The Pacific Northwest or “Cascadia” is a region rich in natural resources, home to many leading academic institutions and a highly engaged and proactive citizenry. For these and many other reasons, Cascadia has over the past decade become renowned for extensive, groundbreaking work in ecosystem services. Today, the number of organizations doing work within this field is extensive and continues to grow, including academics, nonprofits, private firms and government agencies. The groundswell of interest has caused tremendous growth for ecosystem services work in the region with little emphasis on comprehensive coordination. While certain organizations are managing certain "sectors" of ecosystem services activity, such as state policy development, valuation or markets development, there is no one entity with the responsibility of synchronizing the entire system of activity. This is the premise behind the Cascadia Ecosystem Services Partnership: to provide strategic assistance for integrating projects, facilitating robust communication and supporting the emergence of a shared direction for ecosystem services work in the Cascadia region, especially Oregon and Washington.
