The prairie partners' approach to landowner outreach

Abstract

With 70 percent of Great Plains habitat in private ownership, private landowners are the key to conservation of the prairie. Prairie Partners, developed by Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, is a cooperative and voluntary effort to work with landowners, leaseholders, and land managers to conserve shortgrass prairie birds and their habitats. The ultimate goal of Prairie Partners is to build a coalition of landowners and land managers across the Great Plains who are actively involved in the conservation of lands important to prairie birds. Outreach is imperative to raise the awareness of prairie birds with private landowners. Landowner awareness is the first step toward conservation because it creates an appreciation for, and pride in, the birds and their habitats supported by the private landowners. We thank landowners for their stewardship, and we encourage their continued efforts. Prairie Partners also strives to work with landowners and managers to incorporate birds into management practices through incentive programs. Most landowners are already good stewards of the land, and they can serve as mentors for their peers. The success of our program largely is contingent on our partnerships with state, federal, and private organizations. State agencies, including Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Colorado Division of Wildlife, help make our monitoring and outreach efforts possible. Other partnerships with entities like Natural Resources Conservation Service and Soil Conservation Districts, who work with private landowners on a daily basis, are critical also.

Parent Publication

• Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration in the Americas: Proceedings of the Third International Partners in Flight Conference. 2002 March 20-24; Asilomar, California, Volume 1 and 2

Citation

VerCauteren, Tammy. 2005. The prairie partners'' approach to landowner outreach. In: Ralph, C. John; Rich, Terrell D., editors 2005. Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration in the Americas: Proceedings of the Third International Partners in Flight Conference. 2002 March 20-24; Asilomar, California, Volume 2 Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191. Albany, CA: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: p. 1190-1194