Our Public Lands Defense Fund supports organizations working to preserve and defend the integrity of our public lands system. We will fund efforts to:
- Defend our bedrock conservation laws (E.g., Wilderness Act, Antiquities Act, National Environmental Policy Act);
- Defend previous presidents’ National Monument designations; and
- Oppose the proposed transfer of federal lands to the states or to private hands.
Our goal is to support organizations that are strategically confronting efforts that would diminish our public lands system.
We launched the Public Lands Defense Fund in January, 2017 with initial commitments from founding member companies Patagonia and The North Face. Together, these two companies pledged $100,000 annually for each of the next four years. Though we accept contributions to the fund from any company or individual interested in preserving our public lands, all contributions are incremental to a company’s annual membership dues. As with Conservation Alliance membership dues, we will give 100 percent of contributions to the Public Lands Defense Fund directly to conservation organizations.
Public Lands Defense Fund grants will be administered solely by The Conservation Alliance Board of Directors. We will not include these requests in our membership ballot process. The Conservation Alliance will make discretionary grants as needed to support urgent efforts. Organizations should contact The Conservation Alliance directly to discuss time-sensitive needs.
Organizations that receive funding through our regular grant program may apply concurrently to the Public Lands Defense Fund, and are eligible to receive more than one grant in a 12-month period.
Background
Shortly after the November 2016 elections, The Conservation Alliance board and staff met to develop a strategy for our conservation efforts in a new and challenging political landscape. Together, we determined that our public lands are now threatened by political leaders who want to undermine protections for those lands, or sell them off entirely. We made two significant decisions to address these threats. First, we committed to hiring new staff to focus on conservation advocacy. That person will train our member companies and their employees about public lands, and engage them in meaningful efforts to protect and defend those lands. The board also decided to establish a new Public Lands Defense Fund whose purpose is to support organizations working to preserve and defend the integrity of our public lands system.
For the past 27 years, The Conservation Alliance has funded efforts to secure new protections for lands and waters throughout North America. These proactive campaigns have always sought to add “green spots” to the map by: securing new Wilderness and national monument designations; expanding National Parks; designating new Wild & Scenic Rivers; purchasing private lands for their recreation and habitat values; and designating new marine reserves. We have always directed our funds toward protecting wild places. We have established our Public Lands Defense Fund to defend them as well.
We take our position at the intersection of the business and conservation communities seriously. Now more than ever, it is important that we stand together to preserve and defend our public lands. We look forward to working with our partners in the outdoor industry and the conservation community to save our last wild places, and preserve the system that keeps them wild.