by Owen L. Oliver, Freelance Writer, (Quinault / Isleta Pueblo)
At The Nature Conservancy in Washington, we’re re-examining what it means to steward the lands and waters that we depend on, and how people and nature are intertwined.
For centuries the term ‘conservation’ was characterized by separating people from nature. It was used to protect wildlands from harmful human activity, dispose land from Indigenous communities, and limit people’s ability to discover nature for themselves. This ostracized many people’s lived experiences with animals, plants, and land, under the premise that only by setting aside wild lands that were ‘untouched’, humans could understand a place and protect it from extractive practices.
These harmful ideologies about conservation, and of Western science as object truth, influenced the scholarly beginnings of The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Stewardship at TNC has historically focused on protecting, restoring, and maintaining healthy lands, but in ways disconnected from nature’s relationship to people and traditional ways of knowing held by Indigenous peoples.
From old growth forests to native shrub-steppe, TNC Washington is working with partners and local communities to steward our lands and waters. Illustration by Erica Simek Sloniker / TNC.
In recent years, TNC has started identifying the harm caused by separating people from nature, and is striving to change this narrative. TNC realizes that people, especially those most affected by climate change and other environmental threats, need to have a central seat at the table. Then, they can advocate not only for their community but for those who don’t have a voice, non-human kin. For example, Indigenous communities make up less than 5% of the world’s population but hold around 80% of the world’s biodiversity. Indigenous voices being removed has been a detriment to climate-related problem-solving. While TNC still emphasizes Western science, this acknowledgment reminds the organization of the past actions that alienated vital voices.
Today, when we address stewardship, we need to include everyone’s voices. It’s time to think about those who come before us, those who are here now, and those who will come in the future.
Randi Shaw and Washington staff members volunteered to plant trees and native plants. © Hannah Letinich/TNC.
TNC Washington is on a mission to fundamentally change what it means to be stewarding lands that have had a human connection. In conversation with Randi Shaw, Stewardship Director for TNC in Washington, and Kyle Smith, Washington Forest Director, they gave insights on how stewardship has shifted through the most recent decades. “Once people were divorced from the land, it was often about how much nature was ‘worth’.” Randi explains that people were “divorced from the land” because it was thought that nature needed to be protected from us. This evolved into a concept of ecosystem services (healthy agriculture lands, clean water, tourism, etc.), and natural areas were seen as something that needed to be protected for us. Randi believes that we “have now finally started to understand that we have been active in caring for nature because we are inextricably linked.” As an Indigenous person myself, I see this as TNC beginning to recognize land the same way I do, as a two-way relationship - the care we give is the care we will receive.
One of the ways that TNC Washington has been able to activate community and partnerships is through the restoration of one of TNC Washington’s largest preserved areas, Moses Coulee and Beezley Hills. From fire recovery to endangered species protection to preserving culturally important resources, TNC Washington is working in tandem with farmers, ranchers, scientists, state agencies, and tribal nations to care for these lands. While this preserve is the traditional and current homelands of the Colville and Yakama People, TNC is bringing them in as important partners to listen to their feedback on how to elevate cultural resources across TNC lands.
Kyle Smith, taking measurments in old growth forest at the Ellsworth Creek Preserve in Washington. © Chris Crisman/TNC.
“Conservation should be a benefit for all people, it shouldn’t be a cultural or economic deficit,” says Kyle Smith. He explains that his management practices continue to change and adjust when he’s in dialogue with partners who give insights on their own perspective of the land. For him, a shift happened while visiting the Yakama Nation while they were doing prescribed burns to their forests. By first-hand accounts, he was able to witness Traditional Ecological Knowledge being activated and seamlessly applied, knowledge that was curated for countless generations.
Changing stewardship practices also emphasizes how communities value their stories that were created from the land, like creation stories that place weight on animals and plants that created the world. Randi adds “we should also be focusing on cultural landscapes and uplifting animals and plants that [support the revitalization] of cultural resources.” The change in stewardship should align with preserving cultural elements that reaffirm cultural identity and further connect people to understanding how they are intertwined with the natural environment.
Visitors observe the camas and other native wildflowers that bloom on Yellow Island every spring. © Cameron Karsten/TNC.
Randi and Kyle share the sentiment that one of the first steps to making changes in stewardship is active listening and being accountable to all communities where TNC is managing lands. The stewardship commitment of TNC Washington is about just this. It’s about moving away from one-way relationships with the land and centering equity in advancing people’s connection and introduction to nature. It’s about bringing everyone together to tackle challenges in Washington, from protecting the biodiversity of non-human kin to making sure that people have safe access to nature. It is about not just opening the doors to others but keeping them open for transparency and accountability.
The future of stewardship at TNC in Washington is amplified by co-creation, reciprocity, and the inclusion of multifaceted experiences. In 25 years, Randi sees a future where anyone regardless of who they are, can have an accessible welcome into nature: where they are embraced rather than discouraged; where they have the agency to choose for themselves how to engage; where they can understand that nature is a relationship for all of us to protect.
Owen L. Oliver (Quinault / Isleta Pueblo) comes from the people of the Lower Columbia River, Salish Sea, and Southwest Pueblos. He grew up in Ketchikan, Alaska and Seattle where in 2021 he graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in American Indian Studies and Political Science. His work is concentrated in Indigenous education and cultural representation, a path that he's learned from his connection to Pacific Northwest Tribal Canoe Journeys. As a freelance writer for The Nature Conservancy, Owen is helping bridge conservation and Indigenous perspectives and is bringing his own values and viewpoints to our writing and storytelling.
