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| International Biodiversity | Population & Consumption |
Domestic Biodiversity
The Weeden Foundation provided a $10,000 grant to Alaska Wilderness League to support its Rainforest Program, which aims to conserve and protect high-value watersheds in the Tongass National Forest. This program focuses on ensuring congressional and administrative actions to fulfill the following goals: 1) Congressional protection (including Wilderness designations) for priority watershed throughout the Tongass; 2) Transition of the Tongass National Forest Management from an emphasis on clearcut logging to a more diversified program intended to maintain ecosystem health; and 3) Restoration of impacted watersheds in the Tongass that retain high value even after prior logging and development damage. As they build their campaign towards the enactment of congressional protection, the League continues to pursue other offensive and defensive activities, including local advocacy work to move the Forest Service away from a logging-focused program to one that focuses on intact watersheds and old-growth forests. The League will continue to serve as a primary voice in Washington for the Tongass conservation campaign.
In February 2010, Interior Secretary Salazar, Governor Schwarzenegger, Governor Kulungoski, American Rivers and dozens of other Klamath stakeholders signed an historic Klamath River settlement agreement that will end conflict in the basin and chart a course of recovery for the Klamath River and the many communities that depend on it. However, this settlement is contingent on the ability of American Rivers and its partners to fulfill the critical prerequisites in the agreements. This $20,000 grant will be used in the effort to face three primary near-term hurdles that must be overcome in order to implement the agreements: obtaining federal enabling legislation; securing Oregon and California Public Utility Commission approval of increases to PacifiCorp customer rates to cover dam removal costs; and Secretarial determination that confirms dam removal is in the public interest. Additionally, American Rivers will continue its work with partners and congressional liaisons to inform the public and members of Congress about the benefits of the agreements, and they will work to prevent any opposition to the agreement from gaining momentum.
The California Wilderness Coalition received $15,000 for their work in the Klamath-Siskiyou region. The United States Forest Service (USFS) will be revising the land and resource management plans (LRMPs) for 15 national forests in California, including the four national forests in the Klamath-Siskiyou eco-region of northwestern California. This process provides an excellent opportunity for CWC and other groups to influence the way that forests are managed and to advocate for increased protection for roadless areas. From 1997 to 2001, CWC coordinated the Citizens’ Wilderness Inventory (CWI), which added thousands of acres of roadless areas to the list of inventoried roadless areas in California already identified by the federal government. In this current proposal, CWC’s efforts will include: 1) updating the CWI surveys of wilderness-eligible areas in two of the four Klamath-Siskiyou national forests (the remaining forests will be the subject of another grant proposal); 2) advocating for the protection of unmapped roadless areas in the two forests under the Roadless Area Conservation Rule; and 3) working to convince the USFS to recommend that key roadless areas be designated as wilderness. CWC will also work to accomplish these objectives for remaining national forests in California that will be revising their land and resource management plans. However, Weeden funds will be used exclusively for activities within the two national forests within the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion.
The Clark Fork Coalition received a $20,000 grant for their Resilient Rivers project, which seeks to re-establish the southern-most connections to the Crown of the Continent region by improving streamflows and enhancing habitat in the Upper Clark Fork and Northern Bitterroot Corridor. Their primary objectives are to restore habitat and flow in degraded and disconnected feeder creeks and streams in the Upper Clark Fork, and to enhance flow and secure ecological health in the Northern Bitterroot Corridor by integrating water transactions and land conservation strategies. The Coalition will continue its 25-year history of working to bring the Upper Clark Fork back to life after severe metal contamination and subsequent designation as a Superfund site. Funding they have received for Superfund cleanup, coupled with the recent removal of the Milltown Dam and the organization’s role as “rancher/neighbor” via its ownership of a cattle ranch, puts them in a unique position to pursue full-scale recovery of the watershed. The Coalition also works to secure the ecological health of the Northern Bitterroot Corridor, a narrow, essential habitat-connecting corridor, by serving as a coordinator among conservation partners and acting as a broker for water transactions with individual landowners to facilitate large landscape conservation.
More than ever, we need to protect habitats and corridors for endangered wildlife in order to give them the greatest chance of surviving climate change. Therefore, the Endangered Species Coalition is leading their member groups in advocating for the protection of a series of “climate change refuges”—habitats that will remain somewhat resilient to climate change and will serve as important refuges for species adapting to global warming. In addition, the Endangered Species Coalition is working to reverse Bush’s “extinction legacy” and strengthen endangered species protections. Of great concern to the ESC is the fact that the new administration has not abandoned the Bush administration’s narrow view of a species’ necessary habitat (referred to as the Solicitor’s Opinion on Range). The Endangered Species Coalition is also advocating that the new administration prioritize an ecosystem-based approach to listing species, so that the greatest number of species may be listed, while simultaneously putting in place their habitat protections. Finally, the Endangered Species Coalition will continue to work with field organizers who specialize in finding and cultivating “allied voices” in the hotbeds of wildlife controversies in the West. These voices act as unexpected messengers for the protection of endangered species and wildlands. They are also engaging the grassroots power of their 400+ member groups to improve protections for endangered species and their habitat. The Endangered Species Coalition has received a $20,000 grant for their work.
The Geos Institute (formerly National Center for Conservation Science and Policy) received a grant for $20,000 for two programs: 1) Protecting Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the United States and British Columbia; and 2) Protecting Mature and Old-Growth Forests in the Pacific Northwest. The first program aims to protect forest biodiversity in coastal temperate rainforests of the Pacific Coast by pressuring the U.S. government to make a commitment to domestic forest protections. They intend to accomplish this by several actions aimed at calling international attention to these forgotten rainforests, including widely distributing and promoting Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World: Ecology and Conservation (co-written and edited by Dr. Dominick DellaSala. The second program focuses on protecting mature and old-growth forests and their biodiversity in the Pacific Northwest by: 1) ensuring current forest planning (Spotted Owl Recovery Plan and Western Oregon Plan Revision II) is scientifically sound and emphasizes forest restoration and protection; 2) supporting passage of the Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection and Jobs Act; and 3) educating Congress and the Obama administration on the need to create a National Forest Carbon Trust designed to protect the nation’s old forests.
Critical habitats are being lost in the Northern Rockies and the coastal ranges from the Pacific Northwest to Patagonia at a rapid rate. Fortunately, private land conservation is growing in size and sophistication as an effective counter. With Weeden funding, the Alliance will help land trusts to increase the pace of conservation, hone their organizational capacity, focus their land deals strategically, and ensure that the land entrusted to them is permanently protected. They will unite land trusts in North and South America to share strategies and models for success; monitor emerging conservation trends and broadcast promising new techniques; and share the knowledge gained from 25 years of listening, learning and training to advance land trusts’ development to achieve greater on-the-ground impact. This year, as The Land Trust Alliance works to maximize their impact in the West and in Chile, it has its sights set on several specific goals. In the West, they are working through their Western Land Conservation Initiative to help prepare 100 land trusts for accreditation and to save an additional five million acres of critical landscapes by 2015. The Alliance’s link to Chile, which was established a decade ago with the support of the Weeden Foundation, has endured. To maintain this connection, the Foundation's $5,000 grant will be used to provide scholarships for two Chilean conservationists to attend Rally 2010—the Alliance’s national conference where participants have opportunities to meet colleagues, acquire skills, and learn new ways to face conservation challenges.
The Montana Association of Land Trusts (MALT) has received a grant for $10,000. MALT is working to advance land conservation throughout Montana. The overriding purpose of MALT is to assist Montana’s land trusts to conserve open lands, protect wildlife habitat in Montana, and provide the opportunity for recreational access. MALT is working to carry out the following activities: 1) The Montana Legacy Project and Montana Working Forests Project, an ongoing effort that seeks to complete the largest land conservation project in state history with the purchase of over 300,000 acres of Plum Creek Timberlands property in western Montana; 2) The Travelers for Open Land initiative, which has created and maintains a partnership among land trusts, the hospitality industry, state agencies, the Montana Community Foundation and the traveling public to raise small donations from travelers for the protection of open lands and wildlife habitat; 3) Federal Conservation Tax Incentives advocacy work to reauthorize expired government incentives. (100 percent of Montana’s Congressional Delegation was and is supportive of the federal conservation tax incentives, but the conservation tax incentives expired at the end of 2009); 4) Conservation Easement Amendments that would assist its members in navigating with certainty through the complexities of Conservation Easement Amendments. There are currently over 1,400 conservation easements in Montana, protecting over 1.9 million acres. MALT was createdin 2005 in direct response to legislative and policy attempts to significantly diminish and impair the role of land trusts and conservation easements in protecting open land. MALT has 12 members, and these 12 land trusts hold about 99 percent of all the conservation easements in Montana held by non-profit organizations. The members contribute to the costs of the Association through a sliding-scale dues process that calls on "large" land trusts such as the Montana Land Reliance and The Nature Conservancy to contribute more than the "small" land trusts.
The Montana Wilderness Association (MWA) received a $20,000 grant for their Montana Forests Campaign. This campaign advances MWA’s groundbreaking partnership of loggers, sportsmen, rural county commissioners, recreationists, and conservationists working together to usher in a new era of cooperation and collaboration on natural resource conservation issues in Montana. The result of their efforts is the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, which Montana Senator Jon Tester introduced in Congress in 2009. The legislation permanently protects ecologically important landscapes as new wilderness in Montana, while directing environmentally sensitive stewardship projects to improve and protect forest biodiversity and riparian ecosystems. A successful outcome for this campaign would protect 670,000 acres of new wilderness in three national forests, including Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Lolo, and Kootenai National Forests, as well as BLM landscapes throughout southwestern Montana. These important landscapes represent a diversity of ecosystems, including ecotypes unrepresented in the wilderness system and critical riparian habitat for important native fish species.
Olympic Park Institute received funding in the amount of $10,000 toward general support for its Elwha Field Science Program, which fills a valuable niche by informing and teaching students about the vast potential of a full restoration of the Elwha River Ecosystem. In 1992, The United States Congress mandated removal of the Elwha River dams, which will represent the largest ever dam removal in American history. The dam removal process is expected to begin in September 2011. The goal for the Elwha Field Science Program is to provide students the opportunity to study a historic dam removal process through field science. Olympic Park Institute’s fourth through twelfth grade students will be engaged in inquiry-based learning by closely mirroring scientists’ actual work and conducting authentic field science investigations. They will collect data and monitor habitat for research projects of their own design. By learning within the natural setting of Olympic National Park through hands-on activities, students benefit through: 1) increased engagement in science; 2) renewed curiosity about the natural world and local communities; 3) improved group dynamics; and 4) enhanced comprehension of environmental issues and increased sense of stewardship. Funding from the Weeden Foundation will provide 75-100 students from underserved schools with reduced tuition to attend the residential program.
The Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) received a grant for $20,000 to support their efforts to advance the transfer of high-priority private properties within the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (CSNM) to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). PFT also intends to capitalize on exciting new acquisition opportunities within the Monument. In 2009, the Monument received further recognition from the federal government with the creation of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Area, which covers 23,000 acres of public land, mostly within the Monument. Unfortunately, 30,500 private acres designated for the Monument remain unprotected, are closed to public access, and are threatened by unsustainable timber harvesting, subdivision, and second-home development in Jackson County and Ashland. To date, PFT has transferred a total of 1,679 acres to the BLM and is now in the process of transferring an additional 951 acres of many of the most valuable parcels still in private hands. In addition, BLM has requested $8.5 million this fiscal year to fund the purchase of PFT remaining properties as well as additional high-priority properties currently under negotiation by PFT and The Conservation Fund. The House of Representatives has already approved full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the first time in many years, increasing the likelihood that the Monument will see a substantial increase in funds this year. Continued support will allow PFT to continue with the transfer of PFT-owned properties to the BLM, sustain new acquisition opportunities of BLM high properties with new landowners in the CSNM, and raise the profile of CSNM among policymakers to ensure future project funding.
Sitka Conservation Society (SCS) received $20,000 to protect the Tongass Temperate Rainforest ecosystems of Southeast Alaska and to promote the development of economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable communities living within the Tongass National Forest. Through traditional grassroots advocacy, innovative collaborative partnerships, educating the larger public, cultivating strategic support, and well-honed defensive techniques, the SCS is outlining a new vision for both the Tongass National Forest and Alaskan communities. Together with a coalition of conservation groups and regional partners, they are working on an offensive strategy to change the “industry-first” dynamic of Tongass National Forest management to a conservation-first dynamic. New mandates within the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Obama administration give SCS a unique chance to change the paradigm of Tongass management, as well as to cultivate social and political changes that help permanently protect Tongass lands as Wilderness. A new joint strategy focuses on: 1) making conservation progress in administrative policy areas (changing the focus of the Forest Service as an agency on the Tongass), to build toward legislative protections; 2) moving forward and organizing where there is ripe momentum for legislative protections; and 3) defending, when needed, against threats to Tongass ecosystems.
With a $20,000 grant from the Weeden Foundation, SEACC is working to permanently protect up to 4.6 million acres of wild places on Tongass National Forest wildlands—the planet’s largest intact ancient temperate rainforest—while fostering sustainable communities and a future in which people remain intimately connected to healthy wildlands. As the regional conservation organization, SEACC is uniquely poised to organize Southeast Alaskan stakeholders and communities to support their goals. Their place-by-place strategy is complementary with the evolving Tongass-wide protection proposal, which has been developed through scientific studies documenting the most ecologically productive Tongass watersheds and collaborative processes such as the Tongass Futures Roundtable. They are currently looking to stop federal land giveaway proposals, but if they proceed, hope to change bad proposals to diminish biological impacts and embed about one million acres of permanent protections. SEACC was able to mobilize substantial public opposition to the Sealaska proposal, which would have privatized up to 85,000 acres of valuable Tongass wildlands. As a result, the proposal has been rendered dormant for the time being. Meanwhile, SEACC will continue to defend the Tongass from damaging clearcutting, mining, and road building.
Soda Mountain Wilderness Council received $20,000 to continue their work of protecting wildlands in the still-threatened Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument area. They will continue working to enhance the ecological integrity of this regionally important Pacific Northwest Cascade-Siskiyou ecological connection (both inside and outside current Monument boundaries) with the goals of ending public lands grazing on the monument and beyond, obtaining the best possible Monument and wilderness management plans, expanding the Monument and securing Jenny Creek a Wild and Scenic River designation, and continuing acquisition of monument inholdings. This year, the Council will continue to work to achieve those goals through agency planning processes, litigation, more grazing lease buyouts, preparing for Wild and Scenic River and other Wilderness legislation, laying groundwork for Monument expansion, public education, and assisting in land acquisition—while responding to unforeseen threats and opportunities.
Tuleyome received a $15,000 grant to advocate for the designation of the 470,000-acre Berryessa Snow Mountain region as a national monument. The Berryessa Snow Mountain range anchors the southern end of the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion, and includes remnant old-growth forestlands, streams, and other habitat elements associated with mountainous areas only found in northwestern California. This intact ecological treasure requires one management plan, rather than the current disjointed, fragmented efforts from multiple agency jurisdictions. Fortunately, the opportunity for that unity is at hand. In mid-February, the Department of the Interior leaked a memo that discussed potential regions that the current administration might consider for National Monument designation. The Berryessa Snow Mountain region was on the short list. As soon as Tuleyome learned of the memo, they worked to build momentum for this designation, traveling to DC to meet with congressional staff to tell them about the area and to meet with the Bureau of Land Management National Landscape Conservation System administration, which the new monument would become part of. However, before a designation can go through, there is much work to be done. Specifically, they will update their draft legislation, finalize proposal maps, refine their message and fact sheets, engage grassroots efforts to build support throughout the local communities and region, and work with gateway businesses to coordinate their support for the NCA.
The Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) received a $20,000 grant to reduce the threat of human activity in the Klamath-Siskiyou and Northern Rockies bioregions by employing the full power of our nation’s environmental laws. This year, in the Klamath-Siskiyou, they are working to ensure that federal land management policies protect and restore biodiversity, and that site-specific activities, such as mining, logging, road development, and other harmful activities do not degrade this unique region. In the Northern Rockies (specifically Montana) they are working to develop local and statewide solutions to conflicts between land use and wildlife habitat and other natural resources. They are also developing place-based conservation efforts to protect and restore critically important wildlands, including wildlife corridors.
Western Lands Project received a $20,000 grant to continue their work across the West scrutinizing federal land transactions—including land exchanges, sales and outright giveaways of public land—and their impacts on ecosystems, resources, land use, communities and habitat. Using watch-dogging, policy reform, public education, advocacy, and legal challenges, their goal is to keep public lands public. By defending the public domain, they help protect the threatened ecosystems of western lands and rivers imperiled by private developers, extractive industries, and urban sprawl. By monitoring each of the approximately 200 land deal proposed annually by the BLM and Forest Service, in addition to those introduced by legislation, Western Lands builds a comprehensive strategy to address the project, if necessary, and improve its terms using their years of experience.
The Wilderness Land Trust received $15,000 to support its efforts to acquire 1,800 critical acres as an addition to the Castle Crags Wilderness Area, in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Their intention is to acquire this property and transfer it to the US Forest Service, as well as to lay the groundwork for other nearby acquisitions. WLT has a long history of protecting wilderness in the Klamath Siskiyou region by acquiring private parcels and transferring them to public land managers. This current high-priority project is a rare opportunity to add intact lands adjacent to an important wilderness area. These lands were left out at the time the area was designated wilderness because they are privately owned. The property has an approved timber harvest plan. With the current depressed timber market, there is an opportunity to acquire this site before harvest begins. Importantly, this acquisition would connect the wilderness area to the nearby Castle Crags State Park. The Trust's goal is to acquire and transfer all high-priority inholdings in proposed and designated wilderness areas in California and other western states. Private inholdings threaten the continuation of wilderness because they are frequently developed in ways that are inconsistent with wilderness values, leading to the fragmentation of pristine ecosystems, degradation of the wilderness experience for visitors, and more costly and time-consuming challenges for land agencies. Acquisition of high-priority inholdings within proposed wilderness areas helps to facilitate their designation as wilderness. Since its founding in 1992, the Trust has become recognized as the leader in acquiring privately owned lands within existing and proposed wilderness areas, and transferring them to public ownership. The Trust has preserved more than 31,000 acres in 76 designated and proposed wilderness areas throughout the American West.
Ecosistemas received a grant for $20,000 for its Live Rivers Campaign, with special emphasis this year on the development of an electronic/printed magazine to be widely disseminated. The goal is to inform national and international communities about the socio-environmental impacts of the proposed HidroAysén dams projects, particularly highlighting the potential impact of the transmission lines in Chilean Patagonia. The Ecosistemas magazine, in its two formats, will also be distributed to organizations within Ecosistemas’ circle of influence, including: universities and educational establishments, other NGOs, Parliament, and government ministries. More broadly, Ecosistemas will continue to perform the research, analysis and collection of secondary information necessary to inform and influence civil society both regionally and nationally. Their goal is to remain a prominent voice for the Patagonia Sin Represas campaign, while continuing to play a coordinating role amongst national and regional environmental organizations in the campaign.
FIMA received a $10,000 grant for work on two ongoing lawsuits lawsuits. One challenges the current separation of the Environmental Impact Studies for the HidroAysén project into two studies: one for dams themselves and another for the project’s electric transmission lines. FIMA argues that these two project components must be considered as a whole. The other lawsuit employs new legal strategies to combat infringements on national protection laws and international norms for the conservation of water and protected areas. FIMA also continues to investigate the feasibility of unconventional renewable energy sources, studying the applications of renewable energy in other countries and determining the advantages and disadvantages of their application in Chile. FIMA has already produced one such study on the environmental cost of fossil fuel combustion and hydroelectricity, which has been published in the law review Justicia Ambiental (Environmental Justice). The next step will be to study the changes in Chilean law in order to determine a regulatory framework that protects alternative renewable energy. Finally, FIMA participates in the Patagonia Defense Council to ensure that the international campaign always has current information about ongoing litigation.
The International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) joined the fight to protect one of the world’s last great wildernesses, Chilean Patagonia, from the proposal to construct five mega dams on the Baker and Pascua Rivers. With previous support from the Weeden Foundation, the iLCP and the Patagonian Foundation launched a RAVE, or Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition, as their contribution to the Patagonia Sin Represas campaign. This effort documents—through photographs and video—the story of the rivers, the region, and what stands to be lost if the dams are built. Now, the iLCP has launched the second phase of the RAVE, which involves using the photographs and video with their partners in a worldwide visual action campaign that includes large print exhibits (in Italy, Spain, the US, Canada, and Chile), an image-rich book, and 5 and 20-minute films. In order to fulfill a commitment to RAVE partners, who include Conservación Patagonica, Patagonia, Inc., Consejo de Defensa de la Patagonia Chilena, Ecosistemas, Terram, and the National Resources Defense Council, the iLCP received an additional $5,000 grant from the Weeden Foundation in support of the exhibits and book project.
International Rivers received $15,000 to continue their campaign to protect Chile’s rivers from destructive hydroelectric development projects. Their primary focus will be to participate in the Patagonia without Dams campaign, particularly to mobilize opinion in the US and Europe against the HidroAysén dams and associated transmission lines. Should the project be given environmental approval, they will work to discourage project financing by educating US, Spanish and Italian financial institutions about the risks associated with the projects. They will also use their technical, media and advocacy experience to support their campaign partners in Chile. In 2010, International Rivers contributed to the securing of high-profile media coverage, providing assistance to coverage of the issue in media such as National Geographic, Outside Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, and Bloomberg.
Island Conservation (IC) requests received continued support in the amount of $20,000 for the continued development of its Caribbean Program. On Puerto Rico’s Desecheo Island, IC aims to remove remaining macaques (an invasive species that has decimated historic seabird breeding colonies) by May 2011; conduct at least one field trip to assess biodiversity response and complete field research for rodent removal; and complete the operational plan for removing invasive rats, currently scheduled for early 2012. On Navassa Island in the West Indies, feral cats and invasive rats present a threat to biodiversity and endangered seabird and terrestrial bird species. IC plans to conduct a site visit in February/March 2011 in order to inform the feasibility assessment and establish a pre-removal biodiversity baseline; and to complete the assessment for removing invasive species by March/April 2011. Additionally, IC will build capacity in the Dominican Republic to initiate island restoration projects in the region, specifically on Alto Velo, as well as hire a Caribbean Regional Director to further develop the Caribbean regional program.
NRDC received renewed funding in the amount of $25,000 from the Weeden Foundation to support its ongoing efforts to protect the Chilean Patagonia region from the devastating impacts of HidroAysén. Looking forward, the next phase of NRDC’s campaign will focus primarily on three aspects of the massive hydroelectric proposal: 1) drawing attention to the impacts and implications of the transmission line; 2) using the key weaknesses in the project to deter potential international investors; and 3) proving that there are better energy choices for Chile than HidroAysén. The second addendum to the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) was scheduled for June 2010, but has been pushed back to the end of October, representing a positive development that gives NRDC and their partners on the Patagonia Defense Council (CDP) more time to build the case for alternatives to the dams. The best argument against the dams—one which appears to resonate somewhat with the Chilean government—is that the 1,400 mile long transmission lines are risk-laden (vulnerable to volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and landslides), and are projected to cost far more than originally proposed. NRDC has also worked to identify the main financial risks, in order to advocate against investment in such a risky and controversial project. To dispel the notion that renewable energy is prohibitively expensive for Chile, NRDC will work on an analysis to provide quantitative data demonstrating the true costs of the dams in comparison with renewable energy sources.
Last year the Foundation sent money to a couple Aysén-based regional/local groups that are part of the Consejo de la Defensa de la Patagonia Chilena, the Patagonia without Dams campaign coalition. Traditionally, these groups have been funded by Doug Tompkins; however, he has had to significantly cut back support due to financial constraints. In order to fill this gap, while recognizing the importance of this local front, Weeden joined with the Marisla Foundation to provide $40,000. This year, the Weeden Foundation has awarded a total of $15,000 in grants to these groups. The key local groups are CODEFF, led by long-time activist Peter Harmann, based in Coiyaique (capital of XI region, which includes the two affected rivers), and ADEP, based in Cochrane (close to the Baker River dam sites). Both groups have played a vital role in educating the local population about the potential environmental and social impacts of the HidroAysén project. In this sparsely populated region, activists have literally gone farm-to-farm in pickup trucks to meet with the local populace. They have also staged cabalgatas, demonstrations on horseback, and numerous political meetings. This intensive local campaign has clearly paid off. Recent polls determined that over 60% of the province's population opposes the dams. Furthermore, several landowners in the dam/reservoir site vicinity have refused to sell to Endesa, which has been attempting to quietly line up properties that they will need to build the dams. Over the past several years, Endesa has been pouring millions of dollars into the province in the form of donations to schools and other civic institutions, as well as spending six-figure sums on local media and project propaganda. Recently, the CEO of Endesa accompanied journalists from Chile's major newspapers and television stations in a series of high-profile staged events, getting around by helicopter and new land cruisers. Endesa has very deep pockets; it remains very important to counter the project with old-fashioned citizen activism. Once again this funding will be well-spent.
Patagonia Rising is a feature-length documentary investigating the plan to build five large hydroelectric dams on the Baker and Pascua Rivers. It examines the cultural and environmental implications and explores cleaner energy alternatives. HidroAysén’s multi-million dollar ad campaign sways public opinion with messages of “clean and sustainable” energy. Sadly, the voices of opposition are receiving little to no media attention in Chile. Tracing the hydrologic cycle of the Baker River from ice to ocean, Patagonia Rising gives a voice to the frontier people caught in the crossfire of Chile’s energy demands. Juxtaposing the pro-dam business sector with renewable energy experts, the documentary will bring awareness and offer solutions to this global conflict over water and power. Patagonia Rising’s team has developed strong relationships with organizations (Weeden grantees) leading campaigns to stop these dams (Natural Resources Defense Council and International Rivers), and this film will compliment their campaigns by providing a useful educational tool and by bringing needed media attention to the issue. They have also fostered connections with TVN, the public television station in Chile, and they are planning to get a version of the film broadcast across the country. This could be critical in rallying opposition to the dam project and showing potential investors that HidroAysén is a risky venture both economically and politically. Patagonia Rising has received a $15,000 grant toward finishing costs for the documentary. Post-production began in January 2010, and the film is on track to begin screening toward the end of this year. This support will allow an editor to work full-time on this project while more funds are raised, and will hasten Patagonia Rising’s completion in time to make a difference.
Since 2007, the Patagonia without Dams campaign has been working to stop the five proposed HidroAysén project dams and their accompanying 1,400 miles of transmission lines from being constructed on the Baker and Pascua Rivers in Chilean Patagonia. HidroAysén is scheduled to present a new comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment at the end of October, at which point the government will have two weeks to evaluate the information presented and decide whether to reject or approve the project. In partnership with the Pumalin Foundation, the Campaign received $10,000 from the Weeden Foundation to meet two specific purposes: 1) defeat the approval of the EIA in its final phase of evaluation; and 2) raise public awareness about the pending decision through a media campaign. Both of these activities are crucial, as the new conservative government in place in Chile since this past March has shown itself to be very sensitive to public opinion regarding the environmental and social impacts of energy projects. It is important for the campaign to be able to continue to bring attention the important technical, environmental and social issues on the dams and transmission lines.
1% for the Planet is a rapidly growing global network of companies that give at least 1% of their annual sales to nonprofit organizations focused on issues of sustainability. 1,400 current active member companies have given more than $50 million to date to over 2,000 non-profits around the world, including more than $15 million in 2009. By 2013, 1% seeks to establish 1% for the Planet as the gold standard for corporate philanthropy, grow their annual giving to $50 million, their network of member companies to 5,000, their consumer reach to more than 100 million, and to be self-supporting. 1% received a $20,000 grant to help achieve their growth objectives. They aim to reach 1,500 corporate members by the end of 2010, acquiring and maintaining members through targeted growth, regional expansion, and member services. They will also work to build the 1% brand through marketing of their debut benefit album, distribution of short film describing the organization’s work, and “Planet Match” donations, an online checkout program where shoppers can add 1% or more to their bill and have it matched by the vendor.
North America’s commercial print and newspaper sectors consume massive volumes of paper and consequently have devastating impacts on our forests, waterways, species and climate. The environmental impacts of both of these sectors dwarf all other paper segments combined, and their business drives the production of the majority of North America’s paper mills and the destruction of Endangered Forest regions, particularly the Boreal Forest in Canada and the Piedmont Forest in the southeastern US. During 2010 and 2011, Canopy will: 1) secure landmark conservation gains in Canada’s Boreal forests; 2) galvanize the North American print and newspaper companies to develop environmental paper policies, including on-the-ground conservation priorities, and to adopt supply chain shifts that protect endangered forest and critical habitat areas; 3) build momentum for the Second Harvest campaign to stimulate North American-based commercial-scale agricultural residue pulp production and development of agricultural residue papers; and 4) catalyze increased FSC supply, low carbon options such as recycled fiber and innovation solutions with our Second Harvest campaign for non-wood fiber papers. This year, the Weeden Foundation’s $20,000 grant will primarily be dedicated to the campaigns to catalyze a non-wood paper industry in North America and transform the environmental impacts of the massive US print and newspaper sectors and paper supply chain on North America’s forests, species and climate.
The Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE) has been granted $20,000 to expand the organization’s capacity to promote their mission of advancing the steady state economy—requiring stable population growth and consumption trends—as a policy goal. While world-class thinkers have investigated the impacts of our unsustainable economic institutions, CASSE holds that without increased public awareness and support of the consequences of growth, there is little chance of making the transition to a steady state economy. In pursuit of their goal of serving as a premiere economic think tank, CASSE has four primary goals: 1) to serve as the preeminent source of information on the downsides of economic growth and the desirability of a steady state economy; 2) to provide effective communication and outreach to educate citizens, organizations, and policy makers about the steady state economy; 3) to conduct research and produce publications on steady state economics; and 4) to facilitate collaboration among existing supporters of the steady state economy.
The Center for Environmental Education (CEE) has developed an environmental literacy curriculum for 4th and 5th graders called “Secret’s Out,” based on INFORM’s Secret Life of Paper video. INFORM's video series, The Secret Life, focuses on the lifecycle environmental impacts of everyday objects we all use, and offers simple, clear steps individuals can take that will cumulatively lead to significant environmental benefits. The purpose of the curriculum is to encourage students to understand the environmental impact of paper and the simple steps required to be eco-conscious consumers. The curriculum was tested in urban, rural, and suburban classrooms in three geographic regions, and was found to capture students’ interest and spark constructive activism. CEE has been granted $10,000 to take the lead in developing, testing and distributing imaginative and engaging curricula for each of the three INFORM videos (Secret Life of Paper, Beef, and Cell Phones) at multiple grade levels. Each 6-lesson plan has several overarching objectives: 1) to teach students about lifecycle environmental impacts; 2) to teach students how to make consumption choices that protect the environment; 3) to explain the reasoning behind the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle); 4) to introduce a 4th R: Re-think; 5) to introduce the concept of shared responsibility for sustainable practices; 6) to encourage students to become advocates of sustainable practices in their school/community; and 7) to create an online community of environmentally constructive activists.
In the coming year, CIS will contribute significantly to the public debate over immigration through the Center’s Population/Environment Program and other outreach activities that appeal to a broad audience of policymakers and opinion leaders. To that end, CIS plans to publish more than 12 Backgrounder issue papers and several policy Memorandums, including “Immigration’s Impact on Population Growth,” “Factors Influencing Immigrant Fertility Levels,” and “The American Southwest, Population, and Drought.” They will also testify before Congress (CIS continues to be the single most frequent non-government witness before Congress), meet with high-ranking government officials, and retain prominence in the media. CIS remains one of the leading voices in print media, with more quotes than any other immigration group. Center staff will also continue to appear regularly on television and radio, hold panel discussions, participate in conferences, publish scholarly articles and op-eds, and disseminate the latest immigration research and developments via CISNEWS, CIS blogs, and videos. CIS has been awarded a $20,000 grant for their work.
Dogwood Alliance received a $15,000 grant to support their efforts to convince KFC and McDonald’s, the two biggest fast food companies in the world, to adopt sustainable paper policies focused on: reducing overall paper use, increasing paper recovery and recycling, and transitioning from 100% virgin paper to paper made from post-consumer recycled and FSC-certified fiber. As leaders in the industry, the adoption of sustainable packaging policies by these two fast food giants will have a domino effect. With that goal of sustainable conversion in mind, Dogwood Alliance will carry out the following activities this year: 1) educate the public about the impacts of KFC’s paper packaging on climate, forests, and communities, and activate diverse voices to communicate concerns through postcards and letters; 2) in addition to a major campaign kick-off event in Louisville, KY, they will organize another major event at the corporate headquarters and at least two additional campaign events to further pressure KFC; 3) further develop their youth organizing program to engage elementary, junior high, and high school youth on the KFC campaign and organize an event with youth to pressure KFC; 4) send regular e-alerts encouraging the involvement of Dogwood’s 10,000 e-activists in the campaign and grow their e-activist list to 15,000; 5) utilize Web 2.0 technology including Facebook and Twitter, video and photo sharing, and blogs to further pressure KFC; 6) generate at least two national media stories, ten regional stories, and 50 online stories about the KFC campaign; 7) build relationships with relevant executives at KFC and McDonald’s by attending annual shareholder meetings, speaking at relevant corporate sustainability and fast food restaurant conferences, and regular contact.
The Environmental Paper Network (EPN) has received a grant for $20,000 for general support to provide the environmental paper movement with the capacity to accomplish its highest priority collaborative projects, which are critical to advancing the Common Vision agreed to by network members. The ultimate goal is to accelerate the transformation of the paper industry towards better environmental practices. This year, EPN will continue to work towards: leveraging transformational market shifts (already underway, as evidenced by the legal protection of millions of acres of endangered forests); expanding the number of paper-related certifications and forest acres certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC); increasing the number of large companies developing environmental paper policies; further widening the growing availability of genuine environmental papers to purchasers; decreasing overall US consumption of paper products; and increasing demand for and use of recovered fiber. In 2010, EPN will lead and facilitate collaboration on six movement priorities with the following anticipated outcomes: 1) a stronger, more effective Network of non-profit advocacy organizations; 2) new and updated paper purchaser tools that grow the environmental paper marketplace; 3) a national effort led by the RePaper Project to increase paper recovery and recycled paper manufacturing; 4) public policies and incentives that support recycling and proper carbon accounting and advance the Common Vision; 5) Network communications that counter greenwashing, raise the profile of their solutions, and grow the environmental paper marketplace; and 6) increase the financial sustainability of the movement.
Green Press Initiative received a $20,000 grant to continue advancing industry-wide environmental transformations in the US book and newspaper sectors, including macro changes at the policy level and in the paper industry at large. Specific project goals for this year include: 1) engagement of US book industry stakeholders in continued progress to reach 2012 Treatise paper-related benchmarks of 30% recycled/20% FSC (up from 3% and 2% in 2004) and working to eliminate any pressure on Endangered Forests; 2) engagement of US book sector stakeholders in committing to and implementing industry-wide greenhouse gas reduction targets of 20% by 2020 and 80% by 2050; 3) final completion, piloting, and launch of a green publisher certification system (modeled after LEED) for the US book industry; 4) coordination (in partnership with Canopy) of a multi-stakeholder industry-wide agreement in the US newspaper industry that sets targets for improved environmental performance; and 5) advancement (in partnership with the EPN) of accurate forest carbon accounting methodologies and government-level support for a stronger paper recovery system.
Having made excellent progress in production of their documentary Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity, GrowthBusters has received a $15,000 grant in order to complete the film. This feature-length documentary examines the addictions and values standing in the way of sustainability, and is unique in its focus on economic and population growth, its mainstream appeal, and its effort to “extinguish the taboo” by looking to shift social norms by talking openly about them. They aim to complete the film by March 2011 and begin promoting it at film festival screenings, a premiere event, and through wide release through mid-2011. Following the distribution model of the documentary Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, GrowthBusters will distribute copies of the DVD to be shown at house parties and community screenings. In addition to the film, GrowthBusters is building awareness through their online education and outreach sites, along with an extensive media relations campaign.
Ipas has a long history of working to ensure that women in Latin America have access to safe abortion services, with a particular focus on advocacy efforts for sexual and reproductive health and rights, including the right to choose safe abortion. Ipas will continue to collaborate with professional associations, public health institutions, NGOs, community based organizations, and the media to inform women of their sexual and reproductive rights and to increase their ability to defend and exercise these rights. Specifically, Ipas would complete the following activities in the coming year: 1) support current initiatives in the Bolivian legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government to liberalize abortion laws and/or promote a liberal interpretation of existing laws; 2) provide technical assistance, including health and medical arguments and educational materials, to partners in Mexico to support their efforts to prevent or overturn state-level laws and constitutional reforms that would curtail women’s reproductive rights; 3) strengthen relations with supportive Brazilian legislators and provide information and resources for arguments against pending anti-choice bills and other actions that threaten Brazilian women’s reproductive rights; 4) raise public awareness of reproductive rights and use alternative media to encourage debate in Brazil; and 5) provide leadership to the Strategic Group for the Decriminalization of Therapeutic Abortion in Nicaragua to develop and implement a comprehensive media campaign to build support for reinstating therapeutic abortion.
The Mainstream Media Project (MMP) has received a $15,000 grant for work on a year long project, Consumption & Sustainability: A Public Education Media Campaign. This project will raise public awareness about the environmental impacts of the country's current consuption and production patterns, and will highlight what some key NGOs are doing to change the status quo. Excessive and harmful consumption, linked to biodiversity, population, climate change, and the environment's health are topics that typically generate media interest. To carry out the project, MMP will select key organizations to collectively participate in 100 to 150 broadcast media interviews. Expected outlets include national radio networks, nationally syndicated programs, individual public and commercial radio, and TV stations. As part of the project, MMP will support the selected organizations' media capacity through spokesperson group trainings focusing on interview techniques, including tools for clearly communicating compelling stories and messages. This training will serve up to six participants, each of whom will recieve a CD copy of the training. Two years ago, with a grant from the Colcom Foundation, MMP carried out a very successful project that highlighted the environmental impacts of a rapidly growing US population. The MMP focuses on current news events to bring the attention of radio producers and their listening publics to the larger questions surrounding important issues. The program produces and releases 'Media Alerts' that frame an issue in light of current events and provide dozens of insightful guest interviews to public and commercial radio and TV outlets nationwide. Since 1995, MMP has booked over 25,000 radio and TV interviews. MMP works with 49 national and 14 international networks, 26 regional networks, and more than 800 individual stations, 380 of which are commercial. As a public education organization with a 15-year track record in addressing crucial global security, environmental, economic and social issues, MMP is one of a few NGOs in this country with cost-effective strategies to penetrate the mainstream broadcast media, primarily via radio.
NFPRHA has received a $20,000 grant as it enters its 40th year advocating for low-income access to family planning care. While health care reform promises to significantly expand health care coverage for low-income Americans, it will be necessary for the coalition of organizations committed to federally funded family planning programs to work together to ensure that the law is implemented in a manner that addresses challenges facing service providers. NFPRHA is committed to three areas of critical importance to publicly funded family planning programs: 1) preparing for the impact of health care reform on Title X program by working directly with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Office of Population Affairs as it proceeds with revising and updating Title X guidelines; 2) implementing a two-pronged strategy to address the expanding role of Medicaid in financing family planning care after health care reform; and 3) tackling several issues related to the future of service delivery, particularly expanding outreach and enrollment, better coordinating care financed by different public payers, and infrastructure issues such as securing affordable contraceptive supplies, workforce retention, and assisting family planning providers prepare for expanded use of health information technology. NFPRHA is dedicated to contributing substantively and uniquely to federal policy advocacy within the broader reproductive health and public health communities.
The Population Institute has received a $20,000 grant for the dissemination of the Sustainable Living Planner (SLP), including development of a special report analyzing what the SLP tells us about the ecological sustainability of the US. The SLP, which was developed with partial support from the Weeden Foundation, is a dynamic new educational program that employs ecological footprint accounting and other concepts to consider future sustainable scenarios on a country-by-country basis. Factoring in population, “lifestyle opportunity” levels and other important considerations such as conservation requirements and the advancement of technology, it allows users to employ these key variables to determine whether the United States (and more than 100 other countries) is living at sustainable levels, and how population growth and changes in other factors will affect future sustainability. The SLP and proposed report will demonstrate that the United States is already an “ecological debtor” nation and that to achieve sustainability it will be necessary to reduce current US population and consumption patterns, while devoting more land for conservation purposes. Moreover, it will show that if US population continues to grow as fast as currently projected, achieving sustainability will require more than massive investments in “clean energy” and other new technologies. While many may understand those tradeoffs at some level, the SLP and the special report will quantify the extent of the required tradeoffs. To get the message out, the Population Institute will distribute the report, along with the SLP, to a broad range of interests, including nonprofits like Progressives for Immigration Reform, NumbersUSA, and others. They will also send it to key policymakers and opinion leaders, and make it available for use in college classrooms.
PMC has a ten-year working partnership with Comunicarte, a non-governmental organization in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With support from PMC, Comunicarte helps TV Globo, the most popular television network in Brazil (with a signal that reaches 99.8% of the country’s territory) to assist in and monitor the inclusion of social and health themes in their telenovelas. By providing TV Globo with a detailed content analysis of how various social and health issues were incorporated into their programming, Comunicarte is able to provide useful feedback on how well the issues were addressed, and to encourage TV Globo in their efforts. In 2009, Comunicarte monitored nine of TV Globo's most popular telenovelas and found that the programs had 862 scenes that dealt with social and health issues including: reproductive health, prenatal care, teen pregnancy, safe sex and environmental degradation. PMC’s 2008 study was the first scientific effort to determine the impact of social communication efforts in Brazilian soap operas. The findings confirmed the significant influence of social communication on the viewing public. Recall of themes was high, and attitudes changed positively in relation to the information received. Thus, PMC is anxious to continue this effective partnership with Comunicarte and to improve the lives of viewers throughout Brazil. PMC has been awarded a $20,000 grant for their work in Brazil.
The Rewilding Institute (TRI) is a conservation organization that forthrightly recognizes that rapid human population growth around the world and in the United States is the primary driver of the Sixth Great Extinction and of all the conservation and environmental problems that go with mass extinction, including catastrophic climate change. TRI thinks integrating population issues into its analysis and message is the key to finding conservationists who are still concerned about population and putting it back on the conservation agenda. TRI received a $20,000 grant for its work in the following areas: 1) publication of a series of books written by Foreman that focus on the issue of overpopulation, collectively called For the Wild Things; 2) working with the Apply the Brakes website to get conservation leaders to endorse a position recognizing the role of population growth in harming biodiversity and causing climate change; 3) Dave Foreman’s public lectures on continental-scale rewilding; 4) completing an overhaul of TRI website; 5) re-instituting the publication and distribution of Foreman’s “Around the Campfire” editorial column; 6) producing color brochures on restoration visions for North American carnivores and other keystone species, the first of which has been printed and focuses on the Gray Wolf; and 7) implementing parts of the North American Wildlands Network, including the Spine of the Continent coalition and Freedom to Roam campaign.
The Story of Stuff project has received a $15,000 grant as follow-up support to last year’s grant for the development of an educational curriculum in partnership with Facing the Future. Production and field-testing of the curriculum is now complete and will be released in June 2010. This year’s grant will support: creation and distribution of at least five additional animated movies, co-produced with some of the world’s leading environmental and public interest organizations; field testing a series of web-based communications tools and strategies to connect and activate their growing base of over 100,000 viewers and activists; distribution of the Facing the Future educational curriculum and a faith-based sustainability curriculum in houses of worship nationwide; and leveraging The Story of Stuff book, short films, curricula and other projects to gain extensive coverage in print, broadcast and online media.
The Worldwatch Institute requests a grant from the Weeden Foundation to produce a White Paper tentatively entitled "Sustainable Development: Ending the US Leadership Void." The paper will serve as the lead offering of an NGO campaign, organized around the upcoming 20th anniversary of the 1992 Earth Summit. To date, the United States has largely eschewed its potential as a world leader in designing and building sustainable economies. This leadership void has prompted a coalition of NGOs, including the Worldwatch Institute, to undertake an Earth Summit 2012 Campaign to persuade the US government to adopt an official sustainability policy. To that end, Worldwatch commits to undertaking research, writing, and dissemination of this 30-page White Paper. Tapping data from US government agencies, universities, and NGOs such Redefining Progress and the Global Footprint Network, the paper will lay out trends in US population and in the production and consumption of energy, water, wood resources, metals, and minerals, and situate these in a global context. A key analytical outcome of the work will be the vivid contrast between current US trends and a sustainable population and resource path for the country. An early product of the NGO Earth Summit 2012 Campaign, the White Paper will also inform several other Worldwatch contributions to the campaign, including: 1) a chapter on US sustainability in the Worldwatch Institute's State of the World 2012 report, which will be devoted entirely to the Earth Summit anniversary, and which is used in more than 1000 college courses across the United States, 2) a series of "State of Agenda 21" briefs designed to describe and evaluate progress on selected issue areas in Agenda 21, and 3) outreach events facilitated by foundations, non-governmental organizations, and intergovernmental organizations, designed to increase public awareness and to build support for heightened commitment to sustainability among policymakers around the globe.
