[PCA] Meeting follow-up

[Rob Fiegener]

Dear Plant Conservation Allies:

 

Thank you for a great meeting in St. Louis last week.  I enjoyed meeting
many of you and learning about this alliance we're all part of.  Many thanks
to the people from the Center for Plant Conservation for organizing and
hosting the event.  I would like to share a few of my impressions from the
meeting, and invite discussion.  

 

My overriding impression is that PCA represents an opportunity.  PCA is
about a coordinated national approach to plant conservation, yet it appears
that the majority of PCA cooperators go about their work independently,
without reference to or awareness of the national framework represented by
the PCA.  

 

PCA is exceptionally well poised to be an effective force, with very
significant building blocks already in place:

 - the National Framework for Progress, with clearly identified strategies
and goals, and 240+ non-governmental signatories 

 - the Federal Native Plant Conservation MOU, with 10 federal agency
signatories 

 - One paid staff position

 

What does PCA require?  In my opinion, the development of a community.  PCA
does not have a strong identity that its cooperators associate with.  While
we all believe in and support the objectives of PCA, PCA itself does not
figure prominently or explicitly in the work we do.  Cooperators are
effectively working towards the goals outlined in the PCA Framework, but
without awareness of the greater context in which our work is happening.  

 

It appears that forging a stronger Alliance offers two principal benefits:

 (1) more effective, synergistic conservation work

     and

 (2) a strong voice that can be a powerful advocate for native plants and
plant conservation.  

 

I heard excellent suggestions for building the profile of PCA and developing
into an organization that members identify with, think of, and contribute
to.  Among the suggestions were more frequent communications (list-serv,
publications), workshops and meetings (annually), and recognition of
cooperators with awards.  

 

Finally, it occurs to me that the greatest threat to the success of PCA is
inactivity.  The meeting in St. Louis has provided an infusion of energy
into PCA; it is now our responsibility to carry it forward, if we find it
worthwhile.

 

 

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~ 
Rob Fiegener 

Native Seed Network 

Institute for Applied Ecology
541.753.3099
rob at nativeseednetwork.org 
www.nativeseednetwork.org <http://www.nativeseednetwork.org/> 

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