2026 Friends Summit - Resources
Presentations and Resources from the 2026 Friends Summit
Day 2
Ignoring the Noise: Leveraging Legal Mandates to Protect and Grow Conservation Uses on Public Lands
Nashoba Consulting, LLC (Natalie Landreth and Nada Culver)
While National Conservation Lands and other BLM-managed public lands, such as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, have generally been protected from uses in conflict with their ecological integrity and conservation values, we are seeing an aggressive and expansive attack to undermine their administrative protections.
Presenters will cover threats to public lands and conservation goals posed by recent policy shifts, administrative rollbacks, or expanded leasing efforts. This plenary session will then equip attendees to respond to these threats by providing an overview of the most commonly referenced legal mandates the BLM must follow when managing and making decisions about our public lands—and how the Friends Grassroots Network can effectively leverage them at every stage to ensure future opportunities for conservation protections.
Audience Takeaways: Learn how to utilize enduring legal mandates to craft policy campaigns that protect resources within the National Conservation Lands and all other BLM-managed public lands.
CLF Arts & Advocacy Panel
Jocelyn Catterson, Artist
Kim Garrison Means, Artist and Executive Director, Friends of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument
Sarah Berryman, Director of Conservation, Transitional Habitat Conservancy
Vogue Robinson, Artist and Poet.
(Moderated by Bertha Gutierrez, CLF Senior Program Director)
The Conservation Lands Foundation has invested in bringing the arts into land advocacy efforts across the West through the CLF Arts & Advocacy Program, a program born out of past experiences seeing campaigns enriched through collaborations with artists. All panelists have been recipients of CLF Arts & Advocacy funding. This plenary session will inspire the Friends Grassroots Network to bring new perspectives into their work and campaigns through arts projects, collaborations, and partnerships with artists.
Audience Takeaways: Inspiration for artist collaboration and arts inclusion in organizations’ programming and issue advocacy for public land protection and defense efforts. To beautify advocacy and make our causes irresistible.
Economic Roundtable 101
Jazzari Taylor, Policy Advocate, Latino Outdoors
Karin Jaffie, Marketing and Development Associate, Friends of the Desert Mountains
This interactive workshop equips participants with strategies to build relationships with businesses and design economic roundtables that connect business leaders with congressional and legislative offices. Grounded in real-world examples from gateway, desert, and mountain communities, the session explores the intersection of business and the recreation economy, emphasizing how to build relationships between businesses and community organizers. Participants will learn how to engage businesses through culturally competent outreach, including mixers and community-based events, and how to translate those relationships into effective roundtables that elevate shared priorities, strengthen cross-sector partnerships, and inform policy conversations that support public lands remaining in public hands.
Audience Takeaways: Participants will leave with a practical strategy to engage businesses through community-based outreach and design economic roundtables that connect business leaders with congressional and legislative offices to advance shared priorities around public lands.
Jazzari Taylor (jazzari@latinooutdoors.org)
Karin Jaffie (kjaffie@desertmountains.org)
CLF Policy Updates: Planning, Threats, and Looking Ahead
Kara Matsumoto, CLF Senior Policy Director
Jora Fogg, CLF Associate Public Lands Policy Director (CA)
Nick Mills, CLF Associate Public Lands Policy Director
In this session, we will walk through how BLM's resource management planning process works and why it matters for the future of BLM landscapes. We will then cover the threats we are currently seeing under this Administration, from mandates in the One Big Beautiful Bill to NEPA rollbacks to the Congressional Review Act. We will close by discussing the tools that continue to be at our disposal, including the legal and policy levers and campaign strategies that CLF and the Friends Grassroots Network are using to fight back.
Audience Takeaways: Through a presentation-style format and breakout session or open Q+A, participants will leave with a clearer picture of how BLM planning works, what's threatening it right now, and what legal, policy, and campaign tools are available to push back. Importantly, participants should leave feeling more empowered on how to put these tools to use in their landscapes.
Kara Matsumoto (kara@conservationlands.org)
Jora Fogg (jora@conservationlands.org)
Nick Mills (nick@conservationlands.org)
3 Keys to Resilient Fundraising in a Shifting Landscape
Stephanie Tanny, CEO, Kasih Initiative
Randall Navarro, Director of Grant Strategies, Kasih Initiative
Nicole Hubert,
Development Manager, Kasih Initiative
In an era of evolving environmental priorities and rapid technological change, this session provides a roadmap for organizations to move beyond "survival mode" and build long-term sustainability.
Audience Takeaways: Participants will learn how to adapt their fundraising and grant writing strategies, strengthen internal systems, and better leverage their team and connections in response to shifting funding conditions and the growing role of AI. This session offers a strategic roadmap for conservation nonprofits to move past "survival mode" and cultivate long-term organizational sustainability. Attendees will explore practical methods for evolving their development and grant-seeking approaches while optimizing internal operations and professional networks to navigate today's complex environment better.
Stephanie Tanny (stephanie@kasihinitiative.com)
Nicole Hubert (nicole@kasihinitiative.com)
Randall Navarro (randall@kasihinitiative.com)
Content That Connects: Digital Media Strategy for Conservation Advocates
Shevawn Bell, CLF Communications Director
Liz Crandall, CLF Digital Advocacy Associate Director
Jordan Marbury, Communications Manager, Friends of the Inyo
The best digital media strategy is one that meets your audience where they are…no matter your budget or staff. This session covers how to maintain an engaging social media presence by throwing out the one-size-fits-all approach and building something that actually works for your organization. We'll cover easy ways to get your staff and supporters involved in content creation, how to partner with partner organizations and content creators, and how to spark joy in an online space that can feel increasingly overwhelming. We'll also take an honest look at the current digital landscape, from AI bots and audience fatigue to why owned spaces like email and in-person events matter more than ever. Come ready to share what's working (and what's not) for your organization, too.
Audience Takeaways: Whether you're a communications manager looking to deepen online engagement or an executive director seeking to empower your team to do their best work, you'll leave with the confidence to navigate an ever-changing digital landscape, let go of the pressure to chase every trend, and build an authentic online presence that informs and inspires your supporters to act.
Shevawn Bell (shevawn@conservationlands.org)
Liz Crandall (liz@conservationlands.org)
Jordan Marbury (jordan@friendsoftheinyo.org)
Fundraising For Today: Strategies That Build Resilience, Respect Capacity, And Result In More Revenue For Your Mission!
Brandy Betram, Great Big Good
This interactive workshop equips participants with strategies to build relationships with businesses and design economic roundtables that connect business leaders with congressional and legislative offices. Grounded in real-world examples from gateway, desert, and mountain communities, the session explores the intersection of business and the recreation economy, emphasizing how to build relationships between businesses and community organizers. Participants will learn how to engage businesses through culturally competent outreach, including mixers and community-based events, and how to translate those relationships into effective roundtables that elevate shared priorities, strengthen cross-sector partnerships, and inform policy conversations that support public lands remaining in public hands.
Audience Takeaways: Participants will leave with a practical strategy to engage businesses through community-based outreach and design economic roundtables that connect business leaders with congressional and legislative offices to advance shared priorities around public lands.
Brandy Bertram (brandy@greatbiggood.com)
Envisioning the Future of the National Conservation Lands
Tara Kuipers, Tara Kuipers Consulting
Building on the vision developed to guide the next 25 years of the National Conservation Lands system, the Conservation Lands Foundation is convening a follow-up effort focused on translating that long-term vision into a clear, actionable roadmap for the near term. With continued threats to the system, the agency, its workforce, and the 245 million acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), this next phase is critical to ensure that the future of the National Conservation Lands and the BLM is not only aspirational but achievable. Together, we will shape these priorities into a strong, proactive presidential platform for the next election cycle—one that clearly articulates what the National Conservation Lands and public lands system can and should be when properly funded, staffed, and stewarded. This effort will step down the 25-year vision into concrete policy priorities, funding needs, and management actions that can be advanced over the next several years.
Audience Takeaways: Participants help craft the start of a presidential policy platform focused on the National Conservation Lands and BLM-managed public lands.
Sustain Your Spark: Navigating Burnout in Grassroots Work
Colvin Hedgepeth, Aperio Philanthropy
Burnout is a common challenge in mission-driven work, but it doesn’t have to define your path. This session will help participants explore the root causes of burnout in nonprofit work, deepen awareness of personal values and energy patterns, and gain practical tools for building resilience and sustainability. Through reflection and actionable strategies, attendees will leave better equipped to nurture their well-being while facing challenges in conservation.
Audience Takeaways: Participants will walk away with a clearer understanding of the root causes of burnout in nonprofit work, greater awareness of their personal values and energy patterns, and practical tools to help them sustain a meaningful, mission-driven career.
Colvin Hedgepeth (colvin@aperiophilanthropy.com)
Navigating Record-Breaking Visitation: How Centers Facilitate Safe Spaces for Sacred and Healthy Visitation
Kirsten Ewing, Manager of the Bears Ears Education Center for Bears Ears Partnership
Christina Bishop, Executive Director of Friends of Red Rock Canyon
Visitation to places managed by the Bureau of Land Management has increased by roughly 46% since 2006, according to Outdoor Alliance data. The increasing crowds are sometimes said to be "loving[ing] to death" popular areas, while federal managers are struggling to maintain trails, bathrooms, and services, especially with limited budgets and dwindling staff. Friends groups and partner organizations are often filling in the voids, working to preserve places while accommodating high visitation demand and all that comes with it. And although there is no such thing as a “typical visitor” across the diversity of landscapes, there is often typical visitor behavior. Hear how other organizations are guiding safe visitation, navigating BLM staffing challenges, and continuing to play a crucial role in stewarding National Conservation Lands.
Audience Takeaways: Learn how Friend organizations and their volunteers navigate visitation challenges while facilitating safe spaces and fostering conversations for growth with guests. Appreciate how the Visit with Respect principles can play a role in visitor interactions.
Kirsten Ewing (kirsten@bearsearspartnership.org)
Christina Bishop (christina@friendsredrock.org)
Know Your Rights!
Rafael Fabian, Immigrant Integration Program Manager, COFEM
Jessica Martinez, Director of Programs and Development, COFEM
In today’s climate, organizations must understand how to safely and responsibly navigate ICE interactions during community outreach. This session will provide a clear, high-level overview of what to know and consider if encountering immigration enforcement, including general rights, roles, and appropriate boundaries. Participants will gain practical guidance to help them stay grounded, protect their communities, and respond thoughtfully while continuing their mission-driven work.
Audience Takeaways: Participants will learn how to respond safely and appropriately if they encounter immigration enforcement during outreach.
Rafael Fabian (rfabian@cofem.org)
Rewriting Harmful Narratives: Building Practical Communications Skills To Meet Communities Where They Are
Colvin Hedgepeth, Aperio Philanthropy
Burnout is a common challenge in mission-driven work, but it doesn’t have to define your path. This session will help participants explore the root causes of burnout in nonprofit work, deepen awareness of personal values and energy patterns, and gain practical tools for building resilience and sustainability. Through reflection and actionable strategies, attendees will leave better equipped to nurture their well-being while facing challenges in conservation.
Audience Takeaways: Participants will walk away with a clearer understanding of the root causes of burnout in nonprofit work, greater awareness of their personal values and energy patterns, and practical tools to help them sustain a meaningful, mission-driven career.
Colvin Hedgepeth (colvin@aperiophilanthropy.com)
Taking On Legal Battles for Lasting Protections: Deciding When and How to Prepare Your Organization for Litigation
Colvin Hedgepeth, Aperio Philanthropy
Burnout is a common challenge in mission-driven work, but it doesn’t have to define your path. This session will help participants explore the root causes of burnout in nonprofit work, deepen awareness of personal values and energy patterns, and gain practical tools for building resilience and sustainability. Through reflection and actionable strategies, attendees will leave better equipped to nurture their well-being while facing challenges in conservation.
Audience Takeaways: Participants will walk away with a clearer understanding of the root causes of burnout in nonprofit work, greater awareness of their personal values and energy patterns, and practical tools to help them sustain a meaningful, mission-driven career.
Colvin Hedgepeth (colvin@aperiophilanthropy.com)
Cultivating Community Through Outdoor Leadership
Colvin Hedgepeth, Aperio Philanthropy
Burnout is a common challenge in mission-driven work, but it doesn’t have to define your path. This session will help participants explore the root causes of burnout in nonprofit work, deepen awareness of personal values and energy patterns, and gain practical tools for building resilience and sustainability. Through reflection and actionable strategies, attendees will leave better equipped to nurture their well-being while facing challenges in conservation.
Audience Takeaways: Participants will walk away with a clearer understanding of the root causes of burnout in nonprofit work, greater awareness of their personal values and energy patterns, and practical tools to help them sustain a meaningful, mission-driven career.
Colvin Hedgepeth (colvin@aperiophilanthropy.com)
DAY 3
Rewriting Harmful Narratives: Building Practical Communications Skills To Meet Communities Where They Are
Mathilda Miller, Public Affairs Director, Indigenous Voices of Nevada
Last year, during the countless attacks on public lands, lands bordering Tribal Nations, and the Antiquities Act, Indigenous Voices of Nevada successfully shifted and controlled the public conversation by reframing the debate away from politics and toward cultural survival, community safety, and intergenerational responsibility in rural and Tribal communities. This hands-on workshop will teach grassroots public lands and conservation advocates how to use trauma-informed advocacy and communications, paired with strategic, values-based polarization, to stop playing defense, rewrite harmful narratives in real time, and build true stakeholdership with communities and decision makers.
Audience Takeaways: Participants will leave with practical tools to meet people where they are, simplify complex conservation issues without flattening them, and consistently drive a clear, human message that cuts through polarization and helps their organizations dominate the narrative.
Mathilda Miller (mathilda@nativevotesnv.org)
Taking On Legal Battles for Lasting Protections: Deciding When and How to Prepare Your Organization for Litigation
Colvin Hedgepeth, Aperio Philanthropy
When strategically leveraged, legal engagement is a powerful tool for advancing priority campaigns and empowering organizations that can range from taking action to defend your landscapes to ensuring agency accountability. As we navigate unprecedented land management actions, there has been increased pressure to engage in litigation as a tool to “hold the line” and enforce bedrock environmental laws. This breakout session will provide you with a roadmap on how to navigate legal engagement within your organization.
Audience Takeaways: Learn the steps your organization can take to carefully plan, manage, and evaluate its engagement in legal actions
Cultivating Community Through Outdoor Leadership
Brandon Fuller, Training Center Manager, Outward Bound Adventures
Clarissa Prieto, Senior Program Coordinator, Outward Bound Adventures
Melissa Salinas, Program Coordinator, Outward Bound Adventures
Strong communities are built through trust, connection, and shared experiences. In this interactive session, participants will explore how outdoor leadership can be a powerful tool for cultivating belonging and community. Through team-building activities and reflective conversation circles, attendees will strengthen their ability to foster meaningful relationships while creating inclusive, welcoming, and safe spaces for others. Participants will leave inspired and equipped with practical approaches to lead with intention and build stronger communities through connection.
Audience Takeaways: Through team-building initiatives and reflective conversation circles, participants will leave feeling confident in their ability to foster meaningful relationships and inclusive, safe spaces.
Brandon Fuller (Bfuller@obainc.org)
Clarrisa Prieto (cprieto@obainc.org)
Melissa Salinas (msalinas@obainc.org)
