9414

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9414
• Author: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
• Title: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Annual Report.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

t is far too easy to
succumb to the negativity of
environmental doomsayers.
According to the media, many
scientists, and advocacy groups,
the environment is in a tailspin
from which it may never recover.
I, for one, am an optimist and
, think that it can and will recover.
I
! We have embarked on a great path
,
: to solving our problems, and it will
be due to newly invigorated and
creative leadership that will
change the way we do the business
of conservation.
Traditionally, the battle over
conservation issues has pitted the
special interests of the environment and
business against each other. It is much
too common for parties to fight for
: supremacy through the courts, legis la-
,
: tion, and command-and-control
solutions established in
Washington, D.C. rather than solutions
developed at the local level. The National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
has been the leader in moving groups
away from adversarial positions to find
cooperative solutions to difficult issues.
Rather than allowing these parties their
usual modus operandi of slugging it out,

2 1997 Annual Report

THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS

the Foundation has invited individuals and institutions to take a broader perspective
to find more creative solutions.
Among the hallmarks of NFWF is building partnerships between local commu-
nity groups, private industry, farmers and ranchers, the conservation community,
and governments. This partnership approach to resource management helps to
create common solutions to difficult resource problems, which otherwise would not
likely occur. NFWF has pioneered this approach, which has helped promote one of
the most important revolutions underway today in solving difficult natural resource
problems and building truly sustainable development.
Partnerships fostered by NFWF allow groups and individuals to take a different
perspective and work for solutions that they otherwise could not support. Rather
than support the polarization of positions, NFWF encourages peo-
ple to step outside of the perspective of their vested interest so that
they can create solutions that enhance their own position while
providing improved management of fish and wildlife resources.
This approach fosters creativity and greater freedom to under-
take risks. Instead of sticking to the company line or ideological
pole of the institution, this cooperative approach allows movement
to more creative solutions that could never be achieved otherwise.
The results are phenomenal. Among the benefits are massive
savings to the American taxpayer, including a tripling of return on
federal dollars invested, reduced litigation, higher productivity for
all sectors involved in these partnerships, and most notably, some
of the most important leadership in improving the health of fish
and wildlife. This approach has lead to startling examples of
resource recovery because former and potential adversaries have
joined forces to improve management of fish, wildlife, and habitat.
Where else have you seen public land-dependent
ranchers promoting programs to help endangered species, envi-
ronmentalists calling for better returns on timber ~
company profits, and hunters pressing for expand- ~
ed logging operations?
This partnerships approach lacks the flashiness or
headline appeal of major environmental protests, lawsuits,
or other all-too-common confrontational approaches, but it has quietly promoted
an important revolution that is changing the way the world approaches its resource
management problems and is setting the stage for a sustainable future.

We have embarked

on a great path to

solving our prob-

lems, and it will be

due to newly invig-

orated and creative

leadership. . .

~~~j

Magalen O. Bryant
Chairmlu1 oj the Board