Enhancing local governance through community‐based conservation: lessons learned from a Utah local working group

Abstract

AbstractBecause home ranges for many sensitive wildlife species often transcend jurisdictions, species conservation requires collaborative efforts to engage multiple stakeholders. The West Box Elder County Coordinated Resource Management (CRM) in northwestern Utah initially organized as a greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) local working group (LWG), evolved through a CRM process, to enhance local governance across jurisdictional boundaries by engaging a wider range of public and private partners in species conservation and community development. By completing landscape scale management and development projects, the CRM has benefitted wildlife and local ranchers and contributed to enhancing the social and economic well‐being of rural residents in the county. In 2019, to identify the operational mechanisms of governance that enabled the CRM to achieve long‐term sustainability while meeting community and species conservation needs, we interviewed 17 key stakeholders (8 private, 6 state, and 3 federal) who had been involved in both the LWG and CRM since their inception. Each interview addressed the CRM's origin, support and synergy, administration, communications, outcomes, and improvements. Qualitative analysis of responses revealed that 1) participation by representatives of federal and state government agencies was paramount for funding and program structure, 2) landowner involvement was necessary for long‐term stability and persistence, 3) intergroup communication has improved, and 4) trust of local landowners between state and federal agencies has been enhanced. However, respondents were concerned that the CRM governance process should be re‐evaluated periodically to mitigate stakeholder burnout and group cohesion deterioration. The re‐evaluation could help temper unrealistic expectations relative to sustaining momentum the CRM has achieved over the last decade and establish new goals to better address current conservation issues. Our results may be applicable by other rural communities who desire enhanced local governance to identify and address emerging community development needs and species conservation.