Bridging the divide: Uniting rural and urban landscapes for conservation

Excerpt

The management of soil and water has been accelerated by agricultural and urban dynamics, and the potential to utilize policy, planning, and partnerships to unite rural and urban landscapes for the betterment of our natural resources and communities is being realized now more than ever. One arena in which these collaborations have proven to be effective is watershed planning. As a leader in multidisciplinary research and an organization that fosters communication among stakeholders, the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) has had several recent opportunities to advance watershed planning goals through policy initiatives, events, and publications. During the upcoming 2019 SWCS International Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Society will bring these partnerships, as well as other successes and challenges of rural and urban conservation endeavors, to the forefront of the conversation.

Watershed planning is a conservation effort that has been bridging divides and forging new relationships for a very long time, supported through programs such as the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program. These projects bring together urban and rural people around our natural resources and give communities a voice in the protection of their water resources. In fact, the USEPA identifies partnership building…