What we do
The High Five Working Group’s mission is supported by an Action Plan that was developed at the 2016 Crown Managers Partnership Annual Forum. The Action Plan set up six subcommittees to advance specific goals and objectives. Read more about the subcommittees and their progress to date. The broader role of the High Five Working Group is to:
COLLABORATE on and coordinate restoration protocols, tools, technology and resources across jurisdictional boundaries, wherever possible and beneficial
ACCOMPLISH our work through exchange of information, leveraging and sharing work capacity and resources where possible, and providing guidance for cost-efficient conservation and restoration of whitebark and limber pine
INCLUDE representation from all government and private jurisdictions and interested organizations, including federal, Tribal, First Nation, state, provincial, industrial, non-profit, and private within the region
PROMOTE the conservation and restoration of Crown of the Continent Ecosystem whitebark and limber pine to levels that will enable the persistence of these species
GUIDE our work by (a) identifying where whitebark and limber pine are in need of conservation and restoration, (b) identifying appropriate conservation and restoration actions, including climate change adaptation actions, (c) prioritizing restoration activities with respect to consensus-based guidelines, and (d) establishing consistent methods for monitoring of species’ condition and trends, and restoration activity outcomes.
The High Five Working Group acknowledges that accomplishment of its role and mission may require decades of persistent effort to ensure that whitebark pine and limber pine ecosystems remain important, functional components of the Crown of the Continent landscape.
WHO WE ARE
The Crown of the Continent High Five Working Group strives to maintain membership from the following general categories of land jurisdictions within the Crown: Tribes and First Nations, federal, state, and provincial agencies, and private, non-profit and industrial interests.
Membership in the High Five Working Group is open to all interested individuals, governments, agencies and organizations, and is secured when an entity agrees to add their name to the Working Group’s charter.
The High Five Working Group Leadership Team provides leadership in organizing meetings, communicating with group members, and ensuring forward progress on working group goals and objectives.
How We Got Started
The idea for the High Five Working Group emerged from the 2016 Crown Managers Partnership Annual Forum called “We Need the Needles: Coordinating Action to Conserve Five-Needle Pine in the Crown of the Continent,” held May 15-17, 2016 in Fernie, British Columbia. Eighty-seven people participated in the workshop, representing 43 different federal, provincial, state, municipal, tribal and First Nation governments, as well as conservation organizations, universities, industry and communities. All workshop presentations and a workshop summary can be found here.
After this workshop, a team of committed individuals worked to draft a charter and to propose a governance structure for the High Five Working Group.
The High Five Working Group was formally launched, and the charter was approved, at our inaugural meeting held September 15, 2016 in Whitefish, Montana. A summary of this meeting can be found here.