More than 100 organizations and groups in Missouri have already joined Missouri Outdoor Connections! Last month, the Mark Twain National Forest and Urban Connections St. Louis (part of Forest Service Eastern Region) reached out across the state asking people and organizations who steward their local environments, to join the network. Missouri Outdoor Connections is a Stewardship Mapping tool that is intended to identify all those actively working to make a change in Missouri communities and be a tool that brings these environmental stewardship groups together, to expand, strengthen and promote engagement, and build more effective partnerships.
Joining is easy! The Forest Service is asking organizations that play a role or have an interest in caring for and connecting with the outdoors to complete a survey. Forest Service researchers will use the survey results to create a comprehensive map of the many civic groups working to strengthen communities and environments across southern/central Missouri and the St. Louis metro-region.
“We are excited to see long-time partners like The Nature Conservancy join and even more excited to see the many new organizations that have decided to be part of Missouri Outdoor Connections,” stated Forest Supervisor Dawn Laybolt.
Stewardship mapping builds a database of environmental stewardship groups — large and small, from formal nonprofits to grassroots organizations. The project is designed to help understand and strengthen civic capacity to care for the natural resources of Missouri’s landscapes.
The Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP), a research tool and mapping platform, is the guiding force behind the Missouri Outdoor Connections project. Learn more about this research project on the Forest’s website at Missouri Outdoor Connections webpage. Please direct questions about the survey to SM.FS.ConnectMO@usda.gov.
