Seminar and Discussion Series

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Open Access
Bread and beauty grow best together
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Knight, Rick, author
Two-thirds of the U.S. is private land and, on average, two out of every three acres of planet Earth are degraded. Ecosystem services have developing economic markets associated with them, but degraded lands allow few such services to be harvested. There is a growing awareness among land owners of these potential new revenue streams. In times to come economists, ecologists and land owners will increasingly work together for land health and economic prosperity.
Open Access
Partners for Western Conservation: a new way of doing business
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Fankhauser, Terry, speaker; Unidentified speaker
Partners for Western Conservation seeks to implement market-based conservation and ecosystems programs that benefit wildlife, the environment, landowners; and the regulated community. Through sound science, assistance, resources and educational efforts, the PWC seeks to create a community of partners committed to the conservation and stewardship of land, water, air and wildlife.
Open Access
Conservation beef: options for producers
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Grimmett, Hill, speaker; Unidentified speaker
Conservation beef or “story beef” is increasingly available in the marketplace. Beef producers who are seeking additional income streams and ways to profit from good land management and animal husbandry practices may find such a niche strategy worth considering. And several small producers locally might band together in pursuing such a marketing plan.
Open Access
Making the case for environmental markets
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Toombs, Ted, speaker; Unidentified speaker
For decades markets have been one of the most destructive forces encouraging the overuse and wasting of natural resources. But, markets also have the potential to help us conserve resources if we design them right. In my talk, I'll use personal examples to demonstrate the potential benefits of using markets to drive conservation as opposed to traditional conservation approaches. I'll encourage discussion and engagement from the audience.
Open Access
Empowering or alienating communities: conservation in Maasailand, East Africa
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011-09) Goldman, Mara J., speaker; Unidentified speaker
Rangelands used by Maasai pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in northern Tanzania and southern Kenya also provide essential wet season forage for various wildlife species. In an effort to assure the continued availability of such pastures for wildlife, various forms of community-based conservation have been implemented throughout Maasai village lands. Costs, benefits, and community participation processes vary with the model used and the communities involved. I compare and contrast the different approaches to highlight how conservation interventions can be either empowering or alienating to the communities at hand. I suggest that participation based on respect for local knowledge and skills is key to empowering communities through conservation. I also argue that participation as well as the degree to which a project is succeeding at benefiting pastoralists is related to whether or not it is succeeding at protecting wildlife.
Open Access
Science narratives: inspiring participation in large landscape conservation in Australia
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011-09) Wyborn, Carina, speaker; Unidentified speaker
Large landscape 'connectivity conservation' initiatives are rapidly gaining prominence across the world. They are motivated by a desire to halt biodiversity decline and preserve ecosystem processes in the face of climate change and habitat fragmentation. At the heart of these initiatives is the motivation and ability of individuals, agencies and institutions to collaborate across multiple scales, land tenures and land uses. In a reasonably short period of time, proponents of connectivity conservation have launched the concept as front and centre in debates about climate change adaptation in conservation. The phenomenon of connectivity conservation has taken hold in Australia and there are now major connectivity initiatives in every state. Additionally, Australia is in the process of developing a National Wildlife Corridor Policy. Drawing on the concept of ecological connectivity, proponents claim to be 'connecting people' while 'connecting landscapes'. This framing intends to create a positive narrative that engages and inspires a commitment to conservation by placing small-scale interventions in a larger landscape context. This framing demonstrates the power of a science-based concept to bridge normative and scientific domains and create a space for meaningful action at the local scale. The presentation will explore how these 'science narratives' have been mobilised to create a shared imperative for collaboration. As these narratives blur the boundaries between science and values in an effort to inspire collective action, they present an interesting opportunity to examine the diffusion and interplay between science and practice in collaborative conservation.
Open Access
Supporting community-based conservation
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011-09) Bartecchi, David C., speaker; Unidentified speaker
David will be talking about Village Earth's Global Affiliate model, an approach to supporting grassroots organizations around the world that he developed through his fellowship with the CCC. The affiliate model is designed to enable autonomy at the grassroots level while creating accountability for donors. This tension, common among NGO's, often creates an "alien hand syndrome" eroding local autonomy and self-determination.
Open Access
Program of payments for environmental services in Costa Rica
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011-10) Hernández, Natalia Arce, author
Programs using payments for environmental services to help conserve natural resources have become more and more popular around the world during the last two decades. Costa Rica has been a leader in this field and now has a very successful program which recognizes the value of environmental services and financially rewards the people who provide them. This presentation will explain how this program works and how it has evolved through the years since it was first implemented in 1997.
Open Access
Indigenous landscapes: of mind, spirit and place
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011-10) Scharf, Lee, speaker; Unidentified speaker
Worldwide, Indigenous Peoples such as Native American nations, participate in collaborative processes with national, state, local agencies, and other Indigenous Peoples as they address conservation and natural resource management issues. At the same time, many Indigenous Peoples have their own traditional dispute resolution histories, current decision making and conflict resolution practices, and legal systems. This Second Cohort Fellows Project sought to understand the use of collaborative processes in conservation practice by Native American nations throughout the continental U.S., both environmentally and culturally. Issues of collaborative conservation practice were identified and it was found that Native American nations have a determined interest in designing collaborative conservation methodologies appropriate to individual tribal decision making as part of developing their own customary law. By visiting over 100 tribal lands in person (and driving over 25,000 miles) and interviewing more than 200 Native Americans about collaborative conservation issues and practice, landscapes of mind, spirit and place emerged as vibrant and connected elements in a world seen differently. Finally, strategic contributions by tribal resource managers, judges, Native American lawyers, and tribal elders to the issues of conservation, resource management, and international law were seen to be deeply defined by a sense of place, a sense which is more than the simply obvious.
Open Access
Indigenous peoples and the collaborative stewardship of nature
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011-10) Sherman, Kathleen Pickering, speaker; Sherman Richard T., speaker; Unidentified speaker
On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Lakota environmental values are embodied in historical, cultural and spiritual connections with land and wildlife. These values are often lost or disregarded in Western approaches to reservation land management. The Indigenous Stewardship Model is a starting point for integrating culturally appropriate solutions to issues of natural resource stewardship and conflict resolution. Developed collaboratively by Oglala Sioux tribal member Richard Sherman and a wide array of tribal elders, indigenous non‐profit organizations, academics and natural resource agencies, the Indigenous Stewardship Model seeks to construct a common language of mutual understanding.
Open Access
The People's Way Project: how traditional way of knowing the land led to the creation of the most extensive wildlife-sensitive highway in North America
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011-11) Skyelander, Kim, speaker; Unidentified speaker
For more than 10 years the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (the tribal government of the Flathead Indian Reservation), the Montana Dept. of Transportation (MDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) tried to collaborate on a project to re‐design U.S. Hwy 93, one of the most beautiful and dangerous highways in Montana. The highway organizations proposed to turn the two lane highway into a four-lane undivided highway with wider lanes and shoulders and straighter and flatter alignments. This is how engineers build safe, cost effective roads. However, the tribal government strongly opposed this plan because of concerns that a four‐lane highway would accelerate non‐tribal development, adversely affect wildlife and wetlands, and damage tribal cultural and spiritual sites. The new highway, the tribes said, should be designed with the idea that the road is a visitor and should respond to and be respectful of the land and Spirit of Place. Finally, after many years of negotiation and stand-offs between the three governments, the project started to flourish. What had to happen for this project to go from drowning in quicksand to becoming one of the most successful culturally and environmentally sensitive highways in the U.S.? Come find out!
Open Access
Connecting human dimensions research to place-based collaboration through science delivery
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-01) Clement, Jessica, speaker; Unidentified speaker
Connecting human dimensions research to on-the-ground applications is a subject for ongoing experimentation for social scientists. In this case data collected in the context of forest planning on the Bridger Teton National Forest in Wyoming was used to create science delivery mechanisms, in turn aiding the initiation of place-based, targeted collaboration efforts or helping to redirect and re-energize existing but flagging collaborative efforts. These science delivery mechanisms also helped unearth additional areas requiring human dimension exploration. These efforts also appear to be energizing agency morale through greater understanding of data collection methods and therefore the relevance of the data to their work. This understanding may help to create greater connectivity between agency staff, their constituents and the landscape they are conserving. Jessica Clement has used CCC funds and USFS funds to create these science delivery mechanisms and to explore the use of previously collected social science data to place-based collaboration and will discuss in this presentation the approach taken and the results.
Open Access
Challenges for sustainable nature-based tourism: Vilsandi National Park, Saaremaa Island, Estonia
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-02) Raadik-Cottrell, Jana, speaker; Cottrell, Stuart, speaker; Unidentified speaker
The first protected area in the Baltic countries, Vilsandi National Park (VNP) is located near the west coast of Saaremaa Island, Estonia. As an archipelago, the area was designated a protected area at the beginning of the 20th century, became a national park in 1993, and designated as a wetland of international importance in 1997. VNP faces many challenges including a decentralized management structure, disjointed conservation plan, and lack of a visitor management plan. The purpose of the CCC fellowship is to enhance VNP and stakeholder capacity to manage nature conservation collaboratively, enhance sustainable livelihoods among tour operators via tourism to the park and to enhance the visitor experience. Data have been gathered via an onsite survey among international visitors, two initial workshops with VNP stakeholders and a second home owner survey conducted in summer/fall 2012. The project links conservationists, tourism specialists, NGOs, INGOs (PAN Parks, WWF), local municipal governments, and universities (Kuresaare College) in a collaborative process for conservation and tourism development. This presentation will highlight key findings of the various phases of the project thus far as well as challenges posed due to ongoing institutional changes protected area agencies face in Estonia.
Open Access
Development of an ecosystem services marketplace in northern Colorado
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-02) Flynn, Patrick, speaker; Unidentified speaker
Ecosystem service markets are emerging as a new tool for conservationists to use for protecting critical landscapes and natural resources. The goal of these markets is to properly value the landscapes and natural resources upon which human communities rely on for vital services such as clean water and climate regulation. In Northern Colorado, a group of concerned citizens is spearheading an effort to develop a voluntary ecosystem services marketplace, called the Colorado Conservation Exchange. The mission of the Colorado Conservation Exchange is to create a marketplace where community members support land stewards who conserve and enhance nature's ability to provide clean and abundant water, healthy food, productive soils, carbon storage, wildlife habitat, and inspiring open spaces. This talk will detail the collaborative effort undertaken by this group thus far to engage a broad group of community stakeholders and develop a vision for implementing the marketplace.
Open Access
Food sovereignty and home gardens in northern Nicaragua
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-03) Boone, Karie, speaker; Unidentified speaker
Central America stands out not only for its great concentration of endemic animal and plant species, but also for its large variety of climates and ecosystems. This biodiversity has historically contributed to rich soils for agricultural production that allow local farmers to create and sustain their livelihoods. However, impacts of climate change are expected to decrease productive capacity of coffee and staple crops that farmers depend on to meet their daily caloric needs. Non-governmental organizations and participatory researchers share concerns about increasing food insecurity in local communities due to the impacts of climate change on coffee growing regions throughout Nicaragua. As a potential strategy to mitigate the projected negative impacts of climate change while affording more farmer control over their food system, home gardens are being promoted by development organizations in this region. This presentation will share preliminary findings from my research on home gardens as a potential food sovereignty strategy. I will ask if farmers are interested in achieving food sovereignty and if home gardens are an effective strategy for doing so. I give an overview of a model for international collaborative conservation, highlighting my encounter with the model's challenges and opportunities in practice.
Open Access
The role of collaboration in stewardship contracting
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-03-06) Mattor, Kathie, speaker
Stewardship contracting was introduced over 10 years ago as a way to simultaneously address national forest management goals and community needs through collaborative processes. However we do not have clear measures of the extent to which collaboration is used in these processes, the outcomes associated with varying levels of collaboration, or the actors influencing the use of collaboration in stewardship contracting. This presentation will provide an overview of stewardship contracting on US national forests and research findings on the extent to which collaboration has been used in these processes. I will outline specific details of collaboration in stewardship contracting - including the number of interests involved, the role of the community, the outreach mechanisms used, and the perceived levels of collaboration and associated outcomes by participants - over time and across regions. This understanding contributes to further research identifying the outcomes of and the contextual factors influencing the use of collaboration in U.S. Forest Service stewardship contracts. A better understanding of these factors will help inform the development of environmental governance approaches that seek to simultaneously achieve resource management and community objectives.
Open Access
Are we prepared to lose our precious land? Community approaches to pasture and cropland restoration in Marigat District, Kenya
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-04-03) Lenachuru, Clement Isaiah, speaker
Global concerns about deforestation caused by fuelwood shortages, prompted introduction of in Lake Baringo area early 1980's. is on IUCN's new list of 100 world's worst invasive alien species. has survived where other tree species have failed and in many cases become a major nuisance. In Baringo, is reported to depress the growth and survival of indigenous vegetation around it, and farmers claim to have lost their farmlands, reduce grazing potential and space of pasture lands. Its invasion in Baringo area in the last 10-15 years has attracted national attention and contradictory responses from responsible agencies. Unlike in other parts of the world where it has been introduced, potential benefits have not been realized. Strong local calls for eradication and replacement appears to be well justified. problem is further compounded by the fact that the land is communally owned. Thus, where land is held under common property arrangements, management responses to the invasive species require cooperation among affected individuals. This project plans to actively engage on regular basis and mobilize the local community to work cooperatively in checking the spread of this shrub, at the same time seek alternative land uses that will help to control any further invasions.
Open Access
Volunteer tourism and sustainable livelihoods: the case of CSU alternative breaks in Achiote, Panama
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-04-17) Eddins, Emily Anne, speaker
Volunteer tourism has become a multi-faceted and useful development tool connecting diverse socio‐ecological systems from global to local scales. However, collaborative processes among primary stakeholders in volunteer tourism are not well understood, but better understanding these processes is vital to successful, sustainable outcomes of volunteer tourism projects. For this study, I investigate the impacts of volunteer tourism in a rural Panamanian community with experience hosting volunteers. By looking at a current, long‐standing collaboration between CSU's Alternative Break Program, a Panamanian-based NGO, and a locally-based ecotourism group, I explore the interrelationship between volunteer tourism and sustainable livelihoods, with a particular focus on host community perspectives. By giving voices to each member of the partnership, this study aims to provide multi-scale perspectives of collaboration in volunteer tourism and create a dialogue among stakeholders to better identify, implement, and manage projects that maximize benefits of volunteer projects in host communities.
Open Access
Environmental governance in multicultural areas: lessons learned from two Colombian communities
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-05-01) Velasco, Marcela, speaker
Most Latin American countries have recognized the right to local political autonomy of ethnic communities as well as their potential to conserve important natural resources. Unfortunately, national and sub-national authorities and institutions have more often than not failed to live by these reforms as a result of conflict, lack of political will, or disinclination to collaborate with local authorities. The study looks at Colombia, where Black and Indian communities have legal rights to over 25 million hectares of tropical forestland, making them authorities of 38% of the country's forest reserves which constitute about 2% of the world's tropical rainforests. However, as of 2007 only 18% of the country's indigenous territories were benefiting from the legal framework that enabled them as local authorities, while the land rights of Afro-Colombians have been limited by violence and historical discrimination. This constitutes a problem for the welfare of Indian and Black communities in general and for conservation in particular. Local autonomy was promoted by Indian and Black social movements as a strategy to protect their cultures, environments and economies, and some of the more successful local organizations are now sharing knowledge and experience on local governance to support their peers from regions facing ethnic governance problems. In my work as a CCC fellow, I supported a field exchange where an indigenous community recovering 1,300 hectares of deforested land in Cristianía (Antioquia) shared its governance experience with leaders from an Afro-Colombian community addressing the environmental effects of a hydroelectric company in the Anchicayá River(Valle). The experience reveals firsthand information about leadership and local governance in multicultural regions and intra-institutional relations in general, and about the challenges facing black communities living in remote areas as their lands are forcefully included in badly devised economic agendas that fail to consider the community's voice.
Open Access
The Anthropocene! Beyond the natural? - CCC
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-08-28) Rolston, Holmes, 1932-, speaker
We are now entering the Anthropocene Epoch - so runs a recent enthusiastic claim. Humans can and ought go beyond the natural and powerfully engineer a better planet, managing for climate change, building new ecosystems for a more prosperous future. Perhaps the Anthropocene is inevitable. But: Rejoice? Accommodate? Accept it, alas? Perhaps the wiser, more ethical course is not so much "beyond" as "keeping the natural in "symbiosis" with humans. Enter the Semi-Anthropocene! Basically Natural! Carefully!

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