On August 28th, ConservAmerica brought our conservation partners together at the Private Lands and Wildlife Corridors Ideas Conference in Livingston, Montana. With vacation season winding down and elk starting their annual migration from nearby Yellowstone National Park, the timing and location were opportune for collaborative learning, recognizing accomplishments, and strategizing future joint endeavors to bridge the divides among wildlife, landowners, and policymakers.
For their survival, species such as bison, elk, and deer undertake extensive migrations that cannot be confined solely to public lands; private lands are an inherent component of their journeys. However, migratory species also impose costs on the properties they traverse, including the transmission of diseases, property damage, and habitat depletion. Few comprehend these challenges more thoroughly than ranchers in Paradise Valley, situated between Livingston and Yellowstone, where the economic viability of their operations is threatened by the costs associated with migratory elk. Given that strict, top-down regulations and laws often exacerbate the situation, and developers are eager to acquire and subdivide ranches, innovative market-based solutions are imperative to preserve these species’ migratory pathways.
Fortunately, progress is being made. At the conference, insights were shared by nonprofit executives, politicians, lawyers, journalists, scientists, entrepreneurs, sportsmen, and other leaders at the forefront of these solutions. Many organizations are reestablishing migration corridors for iconic American species through market mechanisms, including acquisitions and conservation easements. Investment groups like Beartooth Capital are engaging with property owners to develop financial solutions to the challenges presented by wildlife corridors. And groups like ConservAmerica and the Property and Environmental Research Center are advising policymakers to ensure that bureaucratic hurdles do not impede progress.
Following a day of productive discussions, three conservation leaders were honored with the inaugural Peacock Prizes: Randy Newberg of Fresh Tracks and Hunt Talk Radio podcast, Environmentalist and Conservationist Ed Russo, and Danielle Franz of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC).