Presented at the Missouri Natural Resources Conference, this presentation frames Conservation Without Conflict as both a practical conservation model and a necessary cultural shift. Leo Miranda-Castro emphasizes that durable conservation depends on rebuilding trust, listening to local communities, engaging landowners as partners, and returning to the broader ecosystem vision embedded in conservation law. The presentation outlines eight steps for achieving collaborative conservation, including embracing local context, uniting around shared goals, supporting sustainable livelihoods, building local capacity, and maintaining continuous communication and shared learning.
The presentation contrasts two species stories from the summer of 1990, the Northern Spotted Owl and the Louisiana Black Bear, to show how different approaches to conservation can lead to very different outcomes. Through examples including the Louisiana black bear and a first-of-its-kind Partners for Fish and Wildlife agreement with Resource Management Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Miranda-Castro makes the case that innovation, flexibility, and voluntary partnership can reduce conflict while improving outcomes for species, ecosystems, and working lands. The closing message challenges conservation professionals to be bold, build trust through collaboration, reclaim the ecosystem mandate, and make private landowners central partners in the future of conservation.
