One of the hallmarks of the Bush administration environmental policy is to involve folks outside the federal government in protecting the environment.

As part of that process, federal agencies have formed partnerships with a range of state and local government bodies, as well as nonprofits and private property owners. There are watershed partnerships, experimental forests, and a range of joint efforts in wildlife conservation and invasive species programs.

The term used for this kind of collaboration these days is "cooperative conservation," and the head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Jim Connaughton, will hold a "listening session" on the subject from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the Blaisdell Center Pikake Room.

He'll be joined by officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Interior, Commerce and Agriculture. Gov. Linda Lingle also will take part.

The meeting is part of a nationwide series launched in the wake of the President's Conference on Cooperative Conservation in August 2005.

The goal of the series of listening sessions is to share information about conservation partnerships, but mainly to hear what kinds of ideas local folks have about such programs, and how incentives and regulations can be developed to promote them.

Members of the public will be invited to address any of the associated issues.

The comments in other sessions around the country haven't always been positive, with environmental groups saying the White House has not supported environmental concerns, some businesses saying the Environmental Protection Act is too rigid, loggers complaining that federal paperwork makes their work more difficult, and other complaints.

But that kind of response appears to be what Connaughton and the others are inviting — how to develop or use programs to enhance conservation; how to improve cooperation between agencies, organizations and businesses; and what the federal government needs to do to "better respect the interests of people with ownership in land, water and other natural resources."

"Through cooperative conservation, citizens play a central and substantive role in the stewardship and governance of the environments in which they live, work and play," says the program Web site, www.cooperative conservation.gov.

If you have a question or concern about the Hawaiian environment, drop a note to Jan TenBruggencate at P.O. Box 524, Lihu'e, HI 96766 or jant@honoluluadvertiser.com. Or call him at (808) 245-3074.