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Introduction
In January of 2003, the Alliance
held a conservation planning meeting focused on Wisconsin's Lake
Michigan basin bringing together private conservation organizations
and interests, the Oneida Tribe, and regional,
state and federal agencies. The participants shared information
about their current projects, planning priorities and protection
strategies within the basin. The goal of the planning session was
to integrate this information into a single representation of ongoing,
planned and needed conservation activity in the basin.
 The sites and recommendations presented
in this document are based on the information provided at that meeting,
as well as statewide and regional planning documents which establish
conservation priorities and assess current conservation status.
This combined data has been used to identify places on the landscape
where land trusts and other conservation agencies and organizations
can work together to best leverage their collective resources to
protect important natural resources within Wisconsin's Lake Michigan
basin.
Planning Goals
The goal of this plan is to identify important natural resource
areas within Wisconsin's Lake Michigan basin. These places are those
which will protect the most important land and water habitats, and
will provide the greatest opportunities for leveraging financial
and institutional resources for protecting land and water habitats.
This approach also encourages collaborative conservation among resource
agencies and organizations working toward resource protection within
the basin.
Additionally, projects were prioritized based on the impact that their conservation would have on conservation within the basin as a whole. Finally, the Alliance partners were concerned with identifying projects which met their organizational mission and protection criteria, but which also will enhance the environment of the region as a whole, rather than a limited area within the region.
 Planning Approach
The premise of this planning approach is simple: conservation agencies
and organizations commit their time, money and expertise to those
areas where they have a vested interest. The plans and assessments
used within this report (See Table
2) identify natural resource priorities important to multiple
private and public conservation interests. Most of the plans and
assessments used for Landscapes of Opportunity make use of Natural
Heritage Inventory data and sound methodologies and scientific principles
in identifying important natural resource areas. The strength of
Landscapes of Opportunity, in part, relies upon the methodologies,
principles and practices used in developing the plans and assessments.
This document also presumes that collaborative conservation will provide far greater opportunities for leveraging financial capital and institutional capacity than efforts undertaken by any one agency or organization working alone. Collaborative conservation will also make most efficient use of the staff, financial and technical resources of each partner.
In order to achieve this collaborative conservation, Gathering Waters Conservancy has been facilitating the following approach:
1. Priority conservation project area identification;
2. Subsequent site conservation planning at each project area;
3. Integration of this plan and subsequent site conservation plans into Smart Growth plans at the local and regional levels.
This planning approach is intended
to initiate and facilitate ongoing dialog among conservation professionals,
planning agencies, local units of government and landowners. By
integrating the results of this plan – priority project identification
- and subsequent site conservation planning efforts into local Smart
Growth Plans, land trusts, resource protection agencies, landowners
and local units of government have an opportunity to work collaboratively
and in a nonconfrontational manner to protect important natural
resource areas that represent the priorities of a broad range of
interests.
Read
the Landscapes of Opportunity report Methods, Analysis, and Evaluation »
Please contact Liz Walsh at liz [at]
gatheringwaters.org or 608-251-9131 x12 with any questions about
Landscapes of Opportunity.
Photo provided
courtesy of Gill Gribb
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