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Northeast Conservation Leadership Program​

​The Northeast region of the United States faces numerous conservation challenges, including development, habitat fragmentation, sea-level rise, and invasive species. These issues are particularly complex due to the region's diverse landscapes, from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Coast. The Northeast Conservation Leadership Program provides conservation professionals with an extraordinary leadership learning experience. The knowledge gained will help graduates better address emerging conservation issues across the region. 
​Conservation professionals from the Northeast participating in the program will:
  • Become more effective leaders in conservation
  • Discover new ways to handle conflict
  • Understand the value of emotional intelligence
  • Develop new approaches to accept and deliver change
  • Develop a network of support within the conservation community of the Northeast Region

​​Training includes:
  • 7-Day residency at National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV, October 5 - 11, 2025
  • 4-Day residency at Hudson Farm, Andover, NJ, March 10-13, 2026
The Cohort Make-up Mix:
  • 24 Conservation Professionals from the Northeast states and Canadian provinces.
    • 13 from state agencies within the NEAFWA region
    • 11 from from a mix of non-governmental organizations, Canadian provincial agencies, federal agencies, Tribal Nations and organizations, and industry
Tuition:
  • ​$6,000 incl. Tuition, Lodging, and Meals
​Curriculum
  • Adaptive Leadership
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Dealing with Change
  • Orchestrating Conflict
  • Team Building
​Format
  • Pre-residency work: required reading assignment
  • Two residencies (approx. 1-week each) over a 5-month period
  • Periodic conference calls between residences & group project

TIMELINE

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HOW TO APPLY:

Applications are accepted March 1 through May 16, 2025, for Cohort 1 of the Northeast Conservation Leadership Program (NECLP).

INFORMATION SESSION:

Join us March 25th @ 10 am to learn more about the process and the program.  Registration is required.

PURPOSE

There is a need to build our leadership capacity within the conservation community.  Wildlife and natural habitats in the Northeast are under increasing pressure from expanding development, sea-level rise, habitat fragmentation, emerging diseases, and other anthropogenic influences. When technical fixes alone cannot alleviate threats to conservation, adaptive problem solving becomes a key component to finding solutions. It is especially important to understand the complexities of the human element in conservation planning, management, and success. States across the Northeast have a history of collaborating to tackle complex conservation challenges. This program will bring together a diverse group of conservation professionals from across the region to learn how adaptive leadership approaches can enhance wildlife and habitat management .

VISION

Elevate conservation across the Northeast by building extraordinary leadership within our conservation community. By providing our conservation and wildlife professionals with adaptive leadership skills through a high-trust, shared learning experience, we will develop a network of highly effective individuals capable of magnifying agency and organizational outputs into exceptional collective accomplishments.
​The Northeast Conservation Leadership Program was developed collaboratively with the following partners:
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