Starting a Conversation about Conservation

"We want to hear what's important to the people of Santa Cruz County."

This article originally appeared in our newsletter, Landmarks, Fall 2009

Andrea Mackenzie is the Project Director for the Land Trust's Conservation Blueprint. We talked with her in October.

Let's start with the basics. What is the Conservation Blueprint?
It is a science-based and community-informed effort by the Land Trust, and its partners, to identify the highest conservation priorities in Santa Cruz County for the next several decades. Having said that, I've also found it is important to say what the Blueprint is not. It will not tell any other organization or any agency what they must do. It will certainly guide the work of the Land Trust and we hope it will help inform the work of others, but the Blueprint is a Land Trust vision, not a government plan. Our goal is that the Blueprint will be a resource and a tool for collaborative conservation work.

You've mentioned the two major inputs into the Blueprint process: science and community. Let's talk about science first. You're half way through six technical workshops now. What's the purpose of these workshops?
There’s a tremendous store of knowledge in Santa Cruz County about our natural resources. The purpose of these workshops is to integrate all this existing science-based data across the County. So, we are gathering together all the data we can on vegetation, on plant and animal biodiversity, on water resources and wildlife linkages, on agricultural and timber lands, on recreational and educational opportunities. We have over 50 GIS data sources alone! We are assembling this information and supplementing it with expert opinion from over 180 technical advisors – university researchers and scientists, ecologists, land managers and conservation planners.
The goal is to learn more about where we should be making our best investments in land and resource conservation and what tools and strategies could be helpful. There’s no better way to understand what is happening in the landscape than to listen to the people who know first-hand what is happening on the ground. This effort will hopefully tell us more and prompt us to ask new questions about how our ecosystems function; what is needed for the viability of species and their habitats; and help us to make wise conservation and stewardship investments.

These six technical workshops will wrap up in December and then there will be four community forums in April and May. Will information from the technical workshops be shared at the community forums?
We will certainly present some of the materials developed for and from the technical workshops – and more of that material will be added to the Blueprint website. But the real purpose of the community forums is to have a “conservation conversation” about what people value about the lands that make Santa Cruz County special. These workshops will be held in different parts of the county and we will do extensive outreach to the community. These forums are an important way for the Land Trust to learn what's important to the people of Santa Cruz County. Ultimately, the Blueprint can effectively guide conservation work only if it reflects the values of the community.

How can people find out about when and where these community forums will be?
Information will be on both the Blueprint website and the Land Trust website. You can sign up on either of these sites for e-mail updates so we can let you know. You can always call the Land Trust office at (831) 429-6116. We'll have notices in the newspapers around the county. We want to hear what's important to people, so we'll be doing everything we can to let people know about the forums. I hope everyone reading this will help spread the word.

This entire 18-month project is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2010. What will it look like? Will there be a map of lands you want to protect?
There won't be a single map, but we will have a series of maps identifying, in a general way, the lands and resources that are the highest priorities for conservation – based on what the science and the community tell us. The Blueprint will also have strategies and actions the Land Trust and its partners can take to protect these priority lands and resources. It will also begin to address how this vision of protected lands can help us mitigate and adapt to climate change. Another, I think, very useful product for the future, will be a comprehensive database of the scientific information we have gathered that can be added to over time. It's important to understand that we don't want to create a static, put-it-on-the-shelf type plan. We want the framework and the tools to be adaptive and flexible.

Why is the Land Trust doing this project at this time?
There are, I think, many compelling reasons for the Land Trust to do this kind of visioning and planning. First, the Land Trust is aware that financial resources are limited and has undertaken this effort so it can make smart conservation choices about how to use its limited resources. The process itself will help the Land Trust build stronger relationships with its conservation partners – and that will, I think, help accelerate the pace and effectiveness of conservation in the county. Also, in my experience, having this kind of plan will help the Land Trust, and other organizations in the county, better compete for increasingly scarce funding from state, federal and foundation sources. Finally, I think the Blueprint and the process of developing it will improve the broader understanding of nature as "green infrastructure" – the basis for clean air, clean water, and ultimately community health.

Find out more and sign up for e-mail Updates at:
www.ConserveSantaCruz.org

 

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