A look at several case studies from conservation practitioners and ornithological social scientists to highlight six core principles of translational ecology - an intentional approach in which researchers and practitioners from multiple disciplines collaborate on conservation management. The authors demonstrate how implementing collaboration, engagement, communication, commitment, process, and decision-framing can lead to improved conservation decision-making and delivery of outcomes applicable to specific management decisions.

The Cross Watershed Network (XWN) began as a regional network that connected watershed practitioners (practitioners) across watersheds in the Southwest U.S. through information sharing, collective capacity building, and collaboration. Members of the XWN Steering Committee wrote this case study to provide “lessons learned” for others who are setting up and implementing communities of practice and peer- learning networks.

This white paper was written by the Western Collaborative Conservation Network's Public Policy Working Group: Jessica Western and Heather Johnson.

      Local Southwest Utah Partnership Engages Youth to Mitigate Flood Damage, Control Invasive Species, and Restore Native Habitat   Wesley Pickett1*, Ian Torrence2, Aaron Wilson3   1American Conservation Experience, Hurricane, UT, USA; wpickett@usaconservation.org 2American Conservation Experience, Flagsta
    Watershed Management Group’s River Run Network   Trevor Hare*1, Lisa Shipek2, Catlow Shipek3   1River Restoration Biologist, Watershed Management Group, Tucson, Arizona USA; thare@watershedmg.org; 520 906-9854 2Executive Director, Watershed Management Group, Tucson, Arizona, USA 3Polic