Facilitated Discussions

Refine the VISION DOCUMENT and recommendations

The focus of these sessions in Part 1 of the Facilitated Discussions will be on the vision document itself and its 24 recommendations, in addition to a forum for America’s Great Outdoors and the broader bold ideas and discussions that came up during the open comment period. The output from these discussions on Tuesday will refine the text of the vision document and recommendations for a final publication in September 2011.

These discussions will enable participants to talk about the new recommendations, any controversial issues regarding the recommendations and document, and any other outstanding issues. Tuesday’s discussions will be organized around ten topics that will be repeated three times.

Facilitated discussions on the vision document and recommendations within these TEN THEMES will happen three times on Tuesday:

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Join our LIVE CHATS today! Click on each THEME to participate!

Theme: America’s Great Outdoors

Preface where we set the stage to handle some of the bold ideas and comments and will use the vision process to implement Service tasks for America’s Great Outdoors (AGO). Engaging in an effort bigger than us.

Theme: Climate Change

Climate Change Plan – Recommendation 2: Develop a climate change implementation plan for the National Wildlife Refuge System that steps down from Service’s 2010 strategic plan and assesses the vulnerability of the System’s habitats and species to climate change as well as provides specific recommendations for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

Theme: Strategic Growth

Planning Lessons Learned – Recommendation 1: Incorporate the lessons learned from our first round of CCPs and HMPs into the next generation of conservation plans, and ensure these new plans view refuges in a landscape context and describe actions to project conservation benefits beyond refuge boundaries.

Status of NWRS Land Projects – Recommendation 3: Undertake a rapid top-to-bottom assessment of the status of all Refuge System land acquisition projects and report on priorities. This report will inform development of a plan for the strategic, future growth of the Refuge

Acquisition Priority System – Recommendation 4: Ensure future land acquisitions are based on clear priorities and rigorous biological planning and conservation design that support achieving quantifiable conservation and population objectives.

Leveraging Programs - Recommendation 5: Use all of the Service’s conservation tools, especially Partners for Fish and Wildlife, to work nationwide to project conservation benefits beyond refuge boundaries, leveraging resources through partnerships with other governmental agencies, conservation groups and private landowners and achieving mutually shared and scientifically sound restoration and protection goals around refuges.

Theme: Science

Adaptive Management – Recommendation 6: Provide each refuge with access to all the necessary resources to fully implement the principles of adaptive management for all aspects of the Refuge System.

Inventory & Monitoring- Recommendation 7: Institutionalize a purpose-driven, nationally coordinated effort to inventory and monitor wildlife and habitats to provide baseline information that informs planning and management decisions; and develop a state-of-the-art data management system that can be integrated with the broader scientific community and key partners.

Status & Trends Report – Recommendation 8: Create a new, quadrennial report on the state of the Refuge System starting in 2015, as part of an effort to report on the status and trends of wildlife and habitat in the System and ensure that all data gathered are easily accessible and shared widely among the Service, the scientific community and the public.

Research Agenda – Recommendation 9: Develop and clearly articulate a research agenda for the Refuge System that is management-oriented and grounded in the testing of assumptions, with the explicit purpose of reducing uncertainty in our planning and management decisions.

Scientific Community – Recommendation 10: Become a major contributor to the scientific community by sharing information and data; publishing scientific findings; participating in professional societies; and engaging with local, regional and national organizations and communities to solve conservation problems.

Theme: Friends/Volunteers

Friends – Recommendation 11: Develop and nurture community partnerships so every refuge or refuge complex has a friends group.

Volunteers – Recommendation 12: Develop a national strategy for coordinating a more self-managing volunteer corps, providing new opportunities for expansion and involvement.

Theme: Urban Wildlife Refuges

Urban Wildlife Refuges- Recommendation 13: Create an urban refuge initiative that defines and evaluates elements of excellence in our existing urban refuges, establishes the framework for creating new urban refuge partnership opportunities, and implements a refuge presence in 10 demographically and geographically varied cities across America by 2015.

Theme: Communication

Communications Strategy – Recommendation 14: Develop a comprehensive communications strategy that strives to promote the Service’s mission; report the many accomplishments of the Refuge System and how these accomplishments relate to people; and ensures a positive, professional and consistent image for refuges.

Technology Strategies – Recommendation 15: Develop an integrated strategy for using web-based and other emerging technologies to store and share data, communicate within the System, and inform and engage visitors and the public.

Theme: The Policy Piece

Law Enforcement Reforms – Recommendation 16: Conduct a new, independent analysis of refuge law enforcement to measure progress and identify needed improvements.

Hunting & Fishing – Recommendation 17: The Service will conduct a review of its current hunting and fishing opportunities, especially opportunities currently offered for youth and people with disabilities. Based on this review, the Service will work cooperatively with state fish and wildlife agencies to prepare a strategy for increasing quality hunting and fishing opportunities on national wildlife refuges.

Appropriate Use – Recommendation 18: Support and enhance appropriate recreation opportunities on national wildlife refuges by partnering with state fish and wildlife agencies, other governmental bodies, conservation organizations and businesses; and by updating relevant policies and infrastructure.

Theme: Increasing the Constituency

Interpretation – Recommendation 19: Develop an interpretation strategy that builds upon current FWS standards and guidelines, takes advantage of multiple modes of delivering messages, reaches diverse audiences, and measures the effectiveness of our programs in partnership with key government agencies, the National Association for Interpretation and other professional organizations.

Environmental Education- Recommendation 20: Develop an environmental education strategy that inventories existing efforts, identifies priorities for investment of staff and funds, and outlines basic standards for all refuges.

Theme: Leadership

Organizational Efficiencies – Recommendation 21: Assemble an evaluation team consisting of Service and Refuge System leaders to report to the Service Directorate on opportunities for organizational realignments or programmatic efficiencies.

Recruitment & Retention – Recommendation 22: Recruit and retain a workforce that reflects the ethnic, age, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds and language diversity of contemporary America within the next 10 years, resulting in a workforce in the System’s main occupation series that matches the representation of diversity in the civilian labor workforce.

Principles of Leadership – Recommendation 23: Revisit Fulfilling the Promise and seek innovative ways to address the recommendations therein to reinvigorate our commitment to leadership development.

Preparing the Workforce – Recommendation 24: Develop and mentor Refuge System employees so they are fully equipped to accept the responsibilities of leadership at all levels in the Service.

Brainstorm IMPLEMENTATION Strategies
FIRST SET of Facilitated Discussions

The topics of these sessions will be solely on developing implementation strategies for individual recommendations. The work done in the discussions on both Wednesday and Thursday will be used in building the framework and plan for implementation after the conference.

Wednesday, 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Hall of Ideas E – America’s Great Outdoors (AGO)
Hall of Ideas F – Recommendation 2 – Climate Change Plan
Hall of Ideas G – Recommendation 11 – Friends
Hall of Ideas H – Recommendation 16 – Law Enforcement Reforms
Hall of Ideas I – Recommendation 1 – Planning Lessons Learned
Hall of Ideas J – Recommendation 13 – Urban Wildlife Refuges
Meeting Room K & L – Recommendation 17 – Hunting & Fishing
Meeting Room M & N – Recommendation 6 – Adaptive Management
Meeting Room O & P – Recommendation 15 – Technology Strategies
Meeting Room Q & R – Recommendation 3 – Status of NWRS Land Project

Wednesday, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Hall of Ideas E – Youth Challenge Project (Youth attendees summit)
Hall of Ideas F – Recommendation 18 – Appropriate Use
Hall of Ideas G – Recommendation 12 – Volunteers
Hall of Ideas H – Recommendation 21 – Organizational Efficiencies
Hall of Ideas I – Recommendation 5 – Leveraging Programs
Hall of Ideas J – Recommendation 14 – Communication Strategies
Meeting Room K & L – Recommendation 22 – Recruitment & Retention
Meeting Room M & N – Recommendation 8 – Status & Trends Report
Meeting Room O & P – Recommendation 19 – Interpretation
Meeting Room Q & R – Recommendation 10 – Scientific Community

Wednesday, 2:15 pm – 3:15 pm

Hall of Ideas E – Recommendation 4 – Acquisition Priority System
Hall of Ideas F – Recommendation 7 – Inventory & Monitoring
Hall of Ideas G – Recommendation 11 – Friends
Hall of Ideas H – Recommendation 24 – Preparing the Workforce
Hall of Ideas I – Recommendation 9 – Research Agenda
Hall of Ideas J – Recommendation 20 – Environmental Education
Meeting Room K & L – Recommendation 23 – Principles of Leadership
Meeting Room M & N – Recommendation 2 – Climate Change Plan
Meeting Room O & P – Recommendation 13 – Urban Wildlife Refuges
Meeting Room Q & R – Recommendation 18 – Appropriate Use

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Brainstorm IMPLEMENTATION Strategies
SECOND SET of Facilitated Discussions

Wednesday, 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm

Hall of Ideas E- America’s Great Outdoors (AGO)
Hall of Ideas F – Recommendation 2 – Climate Change Plan
Hall of Ideas G – Recommendation 11 – Friends
Hall of Ideas H – Recommendation 16 – Law Enforcement Reforms
Hall of Ideas I – Recommendation 1 – Planning Lessons Learned
Hall of Ideas J – Recommendation 13 – Urban Wildlife Refuges
Meeting Room K & L – Recommendation 17 – Hunting & Fishing
Meeting Room M & N – Recommendation 6 – Adaptive Management
Meeting Room O & P – Recommendation 15 – Technology Strategies
Meeting Room Q & R – Recommendation 3 – Status of NWRS Land Projects

Brainstorm IMPLEMENTATION Strategies
SECOND SET of Facilitated Discussions

The topics of these sessions will be solely on developing implementation strategies for individual recommendations. The work done in the discussions on both Wednesday and Thursday will be used in building the framework and plan for implementation after the conference.

Thursday, 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Hall of Ideas E – Recommendation 18 – Appropriate Use
Hall of Ideas F – Recommendation 4 – Acquisition Priority System
Hall of Ideas G – Recommendation 12 – Volunteers
Hall of Ideas H – Recommendation 21 – Organizational Efficiencies
Hall of Ideas I – Recommendation 5 – Leveraging Programs
Hall of Ideas J – Recommendation 14 – Communication Strategies
Meeting Room K & L – Recommendation 22 – Recruitment & Retention
Meeting Room M & N – Recommendation 8 – Status & Trends Report
Meeting Room O & P – Recommendation 19 – Interpretation
Meeting Room Q & R – Recommendation 10 – Scientific Community

Thursday, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Hall of Ideas E – Recommendation 23 – Principles of Leadership
Hall of Ideas F – Recommendation 7 – Inventory & Monitoring
Hall of Ideas G – Recommendation 24 – Preparing the Workforce
Hall of Ideas H – Recommendation 21 – Organizational Efficiencies
Hall of Ideas I – Recommendation 9 – Research Agenda
Hall of Ideas J – Recommendation 20 – Environmental Education
Meeting Room K & L – America’s Great Outdoors (AGO)
Meeting Room M & N – Recommendation 17 – Hunting & Fishing
Meeting Room O & P – Recommendation 14 – Volunteers
Meeting Room Q & R – Planning Lessons Learned