Restoring the Vistas and Gems in the Tallgrass Prairie and Big Rivers Landscape Conservation Cooperative

The Eastern Tallgrass Prairie and Big Rivers Landscape Conservation Cooperative (ETPBR LCC) is facing the conservation challenges of protecting natural resources in a heavily modified and fragmented region stretching across the nation’s heartland. Highly productive soils support competing economic and social interests including agricultural crops, grazing, manufacturing, renewable energy, growing metropolises and struggling small towns—and potentially rich biological resources. This midsection of several continental rivers carries the load of sedimentation, channelization and flooding, affecting ecosystem services from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico, calling for an integrated agroecology approach. While the highway view suggests corn and beans from one end to the other, the region is not homogenous. Precipitation, water laws, migration routes, human population density, and agricultural commodities differ across the region. Four Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) convene researchers, managers and stakeholders to identify change agents to elevate front-line concerns for creative solutions at key leverage points. A collective impact approach consists of a common agenda, shared measurement, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and a backbone organization. The LCC is currently focused on improving prairie reconstruction techniques, identifying wildlife conservation practices that reduce Gulf hypoxia, identifying floodplain connectivity opportunities, and connecting urban conservation programs across the region.