Today many participants felt at home when Washington adopted a Northwest complexion, complete with a gray sky and intermittent rain showers.  The weather changed but the mission stayed the same, as the Coalition rounded out our last full day of meetings with a focus on reaching out to land management agencies and organizations.

We came together for a final time in the afternoon to debrief on the day’s meetings and outcomes, as well as put the pieces together to form an effective follow-up strategy in the wake of the week’s discussions and revelations.  The sore feet and tired eyes of the participants are a testament to the unbelievable amount of effort and energy that has gone into reaching out to Washington.  One participant said that RVCC participants are like “bees, moving about the city and increasing dialogue on the hill and in the agencies by pollinating conversation.”  Another commented that “we started this effort as a sketch on a mural and RVCC can help fill it out.”

After a brief pause at home to catch our breaths and reflect on all we have learned, the Coalition’s most difficult and important work will begin with the strong follow-up, consistent relationship building, discussions, and collaborative efforts that are necessary to realize the ideas and programs that we have been promoting all week.

We came from near and far, from small towns and big cities, from forests and ranches, and pretty much everywhere in between to gather at the center of the political universe.  The week was exhausting, uplifting, festive, and at times bizarre.  However, one certainty is that we are undoubtedly more poised than ever to advance our goals.

We are grateful to all the members of the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition for their unwavering energy, support, and passion that make our aspirations and vision possible.  Those qualities have never been more apparent than they were in Washington this week, and we hope that you will continue to march forward with us in all our future endeavors.

The work my friends, has just begun.