LCC 2014 NetworkStrategic Plan

2014

Network
Strategic
Plan

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives are
public-private partnerships composed of states,
tribes, federal agencies, non-governmental
organizations, universities, international jurisdictions,
and others working together to address landscape
and seascape scale conservation issues.

on the cover
River Otter in California.
rick kimble / usfws
Edwards Plateau region of Texas.
texas parks and wildlife
department

Tiger swallowtail butterfly on a
thistle. jeff bennett / nps

Preamble

This strategic plan for the Landscape Conservation
Cooperatives (LCC) Network builds on existing work within
the Network and articulates a path for the next five years
to achieving the LCC Network’s vision and mission.
The purpose of the LCC Network is to harness the capacities
and abilities of all partners in support of common conservation
outcomes and to serve as a strategic forum for collegial collaboration,
coordination, and integration. The Network is an extension of
existing partnership efforts, which seeks to enhance conservation
outcomes across the geographical extent of the Network.
Individually, each LCC is a collaborative, self-directed conservation
partnership that connects partners and pre-existing local
partnerships to a landscape vision. LCC s undertake work specific
to the needs of their geographies and collaborators.

The LCC Network Strategic Plan identifies goals,
objectives, and example tactics that support
the Network’s vision and mission. The goals
Conservation Collaborative
identify common aims of individual LCC s
Strategy Conservation
and provide a way for them to align across
the Network’s geography. Each of the four
goals — addressing conservation strategy,
collaborative conservation, science, and
communications — has a set of objectives.
Science Communication

12
34

The objectives describe LCC efforts that will be
prioritized and implemented differently according
to each LCC ’s unique characteristics. Example tactics
are listed for each objective purely for illustration.
They do not prescribe what the self-directed LCC s “should”
be doing. Rather, they are examples provided by the LCC community
that show the diversity of conservation approaches; there is no
expectation or direction that all LCC s will use all tactics.

Network Strategic Plan 2014 | 1

This strategic plan

The strategic plan does not

»»Provides a living, iterative reference to guide the
LCC Network1

»»Prescribe the actions individual
LCC s must take to achieve
the vision and mission of the LCC
Network

»»Builds from existing strategies within the LCC
Network — every LCC should see their work
somewhere in the document
»»Does not prioritize any goal, objective, or
example tactic as more important than another
»»Will be updated in the next two years

This strategy
contains common
and shared
elements to help
individual LCCs
work collaboratively
as a conservation
network while
communicating how
the broader LCC
Network collectively
functions.

1 Some sections include specific key or technical
terms. Definitions for some of these have
been provided. Readers of this strategic plan
should think about these terms in the context
of their own geography, community, culture
or organization. The meaning of these terms
can change over time through the efforts of a
collaborating and evolving community.

»»Encompass all things that all LCC s
are working on
»»Make value statements on
priorities for individual LCC s

The information and ideas in this strategic plan were gleaned from
existing LCC strategic, science, operational and other plans. This
strategic plan serves as a companion document to these plans.
The original draft of this document resulted from a weeklong
workshop in late July 2014 of over 50 representatives from within
the LCC Network, including members of the LCC Council, Steering
Committees, LCC Coordinators, LCC Science Coordinators, national
partner organizations, and other Network leaders. The original draft
was then improved by substantive comments from more than three
dozen organizations within the LCC Network.
LCC s are fundamentally partnership endeavors. Although LCC s
appear to be a new construct, they actually are based on existing
models. The LCC Network appreciates and celebrates the long-term
partnerships that have preceded its establishment and have helped
steer the Network towards this collaboration model. These longterm partnerships are truly the foundation and models for success.
Conservation partners, whether or not engaged with LCC s, produce
valuable conservation science and delivery that intertwines with
LCC goals. This strategic plan supports and does not abrogate or
diminish the authorities and responsibilities of partners. Through
individual partner responsibilities, authorities and accomplishments,
the Network will achieve success. It is anticipated that partners will
engage in those goals and objectives that are important to them and
that align with their unique mission.

2 | Landscape Conser vation Cooperatives

Vision: Landscapes capable
of sustaining natural and
cultural resources for current
and future generations

LCC
Network
Sunrise in the
desert.
andrew
loescher /
usfws

Mission
A network of cooperatives depends on LCC s to:
»»Develop and provide integrated science-based information about
the implications of climate change and other stressors for the
sustainability of natural and cultural resources;
»»Develop shared, landscape-level, conservation objectives and
inform conservation strategies that are based on a shared scientific
understanding about the landscape, including the implications of
current and future environmental stressors;
»»Facilitate the exchange of applied science in the implementation of
conservation strategies and products developed by the Cooperative
or their partners;
»»Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of LCC conservation
strategies in meeting shared objectives;
»»Develop appropriate linkages that connect LCC s to ensure an
effective network.

Network Strategic Plan 2014 | 3

Introduction
The purpose of
this Landscape
Conservation
Cooperative (LCC)
Network Strategic Plan
is to create a strategic
framework with shared
goals for how the
LCCs will aspire to
achieve the LCC
Network vision
through collective
impact.

The success of the Network depends both upon the success
of individual LCC self-directed partnerships in addressing the
conservation needs most important within their geographies, as well
as the LCC s’ collective ability to address conservation goals at even
broader geographic scales.
Recognizing that conservation objectives (shared or unique) are
achieved at the scale of individual LCC s, monitoring the Network’s
effectiveness should reflect the successes of each LCC and Network
accomplishments. As an assemblage of conservation practitioners
across the continent, the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean, LCC s
have an obligation to future generations who will rely on natural and
cultural resources for their livelihood, quality of life, and cultural
connection. The network of LCC s works collectively to conserve and
maintain landscapes and seascapes2 capable of sustaining natural and
cultural resources for current and future generations.
The LCC Network’s aspiration to develop an ecologically connected
network of landscapes and seascapes can be achieved through the
identification and pursuit of shared, broad-scale conservation goals
that span political, jurisdictional, and ecological boundaries, along
with a shared understanding of the problems the Network is seeking
to address. The broad geographic scope of the Network is necessary
to facilitate and support unprecedented integration efforts and
mechanisms that address large-scale stressors such as climate change,
urbanization, pollution, energy development, resource extraction,
and water stress. Working collectively, LCC s across the entire Network
can face complex problems that no single organization or entity can
solve alone.
This LCC Network Strategic Plan encourages national and
international leaders to support the Network through information,
policy, funding, and conservation action. It describes some of the
shared goals and objectives that could work from multi-LCC to
international scales, yet it recognizes that the success of the LCC
Network depends upon the conservation successes of individual
LCC s.

2 The term “landscapes and seascapes,” or sometimes just “landscapes,” hereafter refers to terrestrial, aquatic and marine
environments along with a supportive, healthy natural environment with clean air and water.

4 | Landscape Conser vation Cooperatives

Goals &
Objectives

An actionable
strategy
to adapt
conservation
to a changing
world.

The LCC Network Strategic Plan is organized into four strategic
goal areas:
1. Conservation strategy
2. Collaborative conservation
3. Science
4. Communications

Children
planting at
Desert National
Wildlife Refuge
in Nevada.
USFWS

Each strategic area has a goal, a set of objectives, and example tactics
identified under those objectives (a longer list of example tactics is
included in the Appendix). The example tactics serve to illustrate
what can be done to achieve the objectives, at multiple levels and
degrees of specificity, which can be refined during implementation.
They are not inclusive of all future actions potentially needed to meet
these objectives.

Network Strategic Plan 2014 | 5

1

Goal 1
An ecologically connected
network of landscapes
and seascapes adaptable
to global change — such
as climate change — with
the ability to sustain
ecological integrity and
health to meet the needs
of society at multiple
scales.

Conservation
Strategy

Left: Wacissa
River in Florida.
florida fish

& wildlife
conservation
commission

Right: Wood
thrush. steve
maslowski /

Objective 1
Identify shared conservation objectives, challenges, and opportunities
to inform landscape conservation at continental, LCC , island, and
regional scales.
Example Tactics

usfws

»»Establish conservation objectives at the LCC level and other
applicable scales.
»»Roll-up LCC objectives to identify Network-scale objectives.
Objective 2
Develop then deliver (through partners) regional landscape
conservation goals and designs3 that support resiliency and
adaptation to both global change and regional landscape challenges,
while ensuring the inclusion of all partners and stakeholders
necessary for successful conservation.
Example Tactics

3 Landscape Conservation Design is an iterative,
collaborative, and holistic process that provides
information, analytical tools, spatially explicit
data and best management practices to develop
shared conservation strategies and to achieve
jointly held conservation goals among partners.

6 | Landscape Conser vation Cooperatives

»»Work with all necessary partners and indigenous peoples
to select flagship regions and identify priority areas for
conservation and restoration.
»»Complete, expand, and support the delivery of landscape
conservation designs by providing tools and guidance to assist in
their implementation.

»»When developing conservation designs, acknowledge the
extensive knowledge and practices indigenous peoples have
developed over generations about large landscape processes.
Objective 3
Integrate regional or other scale-specific conservation designs to align
and focus conservation action at the Network scale, within available
authorities.
Example Tactics

»»Facilitate the design of an ecologically connected network of
large geographic regions that support priority natural and
cultural resources.

Healthy lands
support
diverse wildlife
populations for
wildlife watchers,
anglers and
hunters. usfws

Objective 4
Identify and obtain the resources required at the LCC and Network
scales to inform, develop, and support implementation of the
conservation designs and other conservation actions.
Example Tactics

»»The LCC Council and Network partners will identify existing
and new resources, then advocate for and pursue the resources
required to accomplish this goal at the LCC Network level.
Objective 5
Monitor the effectiveness of conservation design(s) and design
application in terms of achieving stated outcomes, then revise as
appropriate.
Example Tactics

»»Identify and promote good, tested practices for design
development and supporting implementation.

Network Strategic Plan 2014 | 7

2

Goal 2
Facilitated alignment
of partnership efforts
within and amongst
LCC s, including planning
efforts and resources, that
improves conservation
outcomes across LCC s and
the Network.

Collaborative
Conservation

Left:
Collaborators
from Caribbean
LCC. oliver
bencosme / sea
grant puerto
rico Right:

Objective 1
Create a high-functioning organizational culture for LCC s and the
Network.
Example Tactics

Hurricane Irene
damage on
Pea Island. tom
makenzie / usfws

»»Identify institutional barriers and stovepipes that inhibit crossagency collaboration and partnerships and seek to reduce,
break-down, or overcome them.
»»Continue to pursue opportunities to expand partnerships
throughout the Network, including the addition of new partners
in LCC s — particularly nontraditional partners that increase
the breadth, diversity, and effectiveness of the conservation
community.
Objective 2
Identify and explore opportunities for collaborative actions within
the LCC Network.
Example Tactics

»»Identify conservation and mitigation opportunities that span
multiple LCC s as well as those that extend to other regional
collaboration networks.

8 | Landscape Conser vation Cooperatives

Objective 3
Demonstrate, monitor, and evaluate the value and effectiveness of
the LCC Network.
Example Tactics

»»Develop common definitions and performance metrics for key
qualitative and quantitative outcomes that highlight, show, and
demonstrate value.
Objective 4
Identify new and existing training and networking opportunities for
the LCC Network.
Example Tactics

»»Create a “playbook” containing best management practices for
LCC Coordinators and Steering Committee Chairs.
Spring Beauty at
Sunflower Flats,
Elko District BLM
Nevada. shanell
owen

Objective 5
Leverage conservation planning to be opportunistic in taking
advantage of current and new funding sources for conservation.
Example Tactics

»»Prepare to respond to funding and partnership opportunities
that arise as a result of urgent conservation needs (e.g. natural
disasters, species invasions, disease) that are likely to occur
based on future scenario planning.
Objective 6
Create a Network-level system for prioritizing operational needs at
Network and regional levels, as appropriate.

3

Network Strategic Plan 2014 | 9

3

Goal 3
Natural and cultural resources
are conserved at large
landscape and seascape
scales, guided by the
collaborative application
of science, experience,
and cultural or traditional
ecological knowledge and
the generation of new
conservation knowledge.

Science

Left: Aurora
borealis at
Sherburne
National Wildlife
Refuge. bryan
worth . Right:
Magnificent
Frigatebirds.

Objective 1
Identify shared science, information, and resource needs at the
Network-scale.
Example Tactics

»»Complete, disseminate, and implement the LCC Network
Science Plan.

usfws

»»Identify and develop critical spatial, biological, and cultural data
and evaluation tools across the Network.
»»Support assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation
planning for cultural and/or subsistence resources that are
traditionally gathered, hunted, or culturally significant.
Objective 2
Promote collaborative production of science and
research — including human dimensions — as well as the use of
experience and indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge
among LCC s, Climate Science Centers (CSCs), and other interested
parties; use these to inform resource management decisions, educate
local communities, and address shared needs.

10 | Landscape Conser vation Cooperatives

Traditional ecological knowledge4 refers to
the knowledge, innovations, and practices
of indigenous and local communities
around the world.
Example Tactics

»»Engage resource decision makers, managers, cultural
practitioners, and indigenous peoples in the appropriate
framing of resource-based decision problems and the
formulation of clear management objectives that focus and
guide subsequent science activities.
Objective 3
Child with fish
at the Upper
Mississippi
River National
Wildlife Refuge.
bob drieslein /

»»Demonstrate and evaluate the value and improve the
effectiveness of LCC science.

usfws

»»Support efficiency among LCC and other appropriate broadscale monitoring programs in generating status and trend
information on priority resources and landscapes by facilitating
sharing, cooperative synthesis, communication, and evaluation
of data.

Example Tactics

4 Traditional ecological knowledge is developed from experience gained over the centuries and adapted to the local culture and
environment. The word “knowledge” is meant to be plural, to acknowledge the many types of knowledge it includes.

Network Strategic Plan 2014 | 11

4

Goal 4
Advance the knowledge
of, support for,
and engagement
in landscape-scale
conservation across the
LCC Network.

Communications

Left: A school
of manini at
Kingman Reef
National Wildlife
Refuge. kydd
pollock

Right: Atlantic
puffins at Maine
Coastal Islands
National Wildlife
Refuge. usfws

Objective 1
Communicate the existence and application of LCC Network science,
products and tools to partners and stakeholders in a form that is
understandable, publicly accessible, engaging, and relates to what
matters to end users and society.
Example Tactics

»»Use the LCC Network website and other tools as a platform for
sharing key LCC services and benefits such as news, products,
tools, training, science, data, documents, and open source
software for conservation use or research, where appropriate.
Objective 2
Increase two-way communication with, outreach to, and engagement
of key partners across the LCC Network as well as new partners to
expand the LCC Network and increase conservation impact and
achievements.
Example Tactics

»»Identify new, strategic target audiences with interests that may
intersect with conservation, such as young leaders, environmental
justice groups, development communities, resource extraction
industries, or planners from the built environment who could use
science to make decisions that support both conservation and
their own interests.
12 | Landscape Conser vation Cooperatives

Objective 3
Develop and implement a communications and outreach plan that
identifies and uses media to clearly convey to appropriate target
audiences the value and tangible successes of the LCC Network at
various scales.
Example Tactics

»»Communicate LCC successes that show on-the-ground impact
or how they have influenced management decisions through
a variety of means. These successes also need to convey the
complexities and challenges of achieving landscape- and
seascape-scale conservation results.
»»Open and increase the availability of LCC products and
information to diverse audiences.
Paddling the
canals of
Alligator River
National Wildlife
Refuge. steve
hillebrand ,

Objective 4
Build communications capacity and capabilities within the LCC
Network to effectively communicate the purposes and successes of
the LCC Network.

usfws

Example Tactics

»»Foster regional communications communities of practice
that build upon the strengths and expertise of LCC s and their
individual partners.
Objective 5
Share lessons learned across the LCC Network.

Network Strategic Plan 2014 | 13

Putting It
Into Action
As a living, iterative
document, this
strategic plan will
guide LCC actions
to achieve the
Network vision
and mission. These
actions, however,
will vary depending
on geographic
differences and other
variations among
individual LCCs.

A full list of the example tactics generated through this strategic
planning process is included in the Appendix, but it was never
considered to be a complete list of tactics. The LCC Network
governance infrastructure, including the LCC Council, LCT , LSCT ,
steering committees of individual LCC s, and other entities within the
Network, can select which issues best intersect and meet their own
needs as well as the needs of the Network. Partners are invited to
collaborate and identify the best approaches for action, measurable
outcomes, and needed resources to successfully implement strategies
outlined in this plan.
Implementing this strategic plan will require the development of an
implementation framework. The framework will identify processes to
advance the goals and objectives in this strategy and will establish a
schedule for monitoring and evaluating program performance.
Working groups or teams may be established to formulate next steps
and help monitor and communicate how the Network collectively
is addressing specific goals and objectives. The LCC Network plans
to assign an LCC Strategic Plan Implementation Coordinator to
facilitate broader communication across the Network. The LCC

14 | Landscape Conser vation Cooperatives

To borrow Aldo Leopold’s thoughts
on the land ethic, nothing as
important as the future for the
LCC Network is ever ‘written’ — it
evolves in the minds of a thinking,
collaborative community.
Left: Red foxes
on Edwin B.
Forsythe National
Wildlife Refuge.
don freiday

Middle: Beach
on the coast of
Oregon. john
mankowski /
nplcc

Right: Flint
Hills Legacy
Conservation
Area, Kansas.
rick hansen /
usfws

Network, with coordination from the LCC Network staff, will gather
information about lessons learned and facilitate an ongoing dialogue
with the intent to update the LCC Network Strategic Plan within the
next two years.
The LCC Network as an entity will continue to listen, evolve, and
support a diverse array of partners all working together to fulfill
its vision for landscapes capable of sustaining natural and cultural
resources for current and future generations.

Network Strategic Plan 2014 | 15

Appendix

Objective 3 :  Integration

Each goal area has a set of objectives and some example tactics, which
are intended to help illustrate the kinds of actions that can be taken to
help achieve the Network’s common goals.
This appendix includes a list of all the example tactics generated through
the strategic planning process but this list is not meant to limit the tactics
available to the Network. The actual tactics deployed will be determined
by the various entities within the LCC Network (see “Definitions”
section of this Appendix) based on which actions they support and the
implementation framework that will be developed for this strategic plan.

Goal 1: Conservation
Strategy
Objective 1 :  Shared Objectives

»»Establish conservation objectives at
the LCC level and other applicable
scales
»»Roll-up LCC objectives to identify
Network-scale objectives
Objective 2 :  Conservation Designs

»»Work with all necessary partners and
indigenous peoples to select flagship
regions and identify priority areas for
conservation and restoration with the
aim of facilitating climate resilient
lands and waters; build, maintain,
or restore resilience in vulnerable
regions; develop or increase carbon
storage capacity (where appropriate);
and address management issues
within given authorities.
»»Produce first generation climate
change resilient landscape designs.
»»Complete, expand, and support the
delivery of landscape conservation
designs with goals for priority areas
and provide tools and guidance to
assist in their implementation.
»»When developing conservation
designs, acknowledge the extensive
knowledge and practices indigenous
peoples have related to large
landscape processes.

16 | Landscape Conser vation Cooperatives

»»Identify priority areas where
opportunities exist to improve
resilience or adaptation strategies for
priority resources, ecosystem services,
and communities.
»»Support the development of
foundational data sets at the LCC
scale that could also be rolled up
to the multi-LCC, continental, and
global scales.
»»Support development of analytical
tools to help understand the effects of
global change on natural and human
systems at the LCC , multi-LCC ,
continental, and global scales.
»»Identify and engage Network-wide
common partnerships that should be
engaged in support of this objective
(e.g., National Association of
Counties).

Ecological resilience is
the capacity of a system
to resist and recover from
natural or human-cause
disturbances. Resilient
systems can maintain their
essential structure in the
face of floods, fires, pest
outbreaks, pollution, and
other stressors.

»»Facilitate the design of an
ecologically connected network
of large geographic regions that
support priority natural and cultural
resources.
»»Identify, prioritize, and support
implementation of cross-LCC
actions where coordinated action
across several LCC s could have a
multiplying effect.
»»Support the implementation of
national plans to achieve landscape
conservation and climate adaptation
such as the National Fish, Wildlife &
Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy,
particularly as it relates to other goals
and objectives of this strategic plan.
»»Develop strategies to address
cumulative, existing (e.g., nonclimate) stressors broadly and major
global change stressors at the relevant
scale.
»»Identify additional strategies needed
to adapt to global change that
incorporate human and societal
values.
»»Recognizing the proprietary status
of traditional ecological knowledge,
identify Tribal and First Nations’
information needs related to
conservation and management
of natural and cultural resources
potentially affected by global change,
including climate change.
»»Collect, evaluate, analyze, then
provide the best tools and information
that managers need to assist them in
supporting design implementation
and evaluation.
Objective 4 : Needed Resources

»»Identify the core resources —
including for staff, science, partners,
and community assets — needed for
each LCC and the shared resources
and approaches that would increase
appropriately consistent, but not
identical, approaches and integration
between LCC s to accomplish this
strategic goal Network-wide.

»»The LCC Council and Network
partners will identify existing and
new resources, then advocate for
and pursue the resources required
to accomplish this goal at the LCC
Network level.
»»Develop a set of transparent
performance metrics that enable the
Network to monitor and evaluate
progress.

»»Increase ownership, participation,
and engagement of partners in the
work of the LCC s through developing
common approaches, sharing
tools, assigning leads for important
products, pooling resources, and
other such approaches.

»»Identify the most appropriate metrics
with which to measure partner inputs
into Network operations and projects
(e.g., financial, personnel, technical
assistance, in-kind) and capture
outcomes achieved indirectly by the
LCC s, when feasible.

»»Continue to provide and develop
additional funding mechanisms to
facilitate key partner engagement.

»»Develop accountability tools.

Objective 5 :  Monitoring
Effectiveness

Objective 2:  Collaboration
Opportunities

»»Identify and promote good, tested
practices for design development and
supporting implementation.

»»Identify commonalties (e.g., needs
and tools) and differences that
require solutions.

»»Design a process or framework for
evaluation of conservation designs’
success using shared methodologies,
standards, and other approaches
across the Network, collectively giving
a sense of Network-level effectiveness.

»»Encourage the establishment of
partner forum events that connect
conservation partners to local onthe-ground action and that connect
national or regional organizations to
actions and initiatives at larger scales.

»»Develop the needed foundation that
status and trend monitoring provide,
in addition to existing inventory
monitoring and data sets.

»»Identify inter-LCC conservation
goals, challenges (e.g., data gaps,
policy, technical), and opportunities.

Goal 2: Collaborative
Conservation
Objective 1 :  Organizational Culture

»»Identify institutional barriers and
stove-pipes that inhibit cross-agency
collaboration and partnerships
and seek to reduce, breakdown, or
overcome them.
»»Create a forum for regular
communication across LCC s and
throughout the Network.
»»Revise, as needed, the Network’s
organizational structure along with
defined relationships, roles, and
functions within the Network.
»»Continue to pursue opportunities to
expand partnerships throughout the
Network, including the addition of
new partners in LCC s — particularly
nontraditional partners that
increase the breadth, diversity, and
effectiveness of the conservation
community.

»»Identify successful inter-LCC
collaboration efforts, and then
celebrate, communicate, and share
them.

»»Explore ways for partner organizations
to maximize the benefits of
performance reporting within
and amongst their organizations,
including at the Network level.
Objective 4 :  Training and
Networking

»»Provide orientation training for new
LCC staff and steering committee
members.
»»Create a “playbook” containing best
management practices for LCC
Coordinators and Steering Committee
Chairs.
»»Develop and distribute a
“communications resource” guide
for Steering Committee and LCC
Council members to help effectively
communicate the LCC Network
vision and actions across all levels of
their organizations.

»»Identify conservation and mitigation
opportunities that span multiple
LCC s as well as those that extend to
other regional collaboration networks.

»»Identify or produce training for LCC
Coordinators related to developing
management and coordination skills.

»»Identify opportunities to collaborate
on mitigation activities and methods.

Objective 5 :  Funding
Opportunities

»»Identify, celebrate, and share good
practices and success stories.

»»Develop proactive systems, protocols,
and strategies for identifying and
prioritizing high-priority conservation
needs (both natural and cultural) in
the event resources become available
in relation to an established baseline.
Determine how to fund rapid
response opportunities to urgent
conservation needs (e.g., natural
disasters, species invasions, disease)
and ensure the necessary capacity.

Objective 3:  Network Effectiveness

»»Develop common definitions
and performance metrics for key
(qualitative and quantitative)
outcomes that highlight, show, and
demonstrate value.
»»Measure collective impact (e.g.,
resiliency, footprint, connectivity)
of those outcomes and others when
needed.

Network Strategic Plan 2014 | 17

Objective 6 : Prioritizing
Investments

»»Inventory conservation needs,
planning efforts, and resources.
»»Identify which efforts would maximize
the network-wide conservation benefit
of investments.
»»Balance resource investments with
LCC needs and strategies for
improving performance.
Goal 3: Science
Objective 1 :  Identifying Needs

»»Complete, disseminate, and
implement the LCC Network Science
Plan.
»»Inform and articulate network-wide
or regional conservation targets (and
their associated goals and objectives)
reflective of the vision to achieve an
ecologically connected landscape.
»»Identify and develop critical spatial,
biological, and cultural data and
evaluation tools across the Network.
»»Identify knowledge gaps and define
research priorities via a collaborative
process with federal, state, tribal,
private conservation organizations,
academic resource managers and
research scientists.
»»Leverage resources to conduct
focused research to fill critical
knowledge gaps in conservation
science.
»»Support assessment of impacts and
adaptation planning for cultural and/
or subsistence resources that are
traditionally gathered, hunted, or
culturally significant
»»Share guidelines developed by
indigenous working groups for
integrating scientific and traditional
ecological knowledge within and
between LCC s.
»»Partners within LCC s educate
other partners at the table about
each agency’s needs, interests, and
programs.
18 | Landscape Conser vation Cooperatives

Objective 2 :  Co-production

»»Engage resource decision makers,
managers, cultural practitioners, and
indigenous peoples in the appropriate
framing of resource-based decision
problems and the formulation of clear
management objectives that focus and
guide subsequent science activities.
»»Engage these same groups and
other end users in the identification,
development, production, and use
of scientific tools through technical
assistance, outreach, training, and
education.
»»Promote funding notifications to
Tribes and First Nations for the
documentation and exchange of
traditional ecological knowledge
with scientists to generate solutions
through co-learning and coproduction of knowledge.
»»Promote continual learning to
improve conservation science by
sharing good, tested practices and
standardized approaches.
»»Provide Network-wide context for
connecting the science efforts of
individual LCC s to ensure they reflect
the needs of LCC priority resources
across the landscapes and seascapes.
»»Create forums for scientists to work
with indigenous peoples to coproduce knowledge that can address
landscape-scale issues in accordance
with free, prior, and informed
consent.5
»»Improve technical approaches for
management and integration of
adjacent conservation designs to
foster a seamless, resilient, and
interconnected ecological network
of lands and waters.

5 Free, prior, and informed consent is a principle that
means an indigenous group has the right to share
or withhold information or traditional ecological
knowledge in accordance with their beliefs, customs,
rules, and traditions.

»»Translate shared conservation goals
and science through spatial products
and other tools to guide action at the
landscape scale in those geographies
where these products are value-added.
Objective 3 :  Evaluating Science

»»Develop metrics and methods to
evaluate the use of LCC science and
monitoring information in shaping
resource planning, management
decisions, and community adaptation.
»»Develop processes and tools that
allow the LCC Network to measure
progress toward achieving and
retaining resilient and functional
landscapes and seascapes.
»»Support efficiency among LCC s
and other appropriate broad-scale
monitoring programs in generating
status and trend information on
priority resources and landscapes
by facilitating sharing, cooperative
synthesizing, communications, and
evaluation.
»»Improve the efficiency of conservation
design and delivery process.
»»Demonstrate the iterative nature of
the questions and issues that resource
managers face and the resulting
determinations of resource priorities
for shared needs.
»»Assign project support to Tribes and
First Nations to demonstrate examples
of how, when, and where traditional
ecological knowledge can be used to
better inform management decisions.

Goal 4: Communications
Objective 1: Communicating
Science

»»Encourage communications guidance,
policy, training, and support to
principle investigators for science
delivery regarding outreach strategies
and applications of their research
and results to end users (e.g.,
land managers) and assist them in
demonstrating the ecosystem services
and socio-economic values of their
conservation research.
»»Provide opportunities and encourage
principle investigators to compete for
additional funds to deliver science.
»»Use the LCC Network website and
other tools as a platform for sharing
key LCC services and benefits such
as news, products, tools, training,
science, data, documents, and open
source software for conservation use
or research, where appropriate.
»»Disseminate science products among
the Network and other interested
parties, including target audiences
who influence landscape and seascape
conditions and resource management
activities.
»»Provide opportunities to train
resource managers on how to
apply LCC Network and others’
science products to on-the-ground
conservation activities.
Objective 2 :  Engaging Key
Partners

»»Capitalize on, coordinate, and target
local/regional/national/international
opportunities to discuss LCC s and
landscape conservation at existing
symposia, meetings, and other forums.
»»Include key regional researchers
and managers to give presentations
to LCC gatherings, meetings, and
workshops.

»»Support, use, and fund social science
approaches and human dimensions
of conservation work to assess,
understand, and effectively engage
new partners and to assess the needs
of on-the-ground users of LCC
information.

»»Develop appropriate tools and tactics
for integrating communications across
the LCC Network.
»»Open and increase availability of LCC
products and information to diverse
audiences.

»»Identify and engage potential new
partners across the LCC Network.

Objective 4: Communications
Capacity

»»Identify new, strategic target
audiences, such as young conservation
leaders, diverse audiences,
development communities, planners
from the built environment and
others who could use science to make
decisions that support conservation.

»»Build upon existing communications
efforts to share learning,
best practices, and identify
communications needs.

Objective 3:
Communications Plan

»»Identify key audiences to target
outreach efforts.
»»Identify priority or timely messages for
targeted audiences.
»»Include a specific strategic effort
to target key audiences in other
branches of government to increase
awareness about the Network.
»»Find and leverage key points of
influence (i.e., LCC champions)
to ensure the sustainability of the
Network.
»»Develop coordinated messaging from
the Network to the
LCC level and across the Network.
»»Explain the role of LCC s in achieving
lasting, sustainable landscape-scale
conservation.
»»Communicate LCC successes that
show actual on-the-ground impact
and how they have influenced
management decisions through a
variety of means. These successes also
need to convey the complexities and
challenges of achieving landscapeand seascape-scale conservation
results.

»»Foster regional communications
communities of practice that build
upon the strengths and expertise of
LCC s and their individual partners.
»»Improve use of existing
communications tools (e.g. social
media, news, and websites).
»»Prioritize national LCC competitive
project support funds (not
individual LCC project funds) for
communications support in 2015.
»»Identify gaps and needs in
communications support and develop
a national campaign using expert
public relations/marketing firms.
»»Improve communications skills and
effectiveness by providing training
to LCC communications staff and
others.
Objective 5: Sharing Lessons
Learned

»»Develop a Network-level means to post
and distribute these lessons.
»»Integrate better and more simplified
communications approaches into
LCC Network gatherings, monthly
LCT teleconferences, and other
appropriate venues to improve the
dissemination of best practices across
the Network.

Network Strategic Plan 2014 | 19

Definitions
LCC Network  — The LCC

Network
is composed of the 22 individual LCC s
and their active members, including
the LCC Council, steering committees
of all 22 LCC s, staff, partners, and
other associates. The LCC s collectively
form a network of resource managers,
conservation practitioners, cultural
communities, researchers and scientists
who share a common need for scientific
information, and a common interest
in conservation at local, regional, and
continental (or oceanic) scales. The
Network fosters collaboration and
partnerships among federal, provincial,
state, and local governments, tribes
and First Nations, indigenous peoples,
non-governmental organizations,
universities, and interested public and
private organizations.
LCC Council — The LCC

Council is
a representative body of executivelevel leaders from LCC partner
organizations. The LCC Council
supports the cooperative conservation
and sustainable resource management
efforts of the LCC Network, assists the
LCC Network in achieving its goals,
contributes to building a constituency
of partners, and helps sustain the LCC
initiative.
LCC Coordinators Team  — The

Coordinators Team (LCT) is
comprised of the Coordinators from
each of the 22 LCC s and the LCC
LCC

20 | Landscape Conser vation Cooperatives

Network Coordinators. The LCT works
on aspects of LCC Network operations
and other matters as appropriate, while
respecting individual LCC steering
committee governance authority.
LCC Science Coordinators
Team  — The LCC

Network Science
Coordinators Team (LSCT) is
comprised of all Science Coordinators
from each of the 22 LCC s and the LCC
Network Coordinators. The LSCT serves
as a forum for communication and
collaboration on technical and scientific
matters among the LCC s, and between
the LCC Network and other science
partners.
LCC Communications Team  — The

Network Communications Team
is comprised of all communications,
engagement, and outreach staff at each
of the 22 LCC s and the LCC Council.
This team serves as a forum for activities
in those same areas across the LCC
Network.
LCC

Steering Committees  — Each LCC

is governed by a voluntary steering
committee, typically with representatives
from conservation and resource
management entities (natural and
cultural). These entities include a wide
variety of federal, state, territorial and
international agencies; tribal and other
indigenous peoples; universities; nongovernmental organizations; and others
located or operating within the LCC
geographic region.

www.LCCNetwork.org

Bottomland forest, Big Lake
National Wildlife Refuge.
jeremy bennett / usfws
Flint Hills of Kansas. edwin
olson / wiki commons
Brown bear at Kodiak
National Wildlife Refuge.
steve hillebrand / usfws

Learn More

To find out more about how Landscape
Conservation Cooperatives are working to
implement this strategic plan, visit .