Western Partnerships		Gateway Communities
	Collaboration Report

Photo: Barbara Slaiby

“Gateway communities—the towns and cities that border public lands such as national parks, national forests, fish and wildlife refuges, or other public lands—are increasingly faced with development pressures from tourism and population shifts to rural areas seeking a high quality of life.

Recognizing the importance of shaping collaborative strategies for the future of both communities and public lands, two private, nonprofit organizations, The Conservation Fund and the Sonoran Institute, have worked collaboratively with the National Park Service and its Conservation Study Institute along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to create opportunities for discussing common issues and building relationships. Participants attend a national one-week program in teams composed of representatives from local municipalities, federal land management agencies, local nonprofit organizations, and interested individuals. Teams work together to craft strategies that can be implemented in their regions, learning from both expert instructors and teams from other parts of the country facing similar problems.

The sponsoring partners are now developing regional workshops that are tailored to the specific issues of an area and provide for more participation by key stakeholders. Often requests for regional workshops originate with the team that attended the national program.

One of the partners, the Sonoran Institute, maintains a Partnership Beyond Park Boundaries web resource, which provides information and tools, case studies, and a directory of experts on partnerships for public land managers and neighboring communities seeking partnerships.