Transparency served us well in building the Conserving the Future vision. Now we’re using those same avenues of transparency to build nationwide participation for implementing the vision.
If you thought building the Conserving the Future vision was complex and challenging, then start following the Conserving the Future Web site, http://AmericasWildlife.org, as we implement the 24 conceptual recommendations that will guide the National Wildlife Refuge System for the next decade.
The recommendations were written in broad strokes not only because visionary thinking has to be aspirational, but also because we wanted to give implementation teams wide latitude to let imaginations soar as we consider products and approaches in making the vision a reality.
The nine implementation teams have taken up the aspirational challenge. I have joined many of the teams during their first face–to–face meetings this winter, and I can tell you they are thinking big. But are they always thinking big enough?
To answer, you can look at the Web site and evaluate progress yourself. The Refuge System needs input and ideas from employees, Friends groups, the non–governmental community and partners as we substantially fulfill our far–ranging vision in the next five years. As with any large–scale undertaking, no one organization, acting in isolation, can make a difference. You are the linchpins to success.
So, we’ve put the Executive Implementation Council’s implementation plan online. We will put more information online as the implementation teams flesh out their work plans and the Refuge System’s Leadership Team—including refuge chiefs in each of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service eight regions—identify gaps and give their guidance.
Implementation team members and Refuge System leadership will blog at America’sWildlife.org, where you can join Facebook and Twitter networks to keep pace. We will focus on Refuge System employees and implementation teams in an “In the Spotlight” feature online. We have launched an e–mail address—conservingthefuture@fws.gov—where you can send your reactions and ideas about implementation directly to Conserving the Future staff.
Thomas Jefferson famously extolled the marketplace of ideas. Today, that marketplace is often online. We welcome you to participate in the Conserving the Future marketplace: that is, http://AmericasWildlife.org.
