Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, or LCCs, are self-directed partnerships that link science with conservation actions to address climate change and other stressors within and across landscapes. They complement and build upon existing science and conservation efforts — such as fish habitat partnerships and migratory bird joint ventures — as well as water resources, land, and cultural partnerships.

Each LCC operates within a specific landscape — 21 geographic areas in total. Partners include federal, state, and local governments, tribes, universities, non-governmental organizations, landowners, and other stakeholders.

Though not limited to the Mississippi River, the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCPO LCC) is centered around the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley.  Encompassing 180 million acres, the region extends from the mountain tops of the Ozark, Boston and Ouachita ranges of Arkansas to the pine savanna and prairies of the West and East Coastal Plains of the Southeast U.S.  It includes the swamps, bayous and alluvial bottomlands of the lower Mississippi River and tributaries, as well as the beachfronts and shorelines of the northeast Gulf Coast. 

With accelerating climate change threatening to impact wildlife and fisheries, the GCPO LCC is building capacity to test, implement and monitor conservation strategies responsive to this dynamic landscape. A significant focus of this LCC is how to include landowner communities and achieve conservation results on private lands.