Using practitioner knowledge to expand the toolbox for private lands conservation

Private lands provide important habitat for biodiversity and are critical to many conservation efforts. With increasing awareness of the importance of private lands, a broad suite of strategies to engage landowners in conservation is emerging. The success of these strategies is contingent on a skilled workforce of conservation practitioners that can scale-up these efforts and meet both ecological and livelihood objectives. Although professional capacity building is an acknowledged priority in the conservation community, the knowledge and experience of conservation practitioners (e.g., individuals working at land trusts and government agencies) has not been widely assessed. Here, we surveyed practitioners in the United States to gauge their familiarity with seven approaches to private lands conservation in different landscape contexts. Most practitioners were familiar with only two conservation tools, conservation easements and direct payment programs (e.g., Farm Bill programs), and familiarity varied among different types of organizations. Although these tools were perceived to restrict residential development and restore habitat, respectively, they had limited reported impact on climate change mitigation or relevance to urban areas. Widespread reliance on just two tools also raises important questions about the vulnerability of private lands conservation efforts to political and institutional changes and the ability to meet multiple conservation objectives in a world undergoing rapid climate and land use change. We argue for targeted efforts to enhance the professional capacity of conservation practitioners to expand the toolbox and achieve multiple conservation goals on diverse private lands.