Evaluation of The Nature Conservancy’s Rapid Action Conservation Plan: The South Sound Inlets Case Study

Abstract

Comprehensive conservation plans cover all of the characteristics of an area such as the biophysical, the human, and the institutional ecologies. A Conservation Action Plan (CAP) is The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) comprehensive process for planning, implementing, and measuring success for their conservation projects. This paper evaluates the Washington Chapter of TNC’s Rapid CAP for the nearshore marine habitats of the South Sound Inlets of Puget Sound and provides recommendations. Findings are that the planning process was flexible enough to meet changing needs and time constraints, but did not remain objective enough to be justifiable. The planners had trouble dealing with all of the different perspectives and interests of the stakeholder representatives in the South Sound. The planners could have improved their contact relations by doing more pre-planning research into the conservation activities already in the area and by constructing a more robust system for including stakeholders in the planning process.