In May of 2019, a two-day summit was organized by staff of the Intermountain West Joint Venture, Montana Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to bring together three Joint Ventures (JV) working in Montana (Intermountain West, Northern Great Plains, and Prairie Pothole) and their partners. This summit was a priority action for the Montana State Conservation Partnership for FY 2019.

The goal of the summit was to examine the concept of cross-JV collaboration focused on delivering science-based, partnership-driven conservation that is relevant at the community level. The desired outcome of the summit was to identify cross-JV actions to be undertaken in the next three to five years that strengthen community conservation efforts by leveraging partner resources. These action items will be centered on the topics of science, capacity, and communications. Finally, the strategic question to be answered as a result of the summit was “Strategic conservation is often prioritized at the landscape scale, yet successful implementation is often locally initiated. What is the role for agencies and organizations in supporting existing local partnerships and efforts and/or helping to foster new ones?”

Recommendations and action items were jointly developed in the summit to help carry the work forward. Attendees agreed to continue to work together, develop a consensus on a partnership, and determine the desired outcomes.