28th Annual Symposium: Common Ground

Genuine environmental progress in the U.S. has long been hampered by political conflict. As we prepare in spring 2025 for our 28th annual Environment Across Boundaries (ENVX) Symposium in fall, we are in a new presidential administration with a very different environmental approach—one that may create economic opportunity but lead to even more political debate. What can be done?

Via this year’s theme, “Common Ground: How We Can Engage Across Difference With a Shared Love of Land,” we propose to explore the possibility that people can work across these political divides, if there is something they broadly share in common. For environmental activists and those in the agricultural field—farmers, ranchers, foresters— the thing they share is love of land. But environmentalists have not always collaborated with people and organizations representing our natural resource economy; and those who work the land are often suspicious that environmentalists don’t have their interests in mind.

To move forward together, we first need to rebuild trust; then we can collaborate on land-based policy issues. We will launch Symposium this spring via field trips, meals, and conversations gathering interested Lewis & Clark faculty and students together with those who work the land. Our goal is to identify working groups for followup policy deliberation, facilitate their meetings, and showcase their collaborative efforts in our fall Symposium.

We envision three groups with 6-8 participants each, drawn from Lewis & Clark and the agricultural community. Building on our strengths in engagement in the Environmental Studies Program and collegewide at LC, and with key guidance provided by LC’s Community Dialogues, we plan to train student and faculty facilitators to guide the process, ranging from initial trust-building interaction to policy deliberation.

Working groups would meet with an eventual goal of collaboratively producing white papers on key policy issues. We envision that support for these white papers beyond our fall 2025 Symposium would be provided via a new Center for Environmental Solutions Lewis & Clark plans to announce in the near future.

What might be these key policy issues? Assuming one working group each for cropland, livestock, and forestry issues, and following consultation with a wide range of experts in fall 2024, here are some broad starter possibilities:

• Cropland farms: Regulation. Regulation—a broad array of binding policy—has been a key tool for ensuring sound farming and safe food. But farmers often feel left out of discussions leading up to policy decisions they must follow.
• Livestock operations: Animal welfare. There have been popular concerns, and related policy initiatives, over animal welfare. But ranch and dairy operations are often proud of their humane livestock practices.  
• Forests: Wildfire. Fire is on everyone’s minds in the U.S. West today. How to make public forests more resilient has both sparked debate, and provided opportunities for collaboration, among traditional forest policy foes.

Once working groups are constituted, they would participate in facilitated meetings in spring and early fall. Then fall Symposium would include:

• A series of working group panels, sharing their discussions, challenges, and outcomes to date
• Skill-building workshops for everyone to learn environmental collaboration across difference
• Possible related events—producer fairs, field trips, art shows, etc.

All events will be freely and publicly available to on- and off-campus Symposium attendees.

Pursuing the ambitious goals outlined above will provide valuable opportunities for us to learn, share insights, and celebrate our process and outcomes. We invite you to join us in search of Common Ground.