Success Stories

President Theodore Roosevelt planted the seeds of landscape-scale conservation more than a century ago. He convened the White House Conference on Conservation in 1908, and he called for a bureau to manage the nation's parks. They established the National Park Service eight years later. During its first century, the number of new parks grew. The types of parks expanded, too, including monuments, rivers, and battlegrounds. Managing these park lands became much more complex.

Park managers could see that resources in parks were connected to neighbors and local communities. They initiated partnerships across regions, along rivers and trails, between cities and countryside. Others joined in the effort. Federal and state land management agencies took part in the conversation. Conservation groups and communities also got involved. They all recognized the importance of working at a landscape-scale. Partnering with others to conserve our shared heritage is more important than ever. The National Park Service is ready to work with your community to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

Here are some examples of how parks engage in connected conservation.