CLN / Real Estate Partnerships

Andy Jones, Director, Texas Office

“The effect that the Conservation Leadership Network has had in east Texas is outstanding. We’ve been able to bring about $50 million in federal funds, environmental fines, and grants to the region in just the past five years. That level of support is possible because of CLN’s community outreach that helped build the broad awareness from the public—and subsequent political will from local judges, county commissioners, and mayors, who are now willing to sign on to letters to Congress. CLN’s outreach sessions across the Pineywoods led to broader support for natural resources which translated to a Green Infrastructure Plan in Angelina County, followed by active implementation including work on local trails, boat put-ins along the river, and city ordinances supporting green infrastructure. The CLN community outreach strengthens the work we do in Real Estate.”

Todd McNew, Pennsylvania Representative

"With more than 2 million acres of protected forest, game lands, and parks, many people in the 12-county Pennsylvania Wilds (PA Wilds) region have a deep-rooted aversion about additional land conservation. Through the work of the Conservation Leadership Network (CLN) and the ongoing partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources with local communities, a new attitude has started to emerge.
“Numerous local leaders once opposed to land conservation have become supporters for conserving key links in the network of protected land. The communities and their leaders have begun to recognize what the conserved landscapes mean to their local economies. By ensuring a sustainable forest products industry, increasing nature and cultural tourism, and preserving quality of life, those of us who strive to conserve additional public lands are more likely to be viewed as allies than as enemies. Over the last several years, the Fund and other organizations have conserved more than 20,000 acres of new public and privately-held eased lands in the PA Wilds. Much of this would not have been possible without the work of the CLN."

Brad Meiklejohn, Alaska Representative

“Conservation in Fairbanks has moved from 0 to 60 in a very short time thanks to the Conservation Leadership Network. CLN delivered a Green Infrastructure workshop in February 2008. A few community members had floated the idea of a greenbelt prior to the workshop but found limited support. The process and partnership forged at the workshop resulted in a broader commitment to the greenbelt. Since last year TCF has completed deals on several of the more than 15 properties creating the Chena Flats greenbelt connecting open space for recreation, water quality, and wildlife movement.”

Ray Herndon, Lower Mississippi Office

“The Conservation Leadership Network helped open up and solidify new conservation relationships along the Coldwater River in northwest Mississippi. In March 2009 CLN convened a place-based Green Infrastructure workshop in DeSoto County, Mississippi. It’s exciting what the region has achieved in that short time. Sparked by the workshop, the region has ramped up their conservation commitments, creating clean water videos, taking easements through the newly formed Coldwater Land Trust, and launching both the Web site and canoe trips along the Coldwater Canoe Trail. I have no doubt that the surge in activity and the new relationships will translate to significant acquisitions over the next year.”

Rex Boner, Vice President and Southeast Representative

“The engagement of The Conservation Leadership Network in Unicoi County, TN, has been extremely valuable. CLN brings a team with skills and capacity where we needed them. When The Fund entered into the Rocky Fork transaction, we fell into a community divided over conservation and facing a lack of leadership for its future. CLN helped build local leadership and strengthened relationships throughout the community. Unicoi’s participation in the national Balancing Nature and Commerce course catalyzed local leadership and organization. The process also brought the Forest Service to the table in a meaningful way, helping the Service cast away an ineffective relationship and improve their engagement with the community. The expertise of CLN was exceptional and continues through place-based capacity-building and collaborative learning in 2010.”
“The way Real Estate, the Conservation Leadership Network, and the Natural Capital Investment Fund have come together in Unicoi County really represents the conservation of the 21st century. The days of a quick deal are over. To be effective the Fund will increasingly need to be more involved in the local community in order to ensure success in the core conservation business. CLN’s role in this has been irreplaceable.”