The We in RVCC - A Note from Ashley

Reflections on my first RVCC annual meeting – a salve in tumultuous times

When Nils welcomed me to RVCC in November, he said, “Welcome to the RVCC team, and the movement.” Movement? As a newbie to RVCC, I wasn’t quite sure what he meant. I learned quickly that there’s no better place to understand the we in RVCC than our annual meeting.

I jumped in. It started small and fast. Karen and I, working steadily at the hub, our intrepid leadership team, the spokes. Goals and themes became breakout sessions and invited speakers. RSVPs slowly trickled in. Food was ordered. But I still couldn’t quite make out the contours of our movement.

The RSVPs became a participant list of almost 100 names. People from ten states in the West. County commissioners, state agency staff, Forest Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service leaders, academics, journalists, innovators from non-profits and community based organizations. Slowly, I began to see. The stuff of conferences was gathered (name tags stuffed and flip charts packed). And the snow fell.

The snow kept falling (it would be recorded as the biggest snow storm in twenty years). And yet, our people arrived. Names on a list, now faces. Smiles and hugs shared between old friends. New friendships created. Stories told, opinions aired, and lessons shared. At every turn, the most creative, inspiring, eloquent and dedicated people I’ve ever met.

I began to understand this Movement and our strength. I began to understand that RVCC is needed now more than ever before.

Here’s what I learned . . .

THE WE OF RVCC

We want to make our lives and our communities better. We are not afraid to talk about the messy stuff to get us there. We are ready and willing for the tough conversations.

We believe in people, partnership, and place.

We believe conservation is not defined by political party, property lines, or population size. We believe in integration—of conservation and community, of economic and environmental health.

We believe in transformation and possibility. We believe in solutions.

We believe in inclusion and democracy.

We believe in good policy. We like diving in to the details of how policies work (or don’t) on the ground—we want find the ways that work.

We want to leverage our power as a movement. And we’re willing to put in the hard work to get there.

WE NEED YOU

We believe the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We want you to be a part of this transformation and change.

We're following Mark Rey's advice during his talk at RVCC: Don't get distracted. Do what you do well.

In 2017, RVCC will be focused on policy, learning, and stories. We will work on federal policy through efforts like the Farm Bill and budget appropriations, we will host learning exchanges, and develop shared communication strategies.

Join our policy work group, be a part of our collective communications, participate in a learning exchange. Contact me and Karen today at: RVCC@wallowaresources.org. 

THANK YOU! ASHLEY ROOD

 

ME & JOHNNY SUNDSTROM, PART OF THE WE IN RVCC - PHOTO BY S. CAMPEN!

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