A coalition of Western lands advocates announced it has written Congress and the White House, urging them to “advance policies that encourage rural economic health and a productive agricultural sector, while simultaneously conserving natural resources and the landscapes in which Westerners live and work.”

The group of some 130 organizations led by the Santa Fe, N.M.-based Western Landowners Alliance enunciated six principles in its letter that should serve as the “cornerstone” of federal policies. Those principles include that  “large-scale resource planning be coordinated across boundaries, inclusive, place-based and informed by science,” and that “voluntary, market- and incentive-based programs” foster sound conservation practices.

The upshot of the principles – spelled out in the sixth principle – is that, “Hope for rural America lies in collaboration, common sense and non-partisan solutions that ensure sustainable working lands and diverse new economies.”

One of the takeaways for the federal government seems to be that it’s more productive to reach out to landowners on conservation and other resources issues – than to regulate or legislate them into submission. In other words, work together rather than lock horns.

Western Landowners Alliance Executive Director Lesli Allison is quoted in the coalition’s announcement:

“Often led by ranchers and farmers, place-based collaboration has evolved over the past several decades as a successful way to resolve long-standing conflicts over resource use. While there will always be issues on which we disagree, it is not the issues themselves that define our communities and our future, but the way in which we engage on them together.”

Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition and Partners for Conservation are jointly leading the initiative along with the alliance. Signing onto the letter are 130 diverse groups ranging from the American Forest Foundation to the Wyoming Grazing Board.