Cascade Land Conservancy

The Cascade Dialogues are led by a Steering Committee involving engaged Community Leaders who will guide the Dialogues and craft the final prospectus, The Cascade Agenda, with staff support from Cascade Land Conservancy and CommEn Space. Following is an outline of the process leading to The Cascade Agenda. *Written Public Forums* were conducted to collect input and guidance through this web site and through media distributed questionnaires. *Town Hall Meetings* were convened last spring in each of four the counties. They began with the presentation of a map of the local landscape (developed in conjunction with CommEn Space) that showed the areas currently conserved and those that could be. The discussion addressed conservation tools that are appropriate to the surrounding community. Members of the Steering Committee, participants in the upcoming panel discussions and local community leaders attended Town Hall meetings to hear directly from citizens. This face-to-face conversation among a cross-section of the community will addressed the following questions: What do we want to look like as a community 100 years from now? What are the important community values of this landscape? How can the conservation of our key landscapes serve our economy and how can our economy conserve our key landscapes? What landscapes and natural areas are most cherished by our community (i.e., a park within walking distance of every urban neighborhood, a flourishing working forest with sound stewardship, etc.)? How do we conserve and care for these lands in a way consistent with the community’s values? How do we know when we’ve achieved this vision?
*Insight Panel Discussions* follwed the Town Hall Meetings. The Insight Panels and provided an opportunity for leading citizens from the civic, business, governmental and academic worlds to respond to the outcomes of the Town Halls based upon their areas of expertise. Panels were held in each county during the spring. Charley Royer, former Mayor of Seattle, moderated the panel discussions together with local leaders. Through the *Cascade Agenda*, the Cascade Dialogues will set forth a strategy for how the conservation and stewardship of our landscape will define the spaces around which our communities will grow and prosper. The Cascade Agenda, will be drafted by the Steering Committee, informed by the Town Halls and Insight Panels. The Cascade Agenda will be a narrative and visual articulation of the most treasured features of our communities and region. The Agenda will guide Cascade Land Conservancy’s actions and encourage the region to conserve and care for a landscape that can sustain us for the next century. It will:
Articulate a vision of what we want our region to look like over the next 100 years. Describe how we choose to reach this vision. Set out benchmarks that will demonstrate we are achieving this vision, and offer an opportunity for us to adjust our strategies to address changing challenges.