Weaving Fragmented Lands Together: Designing a Durable and Effective National Framework for Landscape Conservation

Conservation goals that integrate both social and ecological components are foundational to an established field of research, social-ecological systems, as well as an emerging field of research and practice called landscape conservation (Biggs et al., 2021; Trombulak and Baldwin, 2010; Johnson, 2017). An example of a landscape conservation goal is the Biden-Harris Administration's 'America the Beautiful Initiative,' also known as the '30x30' campaign. The 30x30 campaign seeks to protect 30 percent of the United States' terrestrial lands, freshwater, and ocean waters by 2030. To accomplish this goal, recommendations for designing a new national framework for landscape conservation have been put forth. These recommendations and the possibility of a national framework for landscape conservation in the U.S. bring up a series of questions related to geographic and temporal scales, levels of organization, and power relations amongst those involved. Working closely with professionals in the field of landscape conservation in the U.S., particularly professionals who work closely with regional conservation networks, this research intends to track the design of a national framework for landscape conservation over the next twelve months. Research will involve participant observation and focus groups at conferences and forums, as well as semi-structured interviews with experts in the field.