Community Conservation

What is Community Conservation?

Community Conservation is not a new concept, but it is a new endeavor for Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust. In recent years, our great state of Idaho has been experiencing intensified recreational pressure on our landscape. Despite this increased demand, not everyone can interact with nature and their local landscapes in the same ways. Community Conservation brings land protection principles to an urban setting – creating new and accessible opportunities for the community to experience the environment, connect with one another in spaces close to home, and engage in conservation efforts.

Community Conservation depends on the needs of individual communities. It is an approach to land conservation that incorporates the perspectives of all participants rather than a single landowner. By identifying where common interests and values intersect, it is possible to establish a shared identity around place. For example, in Pocatello, the Portneuf River represents such a place-based focal point for the community to establish a unique identity. As part of a collaborative with the Portneuf River Vision, the Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust constructed a Community Conservation Program. This is intended to support the education and community engagement components necessary to successfully implement the River Vision and restore Portneuf River health. Since its inception, this program has grown to encompass other Community Conservation projects, including Habitat Haven and the Artist in Residence Program.

Community Conservation seeks to support and provide quality of life benefits to everyone within and throughout the community by creating opportunities to connect with the natural world and one another. This is important because the positive impact of efforts such as the Portneuf River Vision go beyond providing access and recreation. A positive outcome of Community Conservation is an overall enrichment of experience among residents. This has a direct impact in supporting the social structure that makes Pocatello the beautiful and unique place that it is. Even the least ‘outdoorsy’ person benefits from a happy and united community.

The Community Conservation Program promotes a broad and permeating theme of connecting and protecting the places that Pocatellans care about. From trails, viewsheds, and walking paths, to river access, and restoring ecosystem function, our commitment is to engage directly with the community throughout the process of implementation. Just like a river ecosystem, we are stronger and more resilient through diversity. The idea of community-based conservation is more important than ever.

Pocatellans take pride in the beauty and recreation right here in our own backyard and have demonstrated that they are committed to preserving it –not just for themselves but for everyone. Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust is here to help encourage and deliver on that mission for a brighter Pocatello for us all.

Click on each image below to learn more about ongoing Community Conservation projects.