Program Creation & Partnerships...
     
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In the early 1980's, some federal and state agencies and private landowners nationwide saw a need to take action to reduce the indiscriminant loss of dead, dying, and hollow trees.
In 1985, the
Deschutes National Forest in Central Oregon cooperated with Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Department of Forestry to
create an information program called ANIMAL INN -- THERE'S LIFE IN
DEAD TREES.
The interest in that program spread rapidly to other National Forests, Bureau of Land Management Districts, private associations, and non-profit organizations. In 1989, the program was officially adopted at the national level in both the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Their partnership soon expanded to include other national associations, agencies and organizations interested in supporting the informational program.
In 1991, a
National Memorandum of Understanding
was signed by the following agencies and organizations who agreed to work
together to promote the ANIMAL INN program, nationally: American Forest
Council and National Forest Products Association (now re-organized to gather
as American Forest & Paper Association), National Association of State
Foresters, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Woodland Owners
Association, USDA Extension Service, USDA Forest Service, and USDI Bureau
of Land Management.
Numerous additional partners and cooperators
actively participate in the ANIMAL INN program at national,
regional and local levels. ANIMAL INN regional workshops and/or
committees were formed across the country in the Southeast, Midwest,
Southwest, Rocky Mountain Region, and the Pacific Northwest to increase
awareness of and involvement in the ANIMAL INN program. Those
workshops and/or committees created opportunities for a wider variety of
partnerships to form, including, but not
limited to agencies and
organizations listed above as national participants, local communities,
scouting groups, local timber companies and woodlot owners, teachers and students,
local Audubon societies, US Fish and Wildlife Service and private
corporations.
As a result, the news about ANIMAL INN has spread across the U.S. It has also been shared with British Columbia, Canada, Mexico, and India with moderately high levels of interest. National Geographic highlighted the program in their July 1994 issue, and other magazines and writers are coming forward with a high degree of interest in this unique conservation education program.
The program is designed to be implemented and tailored to local and regional needs. Although the program is not designed to be prescriptive, it is critical to be consistent with the National purpose and focus of the program.
What
is Animal Inn? • Teachers/Interpreters
Habitat Management • What to Do •
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