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Beyond Coexistence: The North American Summit on Collaborating with Wildlife

Co-hosted by the Oceans & Wildlife Institute and the Wildlife Restoration Foundation, the CW Summit runs 2 to 4 February 2027 in Corpus Christi, Texas, followed by a field trip to the port’s wildlife rescue operations for marine mammals, sea turtles and ocelots. Registration and presenter applications are open.

By Julie Anton Randall, President, Wildlife Restoration Foundation  |  21 August 2026

The North American Summit on Collaborating with Wildlife, known as the CW Summit, is bringing together colleagues from every sector with a shared aim: meeting the needs of wildlife as human development envelops and cuts through natural areas and migratory pathways, and transforms the space animals need to survive. The Summit takes place 2 to 4 February 2027 at the Hilliard Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Co-hosts are the Oceans & Wildlife Institute (OWI) and the Wildlife Restoration Foundation (WRF), guided by an advisory team of expert colleagues.

Immediately after the Summit, on 5 February, OWI leads a field trip to the Port of Corpus Christi Wildlife Rescue Operations. Participants will see marine mammal, sea turtle and ocelot intensive care and veterinary laboratories, along with the disaster response boats and procedures used in rescue work.

Registration is open for the February 2027 Summit. Image courtesy of the CW Summit co-hosts, the Oceans & Wildlife Institute and the Wildlife Restoration Foundation.

Four pillars, twenty sectors

The organisers describe the Summit’s goal as advancing beyond coexistence to prioritise the health, genetic diversity and population viability of wildlife striving to thrive outside habitats protected for them. The CW concept proposes four pillars of human action – supporting, provisioning, adapting and valuing – and calls on 20 sectors of human endeavour to meet wildlife needs.

Not a standard conference

Rather than a conventional programme of talks, the CW Summit runs a process of Explore, Equip, Discover and Innovate, built around concurrent themed 90-minute workgroups. Half of each session is given to moderated dialogue, with the aim of drawing replicable best practice out of the CW Models and Methodologies, or M&Ms, that presenters bring to the room.

Prospective M&M presenters can apply through the co-hosts’ online application form, and further detail on the workgroups is on the workgroup presenters page.

Pressure at the edges of protected areas

The Summit project pays particular attention to the needs of wildlife in and around land, waters and coasts protected specifically for native species. Those areas may be publicly owned, as parks, refuges and marine sanctuaries; held by Tribes, First Nations and communities; or privately held. Their vistas, recreation opportunities, ecosystem services and the wildlife themselves are drawing new visitors and new residents, and with them development, industry and infrastructure, at an accelerating pace.

Participants will work on the barriers to putting CW practices in place and replicating them across more places and more species, and on the innovations needed to get past those barriers.

Julie Anton Randall is President of the Wildlife Restoration Foundation, a co-host of the CW Summit. Details of the programme, the four pillars and the workgroup structure are as described by the co-hosts. Learn more and register at wildlifeandparks.org/CWSummit.

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