Uncategorized dgregg on 30 Jan 2008 02:28 pm
RI Conservation Stewardship Collaborative
On January 30, 2008, RINHS announced its participation in the newly created Rhode Island Conservation Stewardship Collaborative, a new working relationship among seven of the most significant land conservation organizations active in the state with the goal to improve the scope and effectiveness of conservation land stewardship. Stewardship is that constellation of practices that maintain and enhance the values of conservation land against threats such as invasive species, vandalism, over-use, or simple the passage of time, among others. After acquisition of conservation land comes stewardship and neither by itself will be effective at preserving those aspects of our wonderful environment that we aspire to save. Nonetheless, with the recent development boom galvanizing us into heroic efforts at land acquisition, the conservation leaders were looking for a way to make stewardship just as exciting and attractive. We need to reinforce the interest and resources being directed toward stewardship; we need to work together to make the most of the available stewardship resources. We need to find ways to work on projects that are urgently needed for effective stewardship even when those projects are too big for, or do not naturally fit into the work plan of any one organization. High level discussions about these needs were the genesis of the Conservation Stewardship Collaborative.
The Conservation Stewardship Collaborative includes:
- Rhode Island Natural History Survey
- Audubon Society of Rhode Island
- The Rhode Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy
- Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
- University of Rhode Island Department of Natural Resources Management
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Rhode Island Refuge Complex
- Rhode Island Land Trust Council
The CSC is guided by written principles and operating procedures and will work in part through its role as advisor to the Rhode Island Foundation on distributions from the new Rhode Island Conservation Stewardship Collaborative Endowment. Take a look at the CSC FAQ.
For more information on the Conservation Stewardship Collaborative, keep visiting www.RINHS.org or visit the RICSC’s new website, still under construction, at: www.ricsc.org
