Confluence 2026: May 19-21, Fort Collins, CO
Photo: People gathered for a field trip at Confluence 2024. Photo by Eleanore Mearns
Confluence is a bi-annual gathering of collaborative conservation practitioners across the Western United States. Hosted by the Western Collaborative Conservation Network (WCCN) through the Center for Collaborative Conservation (CCC) at Colorado State University (CSU), it brings together students, emerging leaders, and seasoned professionals to build skills, share knowledge, and build the relationships necessary to address complex social and environmental challenges. This year’s gathering is scheduled May 19-21 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. The focus will be on The Future of Collaboration: The Power of Working Across Divides.
The NMFWRI is a long-time partner to the WCCN and continues to play an active role in supporting the network and event. Program staff are engaged across working groups, planning efforts, research projects, and collaborative initiatives that support the network and practitioners across the region.
The NMFWRI Collaboration Program will also lead a Skill Building session, NM Collaboration Hub: A Collaborative Response to Needs. The session will provide a brief overview of the NM Collaboration Hub and use it as an example of how the program responded to needs identified by collaboratives related to resource access, coordination, and communication. Building on this, the session will reflect the collaborative process used to create the Hub and break out into region-specific discussion groups to strengthen the shared understanding of local challenges and facilitate the networks necessary to address them.
NMFWRI Director, Dr. Alan Barton will also lead a session on how collaboratives can benefit from coordinating and networking across topical boundaries to share resources, build capacity, and more effectively address gaps in their work.
We are proud to support Confluence 2026 and its mission to explore the Future of Collaboration. Staff look forward to network with colleagues across the West, strengthening their skills to further collaboration in New Mexico, and contribute to facilitating the relationships necessary to address complex social and environmental challenges.
For more information or to register, please visit the Confluence web page: Here
We hope to see you there and invite you to join our sessions!