In recent years state wildlife agencies have begun to realize the need to build collaborations and partnerships among their constituents in order to further their conservation goals. This has been done through a variety of avenues including grant programs such as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' (MI DNR) wildlife habitat grant programs, which continue to provide funds to government, profit and non-profit organizations to develop land for wildlife habitat. Regarding grant programs facilitating partnerships, there has been no systematic assessment of whether this is a successful method to do so. The goal of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the MI DNR grant programs in building relationships. In this work, a social network analysis was conducted to assess the nature of partnerships among grant receiving and non-grant receiving conservation organizations. A selection model approach was used to determine what characteristics were driving the partnerships of this network. The outcome variable being modeled was support received from a partner. The results delivered visualizations of the network and insight into why these organizations were selecting one another as partners. Major driving forces in partnership selection were found to be grants, the scale of management, having received prior support and distance between organizations. This valuable information will serve as a platform to better understand the networks surrounding wildlife conservation and allow the MI DNR to address any shortcomings and gaps within the partnership network.
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