Get Outdoors Nevada Public Lands Institute 12-31-2012 Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands—Phase II: Final Project Report, December 31, 2012 Margaret N. Rees University of Nevada, Las Vegas, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/pli_outdoors_nevada Part of the Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, and the Natural Resources and Conservation Commons Repository Citation Rees, M. N. (2012). Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands—Phase II: Final Project Report, December 31, 2012. 1-273. Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/pli_outdoors_nevada/42 This Report is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Report in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Report has been accepted for inclusion in Get Outdoors Nevada by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FINAL PROJECT REPORT Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands—Phase II Cooperative Agreement Number H8R07060001 Task Agreement Number J8R07070001 December 31, 2012 Daniel Chase, Ph.D., Program Manager Margaret N. (Peg) Rees, Ph.D., Executive Director Joanna Libby, M.S., Program Assistant Public Lands Institute • University of Nevada, Las Vegas 4505 Maryland Parkway, Box 452040 Las Vegas, NV 89154-2040 www.publiclands.unlv.edu This program was funded by the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act and delivered by the Public Lands Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on behalf of and in coopera- tion with the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service. ROUND 6 PROJECT COMPENDIUM Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public LandsPhase II Preface The essence of public land stewardship lies far beyond the words, numbers, and pictures compiled in this project compendium. During the past five years, many people have gained greater appreciation of the discovered and yet‐ to‐be discovered treasures held within our Southern Nevada public lands. They have had the opportunity to learn about and make the first‐time connection with nature and the community within which they live. Some participants realized dynamic and everlasting changes in their lives as a result of their new relationships, experiences, and insights. This Project Compendium contains products resulting from a five‐year collaborative effort of the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership and UNLV’s Public Lands Institute. A Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act Conservation Initiative funded the project through the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Study Unit (CESU). The success of this project would not have been possible without the commitment and participation of many people within the four federal land management agencies, the CESU program, and UNLV. More importantly, it would not have been successful without the outstanding participation of people of all ages in Southern Nevada, across the State, and within the nation who believed in its importance. The intangible yet invaluable rewards of this participation – recognition of the value of public lands stewardship, participation in meaningful activities outdoors, a renewing sense of wonder, and an enduring respect for our natural and cultural resources – will be evident in the future. Margaret N. (Peg) Rees, Ph.D. Executive Director UNLV Public Lands Institute 31 December 2012 This program was funded by the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act and delivered by the Public Lands Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on behalf of and in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND CONCISE STATEMENT OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS Cooperative Conservation: Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across public lands- Phase II is a Round 6 Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA)-funded project implemented by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Public Lands Institute on behalf of and in cooperation with four Federal agencies in Southern Nevada. The program: Maintained a central clearinghouse created for Southern Nevada public lands volunteers, including: ─ an online volunteer data-management application (Volgistics) adopted and customized for the program and populated with 8,500 active and 961 mailing list volunteer records ─ a community outreach Web site that currently averages 8,230 pages viewed per month since July 2007 and has aided in the recruitment of 11,943 volunteers ─ updated website to word press for sustainability ─ branding development and marketing and outreach tool creation Updated Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all areas of Interagency Volunteer Program Management—recruitment, training, recognition, retention of volunteers, event planning, and database management. Implemented an Interagency Volunteer Program with the following components: ─ volunteer recruitment activities ─ volunteer orientation and training courses ─ volunteer recognition events ─ volunteer service yielding nearly 53,924 hours of volunteer work (equivalent to more than $ 1,175, 003.96) done on Federal public lands Acquired in-kind and monetary awards based on research and identification of potential funding opportunities and collaborations with national and local organizations. Recognized volunteers during National Volunteer week, ex: small gifts, events, ice cream social and barbeques. Planned and implemented 5 volunteer recognition banquets. Built and maintained relationships with the public through outreach activities at community events; rapid data entry into database; timely response to inquiries through telephone, electronic, and mail correspondence; and presentation at a professional conference. Developed and delivered an online volunteer orientation program. Developed and delivered volunteer assistant training, including a handbook. Planned and implemented 62 volunteer trainings. Coordinated “get to know your land” bus tours. Interagency Volunteer Program ● Final Project Report 1 BACKGROUND AND HISTORY Four southern Nevada Federal land management agencies—Bureau of Land Management (BLM); National Park Service (NPS); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS); U.S. Forest Service (USFS)—manage more than seven million acres in southern Nevada. Since 1999, these agencies have been working together to develop collaborative programs and projects that enhance services to the public, improve the stewardship of the Federal lands, and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their management activities. Although each agency maintains an independent volunteer program, agency management and Volunteer Program Coordinators recognized that creation of a joint program would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their individual activities. At the same time, informal observations indicated that southern Nevada’s dramatically increasing population was often times not clear on how to become engaged in volunteerism on public lands, despite the existence of the many available opportunities. Las Vegas has experienced explosive growth in the past 25 years, growing by 83.5% between 1990 and 2000.1 Such growth is leading to increased impact to public lands, but also provides a larger pool of people from which to draw volunteers. The Southern Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program (IVP) began in 2001/2002 when the Outside Las Vegas Foundation, a private non-profit organization, asked the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) to build a partnership among the existing southern Nevada Federal land volunteer programs. Volunteer Program Coordinators from each agency and RTCA commenced work (in a limited capacity) to jointly recruit, train, manage, support, recognize, and promote the long-term involvement of volunteers in southern Nevada. This work was the springboard for the future creation of a mutually beneficial joint program that would meet the needs, operations, missions, and goals of all four agencies. The new IVP Team recognized the benefit in providing a cohesive, centralized source of information for the region’s volunteers. They also identified the need to develop effective communications tools and strategies; institute combined training and recognition programs; develop relationships and partnerships with businesses and non-profit organizations that could lend support; and measure and evaluate results of the joint volunteer program. These team- building and planning efforts were all achieved without financial support. In addition, Volunteer Program Coordinators generously helped deliver each others’ volunteer events, which included sacrifice of personal time. In 2004, the four Federal agencies nominated a project to support these joint efforts with Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) funding in the Conservation Initiatives category. This project, Cooperative Conservation: Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: