20 Years: Time to Reflect and Reset

Creating a More Sustainable Future in the West

The Sonoran Institute began 20 years ago with the idea to bring to communities in western North America an approach to conservation being used successfully in the developing world. This approach, pioneered by World Wildlife Fund and other international conservation groups, is based on the conviction that effective and enduring conservation requires building positive relationships with the people who live next door.

When we established the Institute in 1990, community-based collaborative conservation was still a fairly novel idea in the West. Although there were notable exceptions, environmental groups here still very much relied on the "legislate and litigate" model of conservation. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, I am proud to see that the approaches we helped pioneer have blossomed, and that almost everyone, conservation groups and public land managers alike, now embrace the importance of listening to neighbors, building strong relationships, and getting local people involved in creating solutions for their communities.

Until 2007, much of the focus in the West was about growth and housing development. As the population across the West skyrocketed and our economy became increasingly dependent on real estate development, there was a steady march to turn our ranches, open spaces, and wildlife habitat into subdivisions and ranchettes. The subsequent real estate collapse has been painful, leaving many of these developments as bare as the county coffers needed to support them. It is hard to underestimate the economic, ecological, and social costs of this boom and bust cycle.

The silver lining in the Great Recession and building bust is the opportunity it offers us to reflect, reset, and create a more sustainable future. Through the years, we've helped dispel the mythology that protecting the environment comes at the expense of jobs. Today, we are seeing a merger of conservation and economic development strategies happening in the West, with many more communities realizing that conservation and smart growth are important for their economic prosperity. By helping local governments plan and zone more effectively, promote transit, and protect working ranches, we can help them avoid the mistakes of the past and position themselves for a new economy based on knowledge and technology, rather than just building houses.

Preserving what is special about the West - our open space, wildlife, scenery, and vibrant, walkable downtowns - not only protects our quality of life but also attracts the human talent needed to build this new economy and bring prosperity back to our communities. This is our vision for a sustainable future in the West, and we look forward to working with you and our neighbors to help shape it.

Sincerely,

Executive Director