Groups to Gather to Discuss Conservation Data Needs

With perhaps as much as 2.2 million acres of open spaces — farms, forests and rangelands — being converted to developed uses each year, it is critical that conservation interests (federal, state, local and not-for-profit) employ the latest and most powerful tools for planning and targeting limited financial resources. This need met head-on with reality when the Endowment tried to ascertain the state of working forest conservation easements across America. “What we found was that the information is contained in hundreds of discrete organizations and in a myriad of ways such that it is nearly impossible to assess current status or make reasonable assumptions or plans,” said Carlton Owen, Endowment President. In early February the Endowment and some of the nation’s leading conservation interests from the non-profit and governmental sectors will convene to assess the current state of information, current efforts underway to aggregate existing information as well as to attempt to identify remaining gaps and needs. “Depending on what we learn at that meeting, our hope is that we and a few others might partner to identify a systematic approach to address this need,” said Endowment Vice President Diane Snyder.