Guiding principles

To develop solutions for our public lands and waters and wildlife that are durable, practical, and rooted in the public interest, we need to build a wide table that welcomes a wide range of perspectives. The following principles, therefore, guide Ground Shift’s work:

• Ground Shift promotes a culture of respect in dialogues, discussions, and exchanges.
• Ground Shift does not engage in partisanship or promote partisan attacks.
• Ground Shift focuses on new ideas and a vision for the future, not on current events.

Ground Shift is founded on the belief that discussion, dialogue, and disagreement are necessary to the success of this project. Strength in our democracy comes from sharing wide-ranging perspectives and open debate.

How we work

Ground Shift is based on a simple idea: the immense challenges facing America’s public lands and waters  today cannot be solved with yesterday’s playbook. We need ideas that are big enough, innovative enough, and transformative enough to meet the needs of our time.

To develop and drive the ground-breaking ideas that will shape the next century for our public lands and waters, we need to encourage risk-taking, invest in cutting-edge thinking, and leverage expertise and creativity across the political spectrum,  across geographies, and across stakeholder groups.

Ground Shift supports the work of innovators and thought-leaders who are willing to challenge the status quo. We publish and promote compelling writings, convene dialogues on important topics, and lift up the ideas and perspectives of people who challenge us to think more deeply about the future we want for our public lands and waters.

How should we manage our public lands and waters to meet the needs of current and future generations? And what changes to our laws, policies, institutions, and budgetary priorities are needed to secure that future?

Ground Shift will help lift up a range of  answers to these questions. In fact, people who contribute to Ground Shift may disagree with other perspectives being offered. Consensus is not a requirement. But we do need to create a space for big new ideas to be developed and debated, and where we can collectively find the courage and creativity to build what comes next.