TY - JOUR
T1 - Integrating natural and cultural resources in North American large-landscape conservation
AU - Brown, Madeline
AU - Murtha, Timothy
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the National Park Service, specifically the National Capital Region and the Wildlife Management Institute. We would like to acknowledge the support of the AppLCC partners, particularly Jean Brennan and Dan Odess throughout the study process.
Funding Information:
This study is based on an institutional ethnography of the AppLCC, conducted during 2017–2018. The AppLCC’s geographic range includes 15 states in the eastern United States and includes a biodiversity hotspot (Appalachian LCC 2018). The AppLCC, like all LCCs, was developed to promote both cultural and natural resource conservation in its region. The group is funded and staffed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but steering committee members and cooperative partners include representatives from state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 National Association of Environmental Professionals.
PY - 2019/4/3
Y1 - 2019/4/3
N2 - Integrating science of natural and cultural resources for landscape-scale conservation design and planning is an important effort for solving complex socioecological problems. Despite recognition that culture and nature are not distinct categories, this division remains influential in North American conservation policies, practices, and management. The North American Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) aimed to develop long-term landscape-scale conservation priorities integrating both natural and cultural resources through multi-stakeholder, regional partnerships. During 2017–2018, we conducted ethnographic fieldwork and key informant interviews with Appalachian LCC (AppLCC) partners. Here we examine the general strategies, goals, and values of the AppLCC to understand how cultural and natural resources were incorporated into partnership activities. We find that both conceptual and practical barriers exist for integrating cultural and natural resource information and values for landscape-scale conservation planning. Future large-landscape conservation partnerships looking to integrate conservation strategies would benefit from increasing the diversity of institutional representation and examining how cultural and natural resource projects are relatively prioritized. In addition, greater reflection on the ideology of conservation, theory of cultural resource management, and the value of cultural resources may improve conservation outcomes. By expanding the definition of cultural resources, greater connections with natural resource management priorities and strategies can be identified and leveraged to advance integrated conservation. These challenges and potential pathways to integrated conservation are examined through the lens of the AppLCC.
AB - Integrating science of natural and cultural resources for landscape-scale conservation design and planning is an important effort for solving complex socioecological problems. Despite recognition that culture and nature are not distinct categories, this division remains influential in North American conservation policies, practices, and management. The North American Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) aimed to develop long-term landscape-scale conservation priorities integrating both natural and cultural resources through multi-stakeholder, regional partnerships. During 2017–2018, we conducted ethnographic fieldwork and key informant interviews with Appalachian LCC (AppLCC) partners. Here we examine the general strategies, goals, and values of the AppLCC to understand how cultural and natural resources were incorporated into partnership activities. We find that both conceptual and practical barriers exist for integrating cultural and natural resource information and values for landscape-scale conservation planning. Future large-landscape conservation partnerships looking to integrate conservation strategies would benefit from increasing the diversity of institutional representation and examining how cultural and natural resource projects are relatively prioritized. In addition, greater reflection on the ideology of conservation, theory of cultural resource management, and the value of cultural resources may improve conservation outcomes. By expanding the definition of cultural resources, greater connections with natural resource management priorities and strategies can be identified and leveraged to advance integrated conservation. These challenges and potential pathways to integrated conservation are examined through the lens of the AppLCC.
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U2 - 10.1080/14660466.2019.1601935
DO - 10.1080/14660466.2019.1601935
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85064755888
VL - 21
SP - 57
EP - 68
JO - Environmental Practice
JF - Environmental Practice
SN - 1466-0466
IS - 2
ER -