Capital in Nature-Based Solutions Markets
The goal of this project was to determine which financial investments from foundations and other impact investors would be most likely to drive others to invest in NBS. We interviewed fourteen companies and investors focused on deploying capital into nature-based investments.
Smart Permitting Agenda
“A Good Program in Theory”: Opportunities for Administrative Improvements to USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program
A New Era For Water Management: Harnessing GIS Innovations and Collaboration for a Resilient Future
Mapping at the Intersection: Environmental Justice & Conservation
Earlier this year, Gabe Watson and EmmaLi Tsai participated in a workshop hosted by Defenders of Wildlife to help researchers create better maps at the intersection of environmental justice and conservation. Decisions from the workshop resulted in this user guide & website, which walks users through a more collaborate and inclusive approach to conservation that considers biodiversity, climate change, and environmental justice. To put the framework and shared principles into practice, the guide also features a case study using the National Wildlife Refuge System to show where future land acquisition should be prioritized.
Ecosystem Marketplace: How We Harness an Infrastructure Boom to Close the Biodiversity Finance Gap
Tim Male, Executive Director of EPIC, co-wrote an article in Ecosystem Marketplace with Mariana Sarmiento and Charles Bedford on how to close the biodiversity finance gap.
New Corps Memos on Timelines for Reviewing Mitigation Banks are a Game-Changer
A Revolving Loan Fund Could Help Protect Watersheds, Biodiversity and Public Access in America’s National Forests
How Government Grants Can Use Innovative Contracting Methods to Open Rivers for Fish
Report: Adopting Innovation at the US Forest Service
Eight Pathways to Speed Restoration Permitting
Midwest Watershed Partnerships: Successes, Challenges, and Immediate Opportunities
Sand County Foundation and the Environmental Policy Innovation Center evaluate the successes, challenges, and immediate opportunities for watershed partnerships in the Midwest.
Progress of Iowa Watershed Partnerships
A report on the progress of nine Iowa cities that have signed memoranda of understanding with the state Department of Natural Resources to establish watershed partnerships.
ICYMI: A Recap of our 2023 Procurement Policy Work
New Report: Challenges to Scaling RCPP
New report examines the challenges to administratively scaling the Regional Conservation Partnership Program
Three Powerful Tools for Tracking Water Infrastructure Investments
Improving a Program that Works: Prioritizing New Jersey Water Bank Projects in Disadvantaged Communities
This report, published with New Jersey Future, looks at the New Jersey Water Bank (NJWB), which has provided over $9 billion in low-cost financing for water and wastewater infrastructure projects in the state. The report analyzes NJWB awards (i.e. low interest loans and principal forgiveness) over a 5-year period and also assesses the underlying policies governing how New Jersey defines disadvantaged communities.
The report’s ten recommendations would increase the equity and effectiveness of the NJWB program and ensure that communities with the greatest needs receive adequate assistance.
Maryland Forest Stewardship Disalignment Report
An analysis of incentives driving forest management decisions by Maryland landowners and the current state of their coordination