Southwest and Coastal Washington Connectivity Summit Resource Guide 2022
Conservation Northwest / Jul 22, 2022 / Cascades to Olympics
Southwest and Coastal Washington summit focused on landscape connectivity for people and the environment.
RIDGEFIELD, WA – Southwest Washington is home to iconic mountains, majestic rivers, and expansive forests. These prized resources are at risk from the impacts of climate change, development, landscape fragmentation, economic pressures, and shifting public values. Climate change and development are also impacting the sustainability of rural communities, livelihoods, and legacies. This shows the fragile interconnection between the natural systems and the people who depend on them.
We invite agencies, businesses, landowners, tribes, nonprofits, and other stakeholders to our inaugural summit.
The first summit will be an introduction to the partners, science, and policy of landscape connectivity in southwest Washington. We also see it as a springboard to more collaborative discussions at future summits where we can start to explore opportunities to work together on projects to help us adapt to a changing climate, create a more resilient landscape, and stem the loss and fragmentation of habitat for the benefit of fish, wildlife, and working lands in southwest Washington.
So how do we ensure a resilient landscape for our future, one that benefits species, systems, economies, and our communities?
By reconnecting those symbiotic and codependent ecological systems that ensure this continues to be a landscape of prized outdoor recreation and productive working lands. While also connecting the people, projects, and policies that can facilitate a landscape-level connected blueprint for a functional landscape.
Stakeholders from many agencies and organizations have been meeting over the last year to brainstorm tangible opportunities that work towards solutions. After much discussion, we see a clear need to engage more local stakeholders to make sure the solutions benefit everyone.
To enlarge the tent, we will host a biannual regional summit focused on connected landscapes and grassroots solutions. It also will serve as a venue to identify where our values align and where we can come together to meet the challenges ahead. We feel we can do this by connecting the people, projects, and policies that can facilitate a landscape-level connected blueprint for a functional landscape, we will be solving many of these issues.
Helpful links
The goal of this summit is to help facilitate a conversation between stakeholders about common ground solutions to the complex habitat connectivity issues in the region that benefit everyone. We want to welcome new voices to the table, start conversations around needs and resources, and establish new partnerships to help facilitate the projects moving us toward a more connected, resilient landscape. Below we have provided a list of resources from current stakeholders.
Southwest Washington Specific Resources
- CCLC 2-hour webinar on SW WA Connectivity policy, science, access, and use
- Network for Landscape Conservation https://landscapeconservation.org/
- WA Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group
- National Wildlife Federation page on connectivity
- Cascades to Crossroads
- Cascades to Olympics
- Cascades to Olympics Story Map
- Conservation Northwest Cascades to Olympics webpage
- Cascades to Coast Landscape Collaborative
- The Washington Habitat Connectivity Working Group website
- Lewis Conservation District
- Thurston Conservation District
- Cowlitz Conservation District
Outside resources on new tools, regional landscape connectivity, and policy:
- TerrAdapt
- Center for Large Landscape Connectivity
- The National Wildlife Federation
- ARC Solutions
- Demystifying Wildlife Crossing Series
2022 Speaker/Presenter List
| Presentation | Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Remarks: | Brian Stewart, Jessica Schafer | Conservation Northwest Wildlands Network |
| Films: Cascades Crossroads | Ted Grudowski | Independent Filmmaker |
| Opening Keynote | William Thoms, Dan Penn, and Ben Amidon | Chehalis Tribe |
| Connectivity Science | John Mankowski, Brian Stewart, Alan Yanahan | Cascades to Coast Landscape Collaborative Conservation Northwest United States Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Connectivity Policy | Paula Swedeen, Anna Wearn | Conservation Northwest Center for Large Landscape Conservation |
| Land Manager | Kristen Phillips, Hope Reiden, Jake Daily | Quinault Indian Nation Washington Department of Natural Resources Veterans’ Ecological Trade Collective |
| Fish Projects | Keena Fosnacht, Bob Armine | Lewis Conservation District |
| Olympic Cougar Study | Mark Elbroch, Kim Sager | Panthera Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe |
| Stressors and Concerns | Brian Stewart | Conservation Northwest |
| Opportunities | Glen Kalisz | Washington State Department of Transportation |
| Closing Remarks | Mitch Friedman | Conservation Northwest |
Links to Presentations and Recordings
July 21st: https://youtu.be/_HJ5hoSSUN8
July 22nd: https://youtu.be/5AA4IGnSxqQ
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE HABITAT CONNECTIVITY SUMMIT AND OUR CASCADES TO OLYMPICS PROGRAM
