Landscape Conservation Cooperatives: Building a Network to Help Fulfill Public Trust Obligations
The Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) network (Network), comprised of 22 conservation partnerships spanning North America and U.S. Islands, is uniquely positioned to assist government members in fulfilling their public trust obligations to sustain natural and cultural resources for current and future generations by (a) ensuring inclusivity of broad stakeholder participation in conservation decision-making, and (b) building capacity for public trust to work in conservation, thus increasing the chance for successful and lasting conservation outcomes.
In this article, we discuss the vision for the Network; challenges individual LCCs and the Network face in achieving the vision of sustaining natural and cultural resources for the benefit of current and future generations, a public trust obligation of most of the members; and ways in which member LCCs are making progress in this regard.We offer recommendations for the Network to consider to improve its ability to meet public trust obligations.
