[PCA] Meeting follow-up

[houseal]

Rob, all,

I was only able to attend on Tuesday, but I think your summary comments  
are helpful.   I had much the same impression of the meeting, tho my  
familiarity/understanding of PCA's goals is much less clear than yours.  
  Discussions were wide ranging, perhaps necessarily so.  Some issues  
(and solutions) have to be formulated on a more local (regional?)  
basis, and perhaps regional PCA committees can be a useful vehicle for  
that.

Nothing stimulates tinkering and productivity like economic  
opportunity, and finding/stimulating markets for native seed is  
crucial.  The major markets for native seed are government  
programs/agencies, so influencing policies at those levels (federal,  
state, county) would be effective.  Again, I thing other markets open  
up as seed/plant materials become more commonplace and affordable.  The  
Arbor Day Foundation trots at celebrities to promote tree planting  
(plant a tree, save the planet, ugh...please understand, I'm from the  
prairie biome where we battle tree/brush encroachment on the last of  
the tallgrass prairie remnants!).  Does PCA have a budget for  
thoughtful promotion of native vegetation/awareness of invasive species  
on a national level?

Just some thoughts...

Greg

Greg Houseal,
Program Manager, Iowa Ecotype Project
Native Roadside Vegetation Center
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0294  U.S.A.
FAX 319.268.0668  PH. 319.273.3005


On Nov 14, 2005, at 8:02 PM, Rob Fiegener wrote:

> 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
>
> _______________________________________________
> native-plants mailing list
> native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
> http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/native- 
> plants_lists.plantconservation.org
>
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