grants03

Domestic Biodiversity

American Rivers	Contact Them Seattle, Washinton
A $20,000 grant was given to American Rivers for it's for its "Voyage of Recovery Campaign." The Campaign will take advantage of the increased public interest surrounding the bicentennial of Lewis and Clark's journey by dramatically increasing public awareness of river conservation issues. The campaign will work to: reopen spawning and rearing habitat blocked by dams (Lower Snake River Dam Removal); establish instream flows necessary to support healthy salmon runs and meet water quality standards; improve dam operations through hydropower project relicensing and federal dam review; protect and restore instream, riparian, and wetland habitats critical to salmon recovery (Columbia River Estuary Restoration); and defend the Endangered Species Act Listings of Wild Salmon and Steelhead.

The Bay Institute of San Francisco	Contact Them San Rafael, California
A grant of $10,000 was given toward The Bay Institute's Healthy Ecosystems Initiative. Through this Initiative, the development of the Bay-Delta-Rivers Ecological Scorecard is currently underway. The Scorecard will be a thermometer of the ecological health of the San Francisco Bay, Delta, and the major rivers and tributaries of the Estuary. As an important asset to understanding the impacts of federal and state investments in the system's restoration, the Scorecard will also be an effective tool for communicating with the policymakers, media, scientific community and general public.

California Wilderness Coalition	Contact Them Davis, California
The California Wilderness Coalition was given $20,000 to launch their "Defense of the Wild" campaign to increase state owned wilderness. Because federal Wilderness lands are vulnerable to oil and gas drilling, mining, off-road vehicles, and other development proposals, CWC is attempting to protect all of CA's precious lands through California's State Wilderness Preservation System. With a pro-environment Government and State Legislature for the next few years, there is great opportunity to ensure the preservation of California's wildernesses.

Georgetown Environmental Law and Policy Institute	Contact Them Washington, DC
A $25,000 general support grant will assist the Georgetown Environmental Law and Policy Institute in their continued efforts to foster academic debate and analysis among scholars and practitioners on fundamental environmental issues. The Institute will continue to concentrate on Takings and International Takings Law, Right-to-Know Policies, the Limits of Market-Based Programs, and the Federal Judiciary.

Land and Water Fund of the Rockies	Contact Them Boulder, Colorado
A $50,000 grant was given to the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies to support their Rocky Mountain Energy Campaign. Currently, fossil fuel development is the greatest threat to wildlands, water resources, and western communities in the Rockies region. On behalf of conservation organizations, outfitters, hunters, farmers, ranchers, and private citizens, the Campaign supports the development of a responsible energy policy for the Interior West, preservation of the West's remaining wild places, and the protection of citizens and communities from unchecked and unregulated energy development.

Natural Trails and Water Coalition	Contact Them Missoula, Montana
A $25,000 grant was given to the Natural Trails and Water Coalition for their Off-Road Vehicle Campaign. The Coalition has been busy defending attempts by the Bush Administration and some members of Congress to relax, weaken or eliminate existing policies designed to prevent off-road vehicles from destroying our parks, forests and other wildlands. The Coalition will also continue to build broad based, self-sustaining networks of local citizens that can engage in defensive actions in the near term and advocate for national ORV reform over the long-term. This will include expanding its outreach efforts to hunters, ranchers, and private property owners, groups which are being increasingly affected by ORVs.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility	Contact Them Washington, DC
A $15,000 general support grant was awarded PEER for their work assisting and protecting public employees who protect our environment. Working with and on behalf of resource officials, PEER works to change the manner in which government agencies conduct business, promoting environmental ethics and government accountability. PEER serves as the key lifeline for federal employees interested in exposing Administration attempts to rip holes in wildlife protection and other key environmental laws and assuring some accountability for violations of the public trust.

Southeast Alaska Conservation Council	Contact Them Juneau, Alaska
$20,000 of continued support was given to the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) for their work to protect the Tongass National Forest, the most intact temperate rainforest in the northern hemisphere, and its neighboring wildlands such as the Taku River watershed. The Tongass and Taku wildlands are threatened by proposals for clearcuts, mines, and roads, and are now particularly vulnerable as a result of the newly appointed and environmentally unsympathetic leadership of Alaska's Forest Service. Currently, SEACC will be keeping the pressure on the Forest Service as it completes a review of 115 roadless areas in Tongass National Forest.

WaterWatch of Oregon	Contact Them Portland, Oregon
WaterWatch of Oregon received a $25,000 grant for their Western Water Project, a joint venture with Trout Unlimited. The Project addresses water law reform and streamflow protection in the West, and this year the Project will focus primarily on the Klamath River Basin. A winter home for the largest population of bald eagles in the continental U.S. and once home to the nation's third largest salmon run, the Klamath Basin is now threatened by water withdrawals to irrigate 400,000 acres of land. WaterWatch will also work toward the restoration of Oregon rivers affected by federal water projects, the implementation of the Endangered Species Act for streamflow restoration in the Walla Walla River Basin, and the strengthening of the conservation community by providing an ongoing successful model of action concerning western water issues.

Western Land Exchange Project	Contact Them Seattle, Washington
The Western Land Exchange Project (WLXP) received a grant of $20,000 to continue conducting research, outreach, and advocacy toward federal land exchange policy reform. In many exchanges, high value public old growth forest lands are traded for cut over and degraded private lands. Protecting old growth habitat and other pristine isolated areas threatened by the exchanges, WLXP aims to ensure that land trades are understood and in the public's interest, and that alternatives to the exchanges are given consideration. Other key functions of the WLXP are to publicize corruption within the Bureau of Land Management's land trade program and monitor land exchanges to advocate specific policy improvements.

Western Organization of Resource Councils	Contact Them Billings, Montana
As a network of grassroots organizations, the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) aids its member organizations by training and coordinating regional issue campaigns. $15,000 of continued support was given for their Clean Energy and Responsible Development project. Objectives of the project are to ensure responsible development of energy resources on public and private lands by advocating corporate and government accountability and to fight the roll-back of environmental standards. The project will also promote renewable energy and efficiency, and demand a long term, holistic analysis of energy development within the state, federal and private sectors.

Western Rivers Conservancy	Contact Them Portland, Oregon
Receiving $10,000 for their Rivers of the Northern Sierra Nevada project, the Western Rivers Conservancy is the foremost specialist in the field of river corridor protection. Over the last 14 years, the Conservancy's land acquisition efforts have exceeded 40,000 acres of permanently protected areas. Focusing primarily on Deer Creek, Mill Creek and Butte Creek, the project endeavors to create new refugia along western rivers for ecological and ecologically compatible recreational uses. The Northern Sierra Foothills are currently under heavy development pressure and many of its already at-risk terrestial and aquatic species are necessary for the restoration of wild salmon and steelhead runs on the Sacremento River.

Wilderness Watch	Contact Them Missoula, Montana
Wilderness Watch received $10,000 for their Wilderness Defense & Stewardship Program in which they aggressively challenge (legally and through public advocacy) the degradation of wilderness resources that has become commonplace in proposed management plans and national agency policies. Wilderness Watch's efforts will focus on key management plans that are intended to serve as prototypes for other federal wilderness areas. Such plans can determine the direction of new detrimental agency-wide policies, and therefore, it is extremely important to ensure that these plans are formulated and implemented in a fashion that protects wilderness values for the long-term.

International Biodiversity

American Lands Alliance	Contact Them Washington, DC
A $25,000 grant was given to ALA for their work protecting Chilean rainforests. By linking activists from the U.S., Chile, and British Columbia, ALA is able to facilitate cross border communication, thereby developing international strategies and working to bring pressure on transnational timber/mining companies and the Chilean government. In the next year, ALA will conduct the World Temperate Rainforest Conference, coordinate an international campaign to stop the Noranda's Alumysa Project (a proposed $3.2 billion aluminum plant for Southern Chile) and continue their Chile Market Campaign to prevent the conversion of native forests to non-native tree plantations.

American Museum of Natural History	Contact Them New York, New York
$20,000 was awarded to the Center of Biodiversity and Conservation to continue their COBIMI project. The project provides training and outreach to indigenous peoples in three protected park areas in Bolivia in order to promote community-based ecotourism, and to increase community involvement in the conservation of park resources. The three areas have growing human populations (totaling nearly 30,000 residents) that depend on the natural resources for their own survival. The project also includes a small community grants program that will be mainly used for ecotourism related activities.

Defensores del Bosque Chilenos	Contact Them Santiago, Chile
Defensores del Bosque received $15,000 for their the popular quarterly newsletter"Voces del Bosque" that is designed to inform the public and decision-makers of industrial projects and other developments that threaten Chilean forests. Other projects will include setting regional standards for FSC certification, participating in Forest Ethic's Forest Market Campaign, and promoting the creation of an international park for the preservation of the remaining original forests south of 40 degrees latitude in Chile, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.

Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide	Contact Them Eugene, Oregon
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (E-LAW) provides skills and resources to grassroots environmental lawyers and scientists around the world. In the past, The Foundation has supported E-LAW to make contact with and strengthen public interest law organizations in Bolivia. This year, E-LAW received $20,000 in support of their global network and their efforts to support FIMA with legal and scientific tools and resources to wage a legal campaign against the Noranda's Alumysa project.

Fiscalia del Medio Ambiente	Contact Them Santiago, Chile
FIMA was awarded $20,000 for their Protecting and Conserving Southern Chile's Water Resources Program. FIMA is serving as the legal representative for the biggest environmental coalition in the history of Chile that taking on the 3 billion dollar aluminum project (Alumysa Project) in Southern Chile. FIMA has been instrumental to date in delaying government approval of the project through: excercising legal action concerning project water rights, and providing extensive comments for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), thereby delaying this process. FIMA, through its partenrship with another Weeden grantee E-LAW, intends to involve national and international scientists in continuing to evaluate the EIA in terms of Chilean environmental laws.

Fundacion Terram	Contact Them Santiago, Chile
A $20,000 grant was given to Terram for their campaign to promote sustainable salmon-farming practices in Chile. Since its inception, the campaign has successfully generated a high level of public debate backed up by sound research on the environmental impacts of salmon farming, and an evaluation of public policy alternatives. Now, in its third year, the campaign will focus on advocacy by publishing environmental impact studies, developing a network of concerned stakeholders and activists, and exploring the feasibility of an international markets campaign given that the industry in Chile is primarily export-oriented.

Global Greengrants Fund	Contact Them Boulder, Colorado
$20,000 was given to GGF's international program of small grants to grassroots environmental groups in Russia's Altai Region and Northwest China. Currently, China's huge and increasing demand for logs is being met by Russian entrepreneurs at a high cost to Russian ecosystems. GGF's small grants program helps grassroots groups on both sides of the border build their capacity to work locally and foster the growth of regional environmental solutions. GGF believes that a diverse set of approaches will help create a robust community of environmentalists, ready to meet the broad range of challenges the region will face in coming years.
International Rivers Network Container Recycling Institute	Contact Them Berkeley, California
A $25,000 grant was given to the International Rivers Network and Container Recycling Institute for their joint project, Strategic Assessment for Aluminum and Hydropower Campaign. In search of cheap hydropower and less stringent environmental laws, the aluminum industry is increasingly moving its smelters overseas, with potentially devasting effects on valuable river environments. The Campaign seeks to stop dam projects linked to aluminum production, educate consumers on the environmental consequences of not recycling aluminum, push the aluminum industry to become more environmentally and socially responsible, and to promote policies that encourage high recovery and recycling rates. Weeden funds will support the research, analysis and initial movement-building phase of the Campaign.

Island Conservation & Ecology Group	Contact Them Davenport, California
The Island Conservation & Ecology Group (ICEG) was granted $20,000 to continue their work protecting seabirds and endemic species on the islands of Northwest Mexico with the removal of the islands' invasive species. Through their work so far, ICEG has liberated 25 islands from destructive non-native species and developed a model island conservation program that has been exported for use in the U.S. and Chile. This year's efforts hope to provide long-term protection for 5 species of seabirds, 31 endemic animal species, and 64 endemic plant species found on Catalina Island, Clarion Island, Guadalupe Island, and Socorro Island.

RARE Center for Tropical Conservation	Contact Them Arlington, Virginia
The RARE Center for Tropical Conservation received $25,000 to help launch its second season of "Coconut Bay," a family-planning radio soap opera broadcasted on the islands of Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia. The series touches on a range of social issues that affect everyday people in the region (family life planning, drug abuse, spousal abuse, teenage pregnancy, environmental degradation, etc.) in the hopes of enhancing the quality of life, reducing fertility rates, and fostering environmental protection on the islands. Coconut Bay has been particularly successful addressing sexual and reproductive health issues, and RARE ensures a balance will be maintained with the program's conservation message.


Population & Consumption

Californians for Population Stabilization	Contact Them Los Angeles, California
A $20,000 grant was given to Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) for their Overpopulation Awareness Media Campaign. Through a combination of lobbying, public education, and advocacy programs, the Campaign draws attention to the various population issues of California. Although much of their current Campaign concentrates on immigration as a security issue, Weeden funds will be used to illustrate the effects high population rates have on biodiversity, such as urban sprawl, air quality, and resource consumption.

CASA	Contact Them Guanajuato, Mexico
As a comprehensive and well-estalished NGO service provider, CASA has the experience and credibility to lead a national-level advocacy campaign for reproductive rights in Mexico. A $20,000 grant was awarded to CASA for their work developing a campaign that will expose the public health problem of illegal abortions, stimulate public debate about abortion rights, and demonstrate how education, prevention, access to contraceptives and the availability of emergency contraceptives can help avoid abortions. Such a campaign will also highlight the growing problem of teen pregnancies in Mexico.

Catholics for a Free Choice	Contact Them Washington, DC
A $20,000 grant was awarded to CFFC to fund their Mexico program that falls under the work of the 8 sister organization in the CDD (Catolicas por el Derecho a Decidir). A key activity in the program will be to train health workers to provide abortion services and to act as pro-choice advocates within their own facilities and professional associations. CDD Mexico will expand their youth program, focusing on the promotion of reproductive rights, and continue their grassroots efforts with Catholic social justice groups and the national indigenous women's associations. CDD Mexico will also distribute a half hour novella style film that affirms that Catholic women can have an abortion and still be Catholic.

Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America	Contact Them Oakland, California
A $20,000 grant was given to DASA to support support their educational efforts to reach politicians, policy-makers, citizens and the media about the impact of U.S. population growth. Focusing particularly on the role that immigration plays on population growth and the consequent need for immigration reform, DASA hopes to to raise these issues to a level of major concern by next year.

Green Guide Institute	Contact Them Sea Cliff, New York
A $10,000 general support grant was given to the Green Guide Institute to aid in their publication of The Green Guide. The Green Guide educates and engages millions of consumers about everyday household and market-level actions that have the power to yield system-wide environmental change. Linking ecological concerns to consumer issues such as health, family and money, the Guide fills the gap existing between mainstream health publications, environmental publications, and consumer publications that research and rate products.

INFORM	Contact Them New York, New York
A $10,000 grant was awarded to INFORM to promote sustainable consumption policies and practices by creating public awareness, government policy intiatives, and government agency programs that advance sustainability. In the upcoming year, INFORM plans to develop"end-of-life take back" policies for used cell phones in King County, WA; work with the City of Portland to reduce paper consumption; and develop Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) initiatives with the Alameda County, Santa Monica and San Francisco government agencies. (EPP entails purchasing practices that promote more durable and less packaged products, products that manufacturers agree to take back at their end of life, and products that contain federally prescribed levels of recycled content).

Ipas	Contact Them Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Ipas received $20,000 for their work to increase the instances under which: abortion is legal, abortion is accepted socially, and abortion services are available in Mexico. In the past four years Ipas Mexico has provided training to nearly 3,000 health providers and judicial agency personnel in three States, increasing to 12 the number of hospitals providing legal abortion services to rape survivors (compared to 1 in 1998). Collaborating with nine hospitals in Mexico City, the state of Mexico and the state of Hidalgo, Ipas will continue to: provide technical assistance through workshops and other training events; participate in the development of medical protocols; and work to facilitate access to legal abortion for young women.

Northwest Earth Institute	Contact Them Portland, Oregon
Through its deep ecology programs, the Northwest Institute motivates individuals to examine and transform their personal values and habits, to accept responsibility for the earth, and to act on that commitment. A grant of $20,000 was given for the second phase of their development of the National Earth Institute Network. The National Network shares the Institute's deep ecology programs and expertise with organizers in communitites and regions throughout the United States. The structure of the Network includes a network of autonomous groups of local organizers, affiliates, and sister earth institutes, a series of five discussion courses and follow-up programs, manuals, and training aids for organizing community outreach, and a communications network.

Population Coalition	Contact Them Redlands, California
A grant of $10,000 was given to Population Coalition to educate American citizens, teachers, students, journalists, and legislators on the links between overpopulation, terrorism, and reproductive rights for women worldwide. Population issues promoted through the Campaign will include the need for equal rights and opportunities for women, the unmet need for family planning, the rising proportion of young males as a destabilizing factor, population doubling times, growth pressures, overconsumption of natural resources and the urgent need for sound U.S. government policies.

UNASSE	Contact Them Yucatan, Mexico
With the most progressive abortion legislation in Mexico, Yucatan State allows abortions in cases of rape, when a women's life is at risk, and in cases when women with three children and economic hardship would result with an additional child. Unfortunately, this progressive legislation is virtually unknown and unused by women, as well as by health providers who could potentially provide services. Additionally, the law is currently under attack by conservatives. A $10,000 to ensure the current abortion law remains intact and to publicize the law's existence.