In 1998, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust provided funding to establish a unique partnership among the Oregon Zoo, Wildlife Safari, and Oregon State University .  The goal was to explore ways to effectively collaborate across disciplines and organizational boundaries on a continual basis.  Annual conferences, workshops, research projects, and educational programs were initiated by these organizations.  The Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and NorthwestTrek in Washington joined the group in 2002. 

In order to evolve into a self-sustaining, self-perpetuating conservation tool with appeal to a diverse array of organizations, the NW Consortium for Wildlife Conservation (CWC) has had to undergo some restructuring.  Today, with support from the College of Science at Oregon State University , the CWC is developing a new framework for its website that partner organizations will in effect build.  By contributing project news, publications, descriptions of organizational resources, contact details for individual researchers, data sets, web links, news, and other information, CWC partners enable this virtual organization to communicate project needs, grant opportunities, and partner resources to regional stakeholders interested in working on sustainable natural resource management issues.  This communications forum will enable individuals to effectively work together simultaneously across regional, disciplinary, and organizational boundaries.  We are entirely a “by the members ~ for the members’” consortium. 

Serving as a dynamic conduit for the interests of partner organizations, the CWC can help organize conferences and workshops, initiate special interest groups, and generally assist with project needs on a prioritized basis.  We exist to:

-          Facilitate initiation of interdisciplinary research by creating regional networks of scientists across multiple agencies,

-          Increase communication across diverse groups of stakeholders by utilizing a regional Internet-based communications forum, and

-          Generate an ethic of accountability regarding the application of research results through education and policy venues. 

Once this type of communications framework is established in the Pacific Northwest , it can be duplicated elsewhere to create networks that promote sustainable use of natural resources by bringing together scientists, policymakers, and developers on a regional basis.