A Note from Nils

I just returned home to the mountains of Eastern Oregon after a post-election trip to DC. As I talked with rural innovators from across the nation, and as I return home, I’m struck by the need for unifying solutions in our communities. Solutions that strengthen the integration of economy, community and environment—solutions that bridge the divide between urban and rural.

Today, rural communities across the West remain in a sea of political and social turbulence. America’s recovery from the Great Recession of 2007-2009 was concentrated within the nation’s most vibrant urban centers. This was the first time that rural jobs and businesses not only failed to lead an economic recovery, but failed to show up at all.

Yet significant opportunities exist for strong returns on investment in natural resource stewardship—in investing in resilient forests and rangelands. Beyond the long-term benefits to the national treasury and tax-payer, these investments would help revitalize our rural communities while improving public and private lands and reducing the risk posed by wildfire and invasive species. Such investments would contribute in meaningful ways to a new dynamism across the United States, and restore the sense that everyone is advancing together.

The Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition (RVCC) is promoting practical solutions to advance these kinds of stewardship investments. Most importantly, these solutions are collaborative and place-based. We draw on the experience of local practitioners, county government, local businesses, and federal employees across the West. Parties that historically battled over resource use and protection are clearly uniting around a new vision, and an open, inclusive process, for managing federal lands. 

It is critical to the health of our public lands and their neighboring rural communities that we build on this foundation, that we invest in the value of a stewardship economy. RVCC provides a unifying forum and voice for these rural communities—and a network to catalyze innovative solutions to the underlying challenges.

Our commitment to this work has remained constant and bipartisan over the past 16 years. A strong, unified rural voice has a unique opportunity to advance rural development and job creation through land stewardship in the West. We invite you to join our network and support us in the months and years to come.

--Nils Christoffersen, Executive Director of Wallowa Resources (RVCC's fiscal sponsor)

Another successful Western Week in Washington!

Affirmation and appreciation. These are the two words that summarize my first time coordinating RVCC’s annual Western Week in Washington.  I have affirmation that sharing stories from communities and practitioners provides a huge value to decision makers.  I also have a newfound appreciation for the incredible talent and expertise our participants bring to the table, and for the work it takes to pull off what, as a former participant, always appeared to be seamless coordination leading to impressive outcomes.  

Over the course of 3 days, 11 people from 5 Western states participated in more than 45 meetings with agency leads, congressional staff, and partners. While not always seamless (building evacuations on the Hill will disrupt the best laid plans), we were powerful and effective. We offered stories of experience from people working in community and place. We came with grounded insight into how programs are working, and what might be improved.  We showed up offering practical solutions, not sound bites.  We were politely persistent.  

Prior to the trip we finalized three new RVCC Issue Papers on collaboration, working across all lands, and fire adapted communities.  These papers, created with the knowledge and expertise of our participants, formed the basis for many of our discussions.  

The big takeaways are not surprising, yet underscore the importance of a group like RVCC.

1. The #1 issue is fire. And in order to fix the way government pays to fight wildfires, we must have a comprehensive fix and cannot ignore the need to increase the pace and scale of restoration at the same time. Providing a community-based perspective in this discussion is critical.

2. Congress and the agencies agree that collaboration is the new way of doing business, but acknowledge that we need to improve the implementation of agreements. RVCC participants represent  the leading edge of this movement.

3. Working across all lands is a common sense solution to reaching the scale and economic efficiency we’re all looking for in land management. RVCC can play a role in promoting those partnerships and helping communities learn from each other.

Overall, Western Week was a success. We connected with friends, both new and old, and look forward to keeping an open line of communication between our communities and the nation’s Capitol.  We came home inspired and impressed...and with a long list of to do’s and follow ups.

--Karen Hardigg, RVCC Coordinator

A note from Becca Shively, our new summer intern

It's wonderful to be part of the RVCC team this summer, and I hope I have the opportunity to meet and learn from many members of the network while I'm here.

I was born and raised in Oregon, and just completed my first of two years as a masters student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Prior to school, I spent four years in Washington, D.C. with the Department of Agriculture, where I had the chance to meet a small and passionate team of RVCC members during their yearly fly-in. I remember being blown away by the group's powerful combination of policy knowledge and place-based experience. Since then, I've always hoped for the chance to join this type of community-based work, and it's a great privilege to have that opportunity this summer.

My summer project will explore where and how a suite of federal programs and authorities have been successfully used to accomplish all-lands restoration work. We hope this information can be shared throughout RVCC and with relevant federal agencies to help replicate these successes throughout our member network.

--Becca Shively, RVCC Intern

3 New Issue Papers Released

Our RVCC Working Groups are excited to release three new issue papers: Achieving Outcomes through Collaboration, Working across All Lands, and Investing in Fire Adapted Communities & Resilient Landscapes. The solutions presented in the papers were developed through months of hard work by a diverse set of RVCC participants from across the West. We are proud to have over 40 signatures on each paper from national, regional, or local community groups and individuals. Thank you to all those who contributed and signed on! 

A group of RVCC leaders will be sharing our issue papers with legislative, agency, and administrative partners next week in Washington DC. We will highlight the need for balanced, common sense policies that achieve social, ecological, and economic resiliency for America's rural communities. Look out for guest blog posts by members of the trip!