In this brief follow-up document to the whole system conservation concept paper Stepping up to the Challenge – June 2011, http://www.conservationgateway.org/file/stepping-challenge-whole-system-approach-conservation-north-america, our goal is to illustrate some of the key attributes of whole systems with real-world examples from nine active Conservancy projects in the North America Region. Rather than provide only one or two comprehensive case studies, here we highlight portions of numerous ambitious projects that are in various stages of development, from inception to mature projects with dedicated Project Directors. However, even the most mature projects are still works-in-progress and as such, it would be unfair to nominate any one of them as the “model” project. Instead, by showcasing numerous projects at various stages of development, we hope to motivate staff to begin to investigate how their priority conservation projects could be framed using the whole system approach. The remainder of this document is organized following the primary content areas of our concept paper: defining a whole system, considerations when implementing whole system conservation, and determining success.

• Gulf of Mexico
• California Current
• Great Lakes
• Alaska-Yukon
• Saint Kitts and Nevis Caribbean
• Mojave Desert
• Northern Appalachians
• Colorado River
• Chesapeake Bay