"You, the regional managers, play a crucial role in achieving the successful long-term conservation of biological diversity that the California Biodiversity Council advocates," Douglas P. Wheeler, California's secretary for resources and council chair, told the gathering. "It is essential for us to communicate effectively with one another.
"The regional managers forum is an evolving process that we intend to cultivate so that it provides the kind of exchange that will be to the benefit of managers, agency heads, community leaders, and the public," Wheeler said.
The forum in Redding attracted about 40 managers from the California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Bureau of Land Management, State Coastal Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service, as well as several county supervisors.
"It gave us a chance to meet with our peers from other agencies, understand their struggles, see the bigger picture, and expand good working relationships," said Rich Elliott, regional manager for the California Department of Fish and Game in eight northern counties.
"We don't need a group hug. We need an agenda for discussion that brings resolution. We can talk about our problems all day, and we'll feel better, but we need to focus on resolving them, so we don't go home without a solution," Elliott said.
Duane Lyon, the U.S. Forest Service's bioregional coordinator for Shasta-Trinity National Forest, said the forum gives managers a chance to learn from each other's experiences because everyone's program is different.
"The forum gave regional managers an opportunity to realize the level of commitment by agency heads and elected officials to the memorandum of understanding on biodiversity," Lyon said.
"We have a constant tug of war in determining priorities for spending our time, and this (forum) is one way of reinforcing the priorities."
The council established the regional managers forum to convey its mission of promoting biodiversity conservation strategies, support managers' work, and provide an arena for open discussion of problems and sharing of ideas and solutions.
The council expects to hold similar forums for regional managers in other regions of the state with more emphasis on discussion among managers.