Harvard Forest Symposium Abstract 2012

Title: Regional Conservation Partnerships in New England
Primary Author: William (Bill) Labich (Highstead, Inc.)
Additional Authors: Elisabeth Hamin (Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts, Amherst); Sydne Record (Harvard Forest)
Abstract:
Across New England, a new model of regional collaboration is increasingly being used by land conservation trusts, watershed associations, state agencies and others. Regional conservation partnerships (RCPs) serve multiple purposes, such as coordinating among the various active groups in the region and allowing them to leverage funding and staff capacity. However, their essential missions are the sameâ€”protect more land from development. We use interviews and statistical analysis on 20 case studies to document RCP growth and analyze which actions and characteristics most contribute to their ability to conserve land. Along with well-known factors of collaborative process and municipal engagement, we find groups that match the area, size and complexity of the partnership region with the territory and capacity of the host partner are better able to achieve measurable conservation gains.
Research Category: Conservation and Management

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