The 2004 Summit on Conservation Education
Momentum for conservation education was significantly raised in 2004 and 2005 with the Conservation Education Summit and the Association's Membership approving a Conservation Education Strategy.
As part of an unprecedented effort to recognize education as a key component of wildlife conservation, the Association held a Conservation Education Summit in December 2004 to chart a new course for conservation education. Approximately 200 conservation professionals attended the “ Summit on Conservation Education” held at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown , West Virginia .
The Summit brought together fish and wildlife agency personnel responsible for conservation education programs within 35 state agencies and one Canadian province. An exemplary sign of commitment from these agencies was the fact that 17 states were also represented by their agency directors. Although conservation education efforts within state fish and game agencies was the primary topic of discussion, participation by many NGO partners and federal agencies was also encouraged and many of them participated in this landmark conference.
Presentations by renowned professional educators and evaluators, along with facilitated breakout sessions, gave participants a tremendous opportunity to discuss trends, needs, and a vision for conservation education within the scope of state and provincial fish and wildlife agencies. When the dust had settled after three days, this weary but rejuvenated group of professionals had collectively agreed to five major “needs” which would be critical to advance the conservation education agenda on a North American scale. These included national assistance and leadership, elevation of the value of conservation education, evaluation of programs, expanded partnerships, and stable funding.
A final gesture of solidarity came from the state fish and wildlife agency directors who passed a resolution recognizing these needs and emphasizing the importance of conservation education as a key component of all fish and wildlife conservation efforts. This resolution was sent nation-wide to each state's fish and wildlife agency Director, Chairs of the state Fish and Wildlife commissions and Boards, the Governors of each state, and the state agency Information and Education Chiefs with a request for review and comment.
One of the specific action items mentioned in this resolution was the creation of a strategy for conservation education using the summit results. For the purpose of continued momentum and uniform agreement, this strategy was to be written in time for approval by the EOD committee at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in March. A sub-group of the Summit met in February and developed a North American Conservation Education Strategy which was approved by Association's membership in March 2005.
Summit Final Report
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