Marin Backyard Collective

The Bay Area Backyard Collective brought together more than 60 volunteers for a day of invasive plant removal with the guidance of our partners at Marin County Parks.  Volunteers from Marmot, CamelBak, Clif Bar, REI and and The North Face hiked a steep incline to reach four areas for Himalayan Blackberry, Barbed Goat Grass and Pioneer Fennel removal in the Terra Linda Sleepy Hollow Preserve….

Favorites on Friday: Conservation Alliance Seattle Tour

  Seattle's Pike Place Market Last week I had to opportunity to venture north, to Seattle, and visit a number of our member companies.  Seattle is a big city, full of sights, sounds, and a hustle-and-bustle we don't have in Bend, Oregon.  As I negotiated my way through a maze of freeways, only one thought…

Take Action Tuesday: Help Protect Teshekpuk Lake and America’s Arctic!

  The nearly 23 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska supports a stunning diversity and abundance of wildlife. Right now, the U.S. Department of the Interior is writing its first-ever, comprehensive plan for the entire Reserve, providing the opportunity to protect the most important places for wildlife. Teshekpuk Lake, on the coastal plain of the Reserve, is…

Conservation Alliance Grantee Update April 2012

In April 2011, The Conservation Alliance invested $500,000 in grassroots conservation organizations.Each grant went to a project working to secure permanent protection for a specific threatened wild place. We direct organizations to use our funding over the course of a 12-month period. At the end of the grant period, we ask each group for a…

Take Action Tuesday: Polar Bear Dance Party

           Photo: Steven Kazlowski / www.lefteyepro.com Right now, Shell Oil's drill ships are on their way to America's Arctic Ocean. Shell hopes to begin drilling in our Arctic waters in a matter of weeks with no viable plan to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic's extreme conditions, which range from sea ice up…

President Obama designates California’s Fort Ord as a National Monument

On Friday, April 20th, President Obama, under the 1906 Antiquities Act, designated Fort Ord as a National Monument.  Located on the central California Coast in Monterey, the Ford Ord National Monument encompasses approximately 14,650 acres and provides recreational opportunities including hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding.  "This national monument will not only protect one of the…

Favorites on Friday: Conservation Alliance Midwest Tour

Conservation Alliance Executive Director John Sterling here, fresh off a quick tour of Minnesota and Western Michigan, where I visited three member companies and enjoyed a solid dose of the famous Midwest hospitality. My first stop was Minneapolis, where I made a presentation to our newest member company, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day. It was great…

Take Action Tuesday: Ever Dreamed of Being a Polar Bear?

Ever dreamed of being a polar bear? Join Alaska Wilderness League and the feisty nonprofit will fulfill your wish with one of its eight "Ice-P" costumes. You'll be covered in white fur from the top of your head to the bottom of your shoes. These costumes regularly travel the country as "Ice-P" to appear at…

Successful kickoff to our 2012 Backyard Collective season in Santa Barbara!

With perfect working temperatures and storm clouds hovering, over 150 volunteers from Patagonia, Horny Toad, Deckers, Vapur, REI and Channel Islands Outfitters removed invasive species replacing them with 600 native plants between two sites along the Atascadero and Cieneguitas creeks in the San Marcos Foothills Preserve.    There were cultivators, hoes and gloved hands working side by side…

Favorites on Friday: Save Our Wild Salmon has reason to Celebrate!

Save Our Wild Salmon is a nationwide coalition of conservation organizations, commercial and sports fishing associations, businesses, river groups, and taxpayer advocates working collectively to restore self-sustaining, abundant, and harvestable populations of wild salmon and steelhead to rivers, streams and oceans of the Pacific Salmon states.  This week, for the seventh straight year, comprehensive spring…