Throughout the conservation field, specifically Wildlife Restoration (WR) or Sport Fish Restoration (SFR) related efforts, there is a continual challenge to maintain leadership capacity as senior staff retire and more early- and mid-career staff begin taking on leadership roles and responsibilities. Although existing leadership programs already provide excellent training, they mainly target mid- to late-career staff and can accept only so many participants annually. Conservation of birds, mammals, and sport fish requires navigating deeply held beliefs and conflicts among constituents (e.g., managing multi-use game lands, promoting catch and keep programs to remove invasive fish species, managing effect of double-crested cormorants on sport fish, and managing waterfowl ponds for the benefit of both birders and hunters). To be effective, conservation professionals must employ high-level leadership – the vision to see problems from different perspectives, skills to moderate conflicts, and creativity to devise novel resolutions. These aspects of leadership are key to preserving hunting and fishing heritage and biodiversity. To increase these leadership capacities and promote more consistent and efficient progress in the southeastern US, we propose the Southeast Conservation Leadership Program (SECLP), a conservation leadership training program targeting early- and mid-career staff in the southeastern US. This program will introduce participants (fellows) to leadership concepts and tools, including engaging in adaptive leadership, developing reflective practices, and boosting internal capacity. By teaching these skills earlier in their careers, fellows will have more time to further develop and apply them. Additionally, the SECLP will offer an opportunity for alumni of other leadership programs to share their knowledge of adaptive leadership to SEAFWA staff. These coaches would be working on or have had experience with WR/SFR species or activities. As we gain more alumni from this regional program, we will maintain a connected network, allowing continued learning alongside others who have completed the training. We envision that this network will enable unique and innovative collaborations that might not be possible otherwise. Relationships and trust built between fellows in each cohort will promote and advance collaborative approaches to regional and national WR and SFR challenges for decades.