For the last 10 years, SECAS has presented a symposium in conjunction with the annual conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA). Generally, this has been an opportunity for SECAS to showcase its recent accomplishments and to gain insights and feedback from symposium attendees regarding future directions. However, the 2024 symposium on December 11th in Augusta, GA, Building the Southeast Landscape of the Future Together, departed from the typical focus on deep dives into the Southeast Conservation Blueprint and the SECAS Goal Report, and instead emphasized a related effort, the Southeast Landscape of the Future, to build on the success, agreement, and commitment to collaboration and collective action that emerged from the February 2024 Southeast Landscape of the Future Summit.

Among the key outcomes of the 2024 Southeast Summit was recognition that to be effective in addressing our conservation challenges, society must move from transactional practices toward transformational approaches. Success also requires participation from other sectors essential to defining the landscape of the future, including energy, transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture. These outcomes provided the framework and approach for the SECAS symposium and resulted in an engaging and enlightening session for both participants and attendees.

Format
The symposium on December 11, 2024 led off with an overview presentation of recent SECAS accomplishments from Hilary Morris, SECAS Blueprint User Support and Communications Specialist. The update included discussion of the status of ecosystem condition indicators for the 2024 SECAS Goal Report and recent improvements in indicators and prioritization methods for the Southeast Conservation Blueprint.

Lightning Talks
Following the SECAS overview, a series of lightning talks from a diverse panel of Southeast conservation leaders and practitioners featured their own experiences with collaborative approaches to conservation as well as potential challenges to advancing broader application of landscape scale efforts. The stellar panel listed below addressed some approaches to cross-boundary collaboration that have been successful, and other approaches that perhaps are not working to provide insights into potential opportunities and obstacles for advancing landscape scale conservation.

• Katherine Smith, Regional Administrator, Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center
• Gordon Myers, Landscape Conservation Coordinator, Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies,
• Laurel Barnhill, Head of Staff, Southeast Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
• Daniel McInnis, Forest Stewardship Coordinator, Southern Region U.S. Forst Service
• Mike LaVoie, Natural Resources Director, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
• Todd Ewing, Coordinator, Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership

Network Analysis
Continuing the theme of collaboration following the lightning talks, the symposium featured an in-depth presentation on using social network analysis to define and build future conservation strategies. Dr. Jenny Lawlor of Visible Network Labs and Dr. Patrick Bixler of Univ. Texas at Austin detailed an approach for using network science and existing data from SECAS and Keeping Forests to illuminate the themes of purpose, membership, and leadership-governance to advance a value proposition for the Southeast Landscape of the Future. The presentation covered identification of priority issues, outcomes of relationships, and key insights for structuring stakeholder engagement based on data from previous SECAS and Keeping Forests network analyses. The presentation also provided consideration for what might come next in the evolution of the Southeast Landscape of the Future as a collaborative effort, with potential organization across a central planning team, working groups based on categories of resource conservation and geography, or an advisory committee of highly trusted and valuable network members.

Breakout Discussion
The network analysis presentation set the stage for a broader discussion among presenters, facilitators, and attendees at the symposium. Although overall symposium attendance was less than in previous years, attendees were thoroughly engaged in the discussion, offering perspectives on the Southeast Landscape of the Future’s relationship to and differentiation from other landscape conservation partnerships, and how the effort might effectively move forward. Participants also discussed the need for a conservation network to “ebb and flow” among different elements of its existence, focusing variably on sharing information, developing solutions, and scaling implementation.

Specific examples of coordination among different sectors were provided by the FL Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission which coordinates regularly with other sectors in the state influential in altering the landscape, including departments of commerce, transportation, agriculture, military affairs, etc. At a state level, this example shows the value of coordinating across diverse economic sectors and provides a model for natural resources agencies to have a “seat at the table” in planning discussions among government entities involved in landscape change. Georgia Botanical Society has a similar framework for engaging with utilities, for particular emphasis on energy corridors and plant communities. Likewise, the South Carolina Lowcountry Sentinel Landscape discussed partnership leadership charge and intent, and influences on organizational purpose, membership, and ultimately, funding for creating a durable leadership framework. Overall, the discussion yielded insights into how networks can provide stability and resilience to collaborative efforts facing organizational, political, and financial headwinds.

Main Takeaways from the Symposium
Several topical themes and recommendations emerged from the symposium, including:

• Various networks can have different, yet connecting, purposes. What should be the specific purpose of the Southeast Landscape of the Future and its connecting networks? Part of the emphasis should be on priority alignment for resource allocation.
• Is there an umbrella purpose for the Southeast Landscape of the Future to help navigate changes across a broader network and smooth the ebb and flow of attention among participants and sectors?
• One primary purpose should emphasize the role of convener to use a structured foundation moving between the different needs across sectors and geographies over a regional scale.
• Emphasizing the value of processes to create buy-in and commitment will be more likely to sustain a functional network.
• Use a process early in network formation to connect specifically to energy and transportation sectors. Leverage individual relationships and contacts to create engagement among these unconnected sectors.
• Consider bringing together diverse sectors and focus on determining the “priority of the priorities.”
• Recognize existing entities’ successes and accomplishments and avoid duplicating the good work of others.

Summary
Overall, Building the Southeast Landscape of the Future Together met its objectives of providing diverse perspectives in consideration of moving collaboratively toward transformational approaches to conservation involving broad sectors driving landscape change. Moreover, the symposium was effective in strengthening relationships among fish and wildlife and other natural resource conservation communities, gaining perspectives on critical issues and informing the intersections of priorities, encouraging commitment to an expanded community of collaborators, and identifying additional steps in building a regional framework for collaboration across sectors. The symposium organizers look forward to continuing the dialogue and communicating accomplishments as the efforts toward expanding networks for conservation success continue.