Lake Kathleen Dam Removal

We awarded a total of three grants since 2014 to Conservation Recourse Alliance to remove the Lake Kathleen Dam on Michigan’s Maple River. For the first time in decades, natural stream flow will be restored to more than 40 miles of the Maple River main stem and tributaries.

Sabin Dam Removal

Conservation Resource Alliance used our support to orchestrate the removal of Sabin Dam on the Boardman River in Michigan. Sabin is the last of three dams to be removed as part of CRA’s Boardman River Dam Removal Campaign.  The removal of Sabin Dam also marks the completion of the most comprehensive dam removal project in…

Buckeye Knob and Barn Boulders Climbing Area Acquisition

The Carolina Climbers Coalition acquired Buckeye Knob and Barn boulders, establishing the first permanently protected bouldering area in Boone, NC.  The Barn bouldering area includes over 500 boulder problems. The group plans to build sustainable trails to improve access to the area.

Yellowstone Gateway Mineral Withdrawal

In October 2018, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke signed a 20-year mineral withdrawal for 30,000 acres of National Forest lands adjacent to the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness and Yellowstone National Park. This area includes Paradise Valley, Emigrant Gulch and Crevice Mountain, and is important migration habitat for mule deer and elk. Once threatened by two industrial scale…

Waters of Waccamaw Acquisition

North Carolina Coastal Land Trust acquired 2,992 acres of wetlands, cypress swamps, critical bottomland hardwood forests, and seven miles of Waccamaw River frontage. The property is adjacent to 37,000 acres of protected land, creating one of the largest conservation corridors in North Carolina. The 140-mile Waccamaw River, a designated Blue Trail, is a destination for…

Bald Mountain Pond Acquisition

The National Park Trust and Appalachian Trail Conservancy completed the first (Ridge) phase of the Bald Mountain Pond Project, a land acquisition project totaling 1,495 acres in Maine. Acquisition of this land permanently protects old growth (150 years old) spruce forest threatened by development, and preserves the scenic and wild acreage along the Appalachian National…

Red Hill Acquisition

Acquisition of the Red Hill property permanently protects one of the two largest unprotected giant sequoia groves in the world. This 160-acre property is entirely within the boundaries of Giant Sequoia National Monument and contains 110 ancient giant sequoias. Save the Redwoods League plans to steward the property and eventually transfer it to the US Forest…

Preserve the Wonder Acquisitions

Friends of the Columbia Gorge protected eight different properties totaling 470 acres of land along the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge. The land-preservation campaign is one of the largest to be completed in the Gorge since it was designated as a national scenic area by Congress in 1986. These properties preserve the Gorge’s scenic beauty,…

Klickitat Canyon Forest Acquisition

Columbia Land Trust acquired 3,200 acres in Washington’s Klickitat Canyon. This completes the second phase of a 5,600-acre project protecting forestland of high importance for recreation, wildlife, and habitat connectivity along the Wild and Scenic Klickitat River, Washington State’s longest undammed river.  The forested stretch of river, basalt canyon, and upland terrain connects the Yakama Nation Indian…

Richmond Town Forest

The town of Richmond, Vermont is the proud owner of a 428-acre forest located one mile from the village center. Vermont Land Trust worked with the community to acquire the forest, which is a key part of a protected area that helps connect Camel’s Hump State Park with Mount Mansfield State Forest. The forest is…