The Cooperative Sagebrush Initiative (CSI) is an altogether different conservation model. It is citizen and industry-led; it is comprehensive and strategic; it is collaborative; it is performance based; and it is about producing measurable results for sage grouse and other species of concern made possible by a private sector conservation fund.

The CSI doesn't contribute directly to protected area management, but does help the US Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal land management agencies through the development of an ecoregional approach to the conservation of a species of concern. Without the ecosystem approach engaging private landowners and extractive industries in the conservation mission of the land management agencies, the likelihood of protected areas achieving their own conservation targets are limited.

The Sand County Foundation is itself the product of a partnership between pioneering conservationist Aldo Leopold and Madison Wisconsin businessman Tom Coleman. Initially created as the steward of the Leopold Memorial Preserve, the Foundation now works with private landowners in several countries to improve the quality of land through science, ethics, and incentives.