Successes, Challenges, and Lessons A variety of case studies and profiles are contained in this report. They are based on interviews with practitioners who were asked to reflect and talk candidly about successes, challenges, and lessons learned. Often, a successful local partnership becomes the forum for identifying, designing, and advancing more ambitious efforts to improve the environment, and strengthen the community and economy. A key element of trust-building appears to the be creation of a safe environment where opinions and honest differences can be shared without threat of reprisal or retaliation. Even well-managed processes frequently fail to gain the trust of individuals who cannot or chose not to participate due to geographic, language, cultural, or other barriers.
Many examples exist of watershed restoration, stewardship, and sustainable management initiatives.
In far fewer instances are the desired resource management practices encouraged or even driven by supportive economic development. Some of the most promising opportunities for making these connections lie in identifying and developing markets for sustainable products. Once markets have been identified and developed, they can serve as powerful incentives for businesses to work toward ecological and community goals. Addressing poverty and diversity. More and more, cultural, ethnic, and class diversity are also becoming part of the discussion, reflecting the increasingly varied population in the urban and rural Northwest and growing awareness of that fact.