, Southern Ute Tribal Council and Co-Chair, Indigenous Women’s Leadership Network 
• Oscar Leal, Water Program Director, Pronatura Noreste 
• Enrique Prunes, Senior Program Officer for Freshwater, World Wildlife Fund 
• Moderated by John Tracy, Director, Colorado Water Center 

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The border wall over time: Policy, ecological, and cultural outcomes 

• Dinah Bear, Attorney and Consultant, Former General Counsel, White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 

Border wall impacts on connectivity, water, and biodiversity 

• Lorraine Eiler, San Lucy District Alternate of the Tohono O’odham Legislative Council, Hia-Ced O’odham Nation 
• Diana Hadley, Founding President, Northern Jaguar Project 

• Myles Traphagen, Borderlands Program Coordinator, Wildlands Network 
• Moderated by Sharon Wilcox, Senior Texas Representative, Defenders of Wildlife 

Closing remarks & Peregrine Accelerator announcement  

• Gloria Schoch, Senior Director of Global Impact and Executive Director of the VF Foundation, VF Corporation 
• Luis Benitez, Vice President for Government Affairs and Global Impact, VF Corporation (emcee)