Midwest
Natural Resources Group
Working with Corporate Entities to Achieve Wetlands Restoration
Presenters:
- Robert Krska, US FWS: Discuss Wetland Subcommittee work of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration
- John Perrecone, US EPA: Discuss how to engage the private sector to help achieve wetland gains in the Midwest
- David Brakhage, Ducks Unlimited: Report from a partner on how they achieve wetland gains in Michigan with public and private partners
Purpose of Session:
- Present why agencies and corporations are interested in partnering to promote wetland restoration;
- Empower MNRG senior managers to become “ambassadors” to corporate entities to encourage them to participate with federal agencies to achieve wetland gains;
- Discuss a number of options on how to secure corporate involvement;
- Present one approach (Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership—a program from Coastal America) that can be implemented to support the wetland goals of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration;
- Present structure to implement corporate involvement that allows agencies to achieve their respective wetland restoration goals.
- Enlist audience members to use their contacts to identify either additional projects or corporate sponsors, and
- Highlight a project that is currently being funded via corporate involvement with a non-governmental organization (Ducks Unlimited).
Desired Outcomes:
- Establish a dialogue with corporate entities to determine how this work can proceed;
- MNRG members understand the infrastructure in place that allows us to work with corporate partners to achieve wetland gains;
- MNRG agencies devote resources and/or funds that allows corporate partners to work with us;
- Agencies agree to work together to create MI chapter of CWRP, and
- Strategic planning session that can lead to MI chapter occurs in MI within three months.
Key Questions:
- What are the benefits to the corporate involvement in general and CWRP in particular approach?
- What are the drawbacks?
- Can it be implemented in MI? Should it be modified to make it more successful? What are your suggestions? What other states would be prime for this kind of partnership?
- Do you have any projects that you think would be prime for CWRP or other corporate involvement? Do you have working knowledge of corporate involvement that can help?
- How do we communicate your on the ground knowledge to our senior managers so they can become better ambassadors of this program?