2015 Quivira Conference, Betsy Neeley

2015 Quivira Conference, Betsy Neeley
Produced by LivingWebFilms.com

Betsy leads both regional and statewide conservation assessments and initiatives for The Nature Conservancy. She works with the Southwest Climate Change Initiative (SWCCI) to provide information and tools to conservation practitioners on climate adaptation in vulnerable landscapes across the Four Corner states. She coordinated the Gunnison Basin Climate Change Adaptation Workshop for Natural Resource Managers and leads the Gunnison Basin landscape adaptation project, a group of public and private partners that seeks to increase understanding of the threat posed by climate change to species and ecosystems, identify priority climate adaptation strategies, and promote the coordinated implementation. She is facilitating a basin-wide comprehensive vulnerability assessment, developing adaptation strategies, and will identify/design an on-the-ground adaptation demonstration project in the Gunnison Basin. With the SWCCI and the Conservancy's Climate Change Adaptation Program, she also facilitated a workshop and co-authored a resulting report entitled Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments: Lessons Learned from Practical Experience.

Quivira Conference, Nov 2015, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Plentiful, ample, bountiful, generous, fertile, rich, replete--these are words that describe both the attitude and the goals of the next wave of agrarians. A social movement is like an ocean wave. It arises at a certain period of time, gathers strength, grows and works toward a defined goal, becoming an effective agent of change for a while. Eventually, a new wave with fresh ideas and energy heads toward shore, building on the earlier wave's success. Today, the goal is to put the now large and diverse regenerative toolbox to work cultivating abundance for all. In this conference, we will hear from ranchers, farmers, scientists, activists and others who are leading this next wave. We'll look down the road with them and share their thoughts on how to flourish amidst the emerging conditions and challenges of the twenty-first century.