A Partnership Program of the University of Virginia Institute for Environmental Negotiation, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Department of Forestry and the Department of Conservation and Recreation

VNRLI Mission and Objectives

The VNRLI VISION is: Virginia will engage in productive dialogue and collaborative problem solving of natural resource issues important to community sustainability and thus be able to effectively manage, conserve, and protect Virginia’s natural resources.

The VNRLI MISSION is: To develop leaders throughout Virginia who can help groups involved in contentious natural resources issues move beyond conflict toward consensus building and collaborative problem solving.

VNRLI OBJECTIVES are to Create a Leadership Network of People Who:

• Work with natural resources at all levels in Virginia;
• Come from all parts of Virginia and from all sectors of activity – local, state, and federal government, elected officials, industry and private small businesses, academics, civic organizations, non-profit environmental organizations, and individual citizen activists;
• Earn each other’s trust while respecting each other’s different perspectives;
• Call on each other for assistance and ideas; and
• Provide leadership for collaborative problem solving around environmental issues, to move beyond conflict, and to find creative solutions.