At the IWJV, we think of Conservation Capacity as the human capital needed to implement conservation at a desired pace and scale.

The significant increase in federal funding for projects in recent years has not been matched with an equivalent increase in capacity to deliver conservation. The funding influx from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act is exacerbating capacity limitations throughout the conservation field.

As a result, supporting and establishing conservation capacity positions is becoming an increasingly frequent role that the IWJV plays. Each position is uniquely crafted to meet the needs of a given landscape and project type, involving disciplines such as wildlife biologists, range conservationists, and engineering technicians. The focus of our conservation capacity ranges greatly from building beaver dam analogs, to restoring wet meadows, to coordinating regional partnerships implementing landscape conservation.

Some examples of these important positions on the landscape include:

Strategic, on-the-ground conservation at scale

Keeping Water Around – Learn how Sean Claffey is using simple restoration techniques—and teaching them to others—to fix working wet meadows in sagebrush country.
Cure for the Creek – Hear about Ryen Neudecker, who is working with ranchers in Montana’s Blackfoot Valley to heal those waterways for both fish and cows.

Application and management of conservation funding

Mapping Change Across the Bruneau-Owyhee Sage-grouse Habitat Project – Meet Connor White and learn about his role in the restoration of tens of thousands of acres for sage grouse in Idaho.
Partners in Montana Leverage RCPP – Follow Desi Seal and her work for big game migration corridors using the NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

Investment in partnerships and communities

New Conservation Coordinator Fills Niche in Bear River Watershed – Take a peek at Matt Coombs’ work in this critical watershed that extends across three states and feeds the Great Salt Lake.
The People Component of Land Management – Read this story by Katlyn Uhart, Coordinator of the Results Oriented Grazing for Ecological Resilience Group, about the collaborative’s work in Nevada.

Do you have a capacity challenge the IWJV can help with? Please contact IWJV’s Conservation Programs and Operations Coordinator: Joy Morris (joy.morris@iwjv.org).