The Adirondacks of Northern New York and the High Divide of Southwestern Montana are vast mosaics of public and private lands. Each are similar in size to the state of Vermont, or the country of Belize. Both are home to iconic wildlife, that are a valued for their contribution to region’s unique identity and for the potential they offer for driving economic returns to local residents. Co-existing with wildlife, especially large carnivores is challenging, and land-use restrictions associated with living in, or near, protected areas often seem to limit opportunities for economic development. Though some small communities have found innovative ways to share the land with wildlife, they are typical isolated from one another and lack ways to exchange ideas and to share successful approaches they have devised for addressing the social, economic and environmental challenges posed by living in remote and wild areas. WCS Community Exchange Days are an important tool for enabling communities to share what they are learning. Community Exchange Days showcase willing individuals and groups that have experimented successfully with novel solutions to the challenges people face living in remote areas in close proximity to wildlife and wilderness. By sharing their stories and ideas, these innovators and early-adopters help inspire and motivate others in similar situations to diffuse new approaches to other isolated communities. Community Exchange Days create an environment where people can learn from others facing similar challenges. Participants at Community Exchange Days discuss the pros and cons of various solutions, and consider opportunities for replicating effective projects and solutions across a larger geography to enhance rural livelihoods and, at the same time, protect the cultural distinctiveness and natural areas of the places they call home. During exchanges ranchers learn from ranchers, town supervisors learn from town supervisors and communities quickly embrace a collaborative spirit that motivates them to take action, adopt new ways of doing things that best meets their needs and seek ways to continue working together to solve shared challenges. Community Exchange Days are a powerful tool for building trusted relationships with and among communities. Relationships forged at Community Exchange Days have enabled local officials to be conservation leaders and contributed to building strong and vibrant constituencies motivated to advocate for the benefits of coexisting with wildlife and wilderness.