grants06

Domestic Biodiversity

Alaska Conservation Foundation	Contact Them Anchorage, Alaska
ACF received $15,000 for their strategic grantmaking, leadership training sessions, coalition development and consultation services. Due to recent political developments, ACF's Rapid Response Fund, allows groups to receive urgent funding to address unexpected threats and opportunities. ACF's current Ecosystem Protection Coalitions include: the Alaska Rainforest Campaign (seeks permanent protection for the roadless areas of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests); Alaska Oceans Network (seeks to reduce destructive bottom trawling practices); Alaska Coalition (protects the Arctic Refuge, Alaska's national parks, and wilderness areas from legislative riders and other threats). To foster future leadership, ACF created the Alaska Youth for Environmental Action project and the Celia Hunter Internship program that brings 20 outstanding students to Alaska to engage in conservation issues throughout the state.

American Museum of Natural History	Contact Them New York, New York
The Center of Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) at the American Museum of Natural History received $25,000 for the COBIMI project. The project develops and maintains community-based conservation projects in two of Bolivia's protected areas. COBIMI provides training and outreach to indigenous peoples in Apolobamba National Integrated Management Area and Amboro National Park and Integrated Management Area. Collectively, COBIMI works with ten communities and nearly 250 participants to increase their understanding and awareness of the importance of conservation and stewardship of the land. This phase of the project will work to: 1) Increase the role of experienced community participants in training other community members, 2) Facilitate inter-community exchanges, 3) Extend participation in and benefits from conservation projects to others in the community, 4) Strengthen existing project infrastructure and services, and 5) Identify mentoring and networking opportunities for community leaders and COBIMI staff in order to expand the network of groups and individuals engaged in community-based conservation in Bolivia.

American Wildlands	Contact Them Bozeman, Montana
America Wildlands recieved $20,000 for their Safe Passages project, which seeks to influence national policy making, state-wide planning, and local highway projects with the goal of diminishing wildlife carnage and improving human safety. The central components of Safe Passages are as follows: assuring the wildlife-related provisions in the final version of the federal Transportation Equity Act (signed by President Bush on 8/10/05) are enacted at the national and state levels; heightening highway connectivity and wildlife protection in Montana , Idaho, and Wyoming using results of their recent regional wildlife corridor analysis; creating a “Safe Passages Booklet” to educate public about highway-wildlife mitigation; and distributing a recently printed publication, entitled “Citizens Guide,” on how to influence decision-making for local highway projects in the northern Rockies. This year the Safe Passages project will expand to include three additional project areas: Homestake Pass on I-90 east of Butte, MT; MacDonald Pass on Hwy. 200, west of Helena, MT; and Wolf Creek along I-15 between Great Falls

BlueWater Network	Contact Them San Francisco, California
The BlueWater Network was granted $20,000 for their Public Lands Campaign, which advocates for the appropriate recreational use of "thrillcraft" -jet skis, snowmobiles and off-road vehicles. BN will broaden its public education on the ORV issue by engaging individual land managers, supporting associations and a variety of constituency groups such as hunters, fishers, outfitters, tour guides, artists, kayakers and park-dependent businesses. In order to prevent rollbacks of thrillcraft bans already achieved, Bluewater will call attention to potential rollbacks through the media, and if necessary, will block rollbacks through litigation. Additional campaign strategies include: water quality testing for fuel pollution levels in waterways; newspaper advertisements and op-eds; and, voluntary phase-outs of two-stroke engines.

California Wilderness Coalition	Contact Them Davis, California
The California Wilderness Coalition received $20,000 to promote the permanent protection of both state and federal lands under the Federal and California Wilderness Acts. CWC's offensive strategy includes advocating for the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act, which would permanently protect over 300,000 acres of wilderness, including the King Range Proposed Wilderness, the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in the U.S. outside of Alaska. CWC will also work to expand the State Wilderness Preservation System to include 24 potential state wilderness areas in northwestern California. Defensively, CWC's Defense of the Wild campaign will continue to attempt to curb ORV use throughout the state, thwart development plans in wild spaces, and influence Regional Management Plans.

Conservation Leaders Network	Contact Them Wedderburn, Oregon
The Conservation Leaders Network (CLN) recieved $15,000 for their "Northwest Federal Forest Protection Project." As the only non-profit that focuses on providing support to and forging ties between county commissioners, environmental leaders, and individual citizens, CLN employs economic arguments to show officials that their counties have more to gain from standing, healthy forests than degraded or clearcut forests. CLN’s faces three major challenges in 2006: 1) the proposed ‘Logging After Fire Legislation’ offered by Rep. Greg Walden and Sen. Gordon Smith that lifts environmental safeguards and public participation for logging after fires and other natural disturbances; 2) the O&C Plan Revision that threatens to open old growth forests to intensive logging; and 3) the threats to the Northwest Forest Plan by the Bush administration. Key project goals include the following: co-leading the O&C working group of environmental organizations to develop strategy for dealing with BLM Resource Management Plan revisions for O&C lands; generating county support for roadless protections; facilitating media support; and coordinating with Natural Trails and Waters Coalition to control off-road vehicles.

Endangered Species Coalition	Contact Them Washington, DC
The ESC was awarded $15,000 of general support for their campaigns to build a long-term activist infrastructure and public support network for the defense of the Endangered Species Act. ESC has three campaigns: 1) Fostering grassroots organization and mobilization by establishing self-sustaining networks of highly skilled, well-trained activists, volunteers and local staff people in key regions; 2) Increasing the American public's understanding of the importance of conserving our nation's diverse biological heritage through enhanced email publications, a monthly magazine, a website, and by improving relationships with key reporters and editorial boards in targeted states; 3) Upholding and strengthening the ESA by preventing passage of anti-ESA bills and riders, by preventing Bush administration attempts to weaken the ESA though regulatory actions, rule changes or policy directives, and by increasing funding for ESA programs.

Environmental Protection Information Center	Contact Them Washington, DC
EPIC recieved $20,000 for their Northern California Forest and Watershed Protection Program. EPIC monitors, and when appropriate, challenges ancient forest timber sales and proposed logging operations on public and private lands that have recently been introduced under the guise of “fuel reduction,” and “fire risk reduction.” Additionally, EPIC responds to federal attempts to designate a system of OVR routes in Northwest California’s national forests. They have joined with a wide coalition of groups that has taken legal action to reverse the numerous rollbacks under the Bush Administration’s “Healthy Forests Initiative,” while preventing additional attempts to weaken existing environmental laws at the state and national level.

Environmental Law Institute	Contact Them Washington, DC
The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) received $20,000 for a Judicial Training Program for Chilean judge. The program will build the capacity of the judiciary to enforce national laws relating to sustainable development and natural resource management, with a particular focus on laws that protect Chile’s threatened forests. On a global scale, the past decade has seen a growing list of environmental laws and regulations. In Chile, not only has the number of laws increased, but Chilean environmental laws are extensive, often lacking clarity and requiring judicial interpretation. The program will train life appointed judges on how to better protect the environment by advancing their understanding of environmental and resource laws and how they relate to science, technology, and economics. The program also intends to increase the judiciary’s understanding of its role in promoting sustainable management of forests and other national resources, and protecting public health within the context of its proper role in resolving disputes arising under, and interpreting, national law. ELI has partnered with FIMA (Weeden grantee) to develop the agenda, materials, and methodology for this educational program for the benefit of 30 judges in Santiago, Chile in 2006.

Georgetown Environmental Law & Policy Center	Contact Them Washington, DC
The Georgetown Environmental Law and Policy Institute (GELPI) received $20,000 to conduct research for, and provide legal representation to Pacific Northwest conservation groups that are involved in fighting takings claims based on wildlife protection measures. For example, GELPI is currently filing amicus briefs in various cases to defeat the efforts of water users to obtain that claim that restrictions on water use (salmon protection) constitute “takings,” entitling the water users to “compensation” from US taxpayers. The concern is that an adverse judgment would make public officials more reluctant to impose restrictions on water use, and would also provide water users a strong political argument to use against the enactment and implementation of new environment restrictions. Among the Institute’s contributions to these litigations has been to present the point of view that endangered species regulations on private land are designed to protect public rights, and therefore do not represent a “taking.”

Grand Canyon Trust	Flagstaff, Arizona
The Grand Canyon Trust received $20,000 for the second year of their Kane and Two-Mile Ranch Restoration Project. This year, GCT will define and implement restoration-based management strategies in preparation for species reintroduction projects. Funds will also support soliciting participation from more volunteers in the Southwest for restoration efforts, hiring consultants, and publishing management plans to attract stakeholders.

Institute for Fisheries Resources	Contact Them San Francisco, CA
The Institute for Fisheries Resources (IFR) was awarded $15,000 for staffing and program support on behalf of the Klamath Basin Coalition, a federation of 15 regional and national organizations jointly working to restore the salmon habitat of Northern California’s Klamath Basin. IFR, a founding member of the Klamath Basin Coalition, is the major environmental protection and salmon restoration advocate representing west coast fishing communities. IFR works through litigation, grassroots organizing and media outreach with the goal of bringing water demands back into balance with water supply and ending the issuance of more water use permits. This year’s major concerns are whether the federal government will be required to leave enough water in the river to prevent widespread salmon extinction, and whether five obsolete hydropower dams will either be removed or required to ensure fish passage. The Federal Energy and Regulatory Commission (FERC) license to operate the five dams will expire March 1, 2006. PacifiCorp applied for new operating licenses for the next thirty years. IFR will attend relicensing forums to press for full fish passage or, if possible, full dam decommissioning.

Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center	Contact Them Ashland, Oregon
KS Wild received $20,000 to preserve wilderness-quality lands, old-growth forests, and riparian habitat across more than five million acres of public land in Southern Oregon and Northern California. THeir work focuses on protecting roadless areas and strengthening opposition to the Bush administration's land management policies and environmental law rollbacks. KS Wild is currently taking the lead in monitoring over 100 timber sales and other development projects in the region, as well as opposing road construction, cattle grazing, and lethal predator control operations.

Montana Wilderness Association	Contact Them Helena, Montana
Federal agency management plans are underway in Montana to determine the future levels of logging, road construction, and motorized recreation of 8 million acres of public lands. The majority of this land is roadless and deserving of Wilderness designation. MWA was awarded $20,000 to preserve the Wilderness character of the land until designation can take place. The Forest and Travel Plan Campaign will negotiate solutions with opposing constituencies, build alliances and mobilize citizen involvement in administration planning decisions. Special focus will be given to the forest plans of the Lolo, Bitterroot, Flathead and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests and the travel plan of the Gallatin National Forest. The remaining half of Weeden funds will be used for general support for programs that include: 1) the protection of the Rocky Mountain Front from energy development; 2) litigation to protect Montana's Wilderness Study Areas; 3) the preservation of transboundary northwestern Montana wildlands; and 4) the education of citizenry through such programs as the "Wilderness Walks" program.

National Parks Conservation Association	Contact Them Washington, DC
The Natural Trails & Waters Coalition was awarded $20,000 for their campaign to reform off-road vehicles management in National Forests. The Forest Service has set in motion a process to rewrite its regulations governing off-road vehicle use in the National Forest System. Although it is encouraging that the Forest Service recognizes the ORV problem, the coalition expects the Forest Service to give the ultimate authority for determining which roads and routs will be designated for ORV use to local F.S. officials. Thus, the Coalition will focus on building strong local transportation planning campaigns in three to five strategic states. In addition, the coalition will continue to work with national policymakers to promote broader reform.

National Public Lands Grazing Campaign	Contact Them
The goal of the National Public Lands Grazing Campaign (NPLGC) is to end grazing on U.S. public lands. Grazing, in addition to trampling vegetation, accelerating erosion, spreading noxious weeds, and reducing water quality, costs taxpayers between $155-200 million a year, while providing the federal government less than $4 million in annual returns. In response, NPLGC advocates a voluntary federal grazing permit buyout program that would allow permit holders and lessees to waive their grazing privileges in exchange for compensation, after which the grazing allotments would be retired permanently. NPLGC received a $10,000 grant for two geographically-specific projects: 1) the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (CSNM) Grazing Lease Buyout Project and 2) the Siskiyou-Crest Grazing Permit Buyout Project.

Natural Trails & Waters Coalition	Contact Them Missoula, Montana
The Natural Trails & Waters Coalition was awarded $20,000 for their campaign to reform off-road vehicles management in National Forests. The Forest Service has set in motion a process to rewrite its regulations governing off-road vehicle use in the National Forest System. Although it is encouraging that the Forest Service recognizes the ORV problem, the coalition expects the Forest Service to give the ultimate authority for determining which roads and routs will be designated for ORV use to local F.S. officials. Thus, the Coalition will focus on building strong local transportation planning campaigns in three to five strategic states. In addition, the coalition will continue to work with national policymakers to promote broader reform.

Oregon Natural Resources Council	Contact Them Portland, Oregon
The Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) recieved $20,000 for a joint proposal with th Soda Mountain Wilderness Council (SMWC) to protect and defend the Klamath Mountains Ecoregion, including advocacy efforts to establish the Soda Mountain Wilderness Area. The creation of the 53,000-acre Cascade Siskiyou National Monument (CSNM) was a big step forward in protecting the larger Soda Mountain area, but the Monument’s 23,000 backcountry acres are without wilderness protection. With mining and commercial logging prohibited, grazing buyouts may the final step toward achieving wilderness protection; ONRC and SMWC are collaborating with local ranchers and opinion leaders to encourage this option. Together, ONRC and SMWC will monitor, litigate, and publicize threats to the Soda Mountain wilderness. They plan to hold several public events, submit letters to the editors of local and regional papers, and print articles in the widely distributed newsletter Wild Oregon.

Pacific Forest Trust	Contact Them Santa Rosa, California
The Pacific Forest Trust received $20,000 for their Cascade Siskiyou National Monument (CSNM) Forestlands Initiative. PFT’s two-track approach involves both: 1) negotiating purchase and sale agreements to acquire CSNM lands owned by several timber companies to protect them from further fragmentation and development; and 2) developing an outreach campaign to build support for the transfer of these lands to the BLM, and for the rest to be permanently protected by conservation easements monitored by PFT foresters. Weeden funds will help PFT finalize negotiations for the acquisition of 9, 000 acres of CSNM forestland currently owned by commercial forest operations, and habitat for some of the most threatened and endangered species in the region.

Pacific Rivers Council	Contact Them Eugene, Oregon
The Pacific Rivers Council was awarded $20,000 for protecting watersheds of high biological integrity and restoring those critical to the survival of aquatic species. PRC is dedicated to bringing their protection to the forefront of national policy debates, and ensuring that the best science is used and disseminated among conservationists, policymakers, and the press. In the coming year they will initiate a study on the relationship between watershed health and road density, while providing credible scientific evidence against the delisting of salmon and the adoption of NOAA Fisheries’ faulty hatchery policy.

PEER	Contact Them Washington, DC
PEER recieved $20,000 to: 1) defend federal agency specialists who take career risks protecting biodiversity, 2) pursue enforcement of wildlife protection laws in our National Wildlife Refuge system and other important nature reserves, and 3) expose political manipulation of science to detriment wildlife. With last year’s Weeden grant, PEER conducted nationwide surveys of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries scientists that documented widespread manipulation of scientific findings and reports by political appointees of the Bush administration. This year PEER would continue to build on this work by preparing a series of exposés involving political appointees within federal agencies. The general theme is that appointees have been suppressing or altering scientific documents to benefit campaign contributors at the expense of habitat and wildlife protection. Building partnership with the Union of Concerned Scientists, PEER will reach out to scientific professional societies to get off the sideline, and provide support for their embattled colleagues inside these agencies. Weeden funding would support the outreach work of PEER staff members in the D.C. and field offices.

Resource Media	Contact Them Seattle, Washington
Resource Media received $10,000 to act as the central communications and outreach coordinator for local and national groups working to minimize the damage of the Biscuit Fire Salvage Logging proposal. After a series of unfavorable rulings, logging has begun in old growth reserves previously set aside to protect endangered fish and wildlife. Logging in inventoried roadless areas will also begin shortly, prompting many conservation activists to block forest service roads in protest. Although such actions increase media coverage, they also feed the public perception that the activists are radical and out of touch with the local communities. Under these circumstances, Resource Media will work to: 1) reclaim the center ground by framing the Forest Service proposal as radical and reckless; 2) boost national recognition of the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area as a place that should be protected and restored, not clear-cut; and 3) make the case that natural recovery is already taking place in many areas burned by the Biscuit fires, and that a huge, taxpayer-subsidized salvage logging program is not needed.

Resources First Foundation	Contact Them Yarmouth, ME
The Resources First Foundation (RFF) recieved continued general support for their web-based “Private Landowner Network” (PLN), a national database of conservation resources for private landowners and their legal service professionals. (Last year, Weeden provided start-up funds for this program through the New England forestry Foundation.) In the past year, RFF has posted over 460 service providers on the online directory including legal professionals, estate planners, appraisers, sustainable forestry consultants, biologists, water quality experts, non-profit organizations, and wildlife management consultants. The $10,000 grant will allow RFF to build its relationships with potential and existing service providers, updates listings of federal land conservation programs and partnership opportunities, and develop a partnership with the Environmental News Network to broaden PLN’s exposure. The Network is also developing an online thematic GIS mapping program that helps landowners identify the conservation significance of their property. This program will let users locate their parcel, draw the property boundaries, and add thematic layers to the map that highlight conservation significance.

Siskiyou Project	Contact Them Cave Junction, Oregon
The Siskiyou Project received $20,000 to establish a Siskiyou Wild Rivers National Conservation Area. As the largest intact coastal forest in the Northwest, the Siskiyou-Klamath bioregion is exceptional for its floral biodiversity and extensive roadless areas. A National Conservation Area would: 1) create strong, cohesive protections for the watersheds of five National Wild & Scenic rivers and nine candidate rivers on public lands, 2) foster Wilderness and Wild & Scenic designations for currently unprotected roadless areas and rivers, 3) Create Botanical Areas and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, 4) Implement a forest-wide restoration program to remove unnecessary roads and eradicate invasive plants, and 5) Fund the Illinois Valley Community Fire Plan to advance a sustainable and viable economic landscape. The national and precedent setting implications of the Biscuit logging project continue to be the Siskiyou region's most immediate threat. Thus, the Biscuit project will remain as one of the Siskiyou Project's primary foci.

Sitka Conservation Society	Contact Them Sitka, Alaska
The Sitka Conservation Society was granted $15,000 to protect the North American Coastal Temperate Rainforest. SCS is the only Tongass organization with a GIS Mapping facility; its Tongass Timber Information Center compiles and distributes information at every stage of each Tongass timber sale. The immediate SCS goals are to stop industrial logging of contiguous roadless areas of native forests in Tongass National Forest and to promote new, non-resource extraction economic opportunities for the region. The Society will also continue to build support for wilderness designations, and will challenge, through litigation, the Forest Plan and Forest Service miscalculations of market demand and species viability.

Southeast Alaska Conservation Council	Contact Them Juneau, Alaska
SEACC received $20,000 to defend the Tongass and Taku River watersheds. This year, SEACC will: mobilize and education citizens, media and decision makers; broadcast the strong public record of support for wildlands targeted for development; document high taxpayer costs and poor market demand for Tongass logging and its accompanying roads; and demonstrate that federal subsidies would be better spent on sustainable and growing industries, particularly fisheries, recreation and tourism. SEACC will collaborate with other Environmental NGOs in defending against legislative riders and amendments designed to open up the Tongass to further development, and will also work to secure lasting protection for one-half million acres of key fish and wildlife areas in jeopardy, despite protection allotted to them in the 1999 Tongass Forest Plan.

WaterWatch of Oregon	Contact Them Portland, Oregon
WaterWatch of Oregon was awarded $20,000 to advocate for balance between agricultural demands for water and the streamflows necessary to restore terrestrial and aquatic habitats in the Klamath River Basin; and, to defend ecologically significant rivers in Oregon from the effect of increased population pressures. Regarding the former, WaterWatch will advocate the following: removal of four lower mainstem dams on the Klamath River; reformation of PacifCorps’s Klamath River hydropower operations; restoration of ecologically appropriate water management and species protection; and, pursuit of agency accountability and legal compliance by the state of Oregon regarding the Endangered Species Act and agriculture practices on the Basin’s national wildlife refuges. Weeden funding will also support the protection and restoration of streamflows in waterways on the Oregon Coast, the Clackamas River, the Deschutes River Basin, the Walla Walla Basin, and the Rogue River Basin from the adverse effects of population growth. In this initiative, WaterWatch will attempt to stop Oregon municipalities from using the rationale of population projections to proactively lock up water rights and consequently reduce instream flows crucial to threatened salmon and steelhead.

Western Environmental Law Center	Contact Them Eugene , Oregon
The Western Environmental Law Center recieved $20,000 for the Klamath Siskiyou Defense Project. Project goals are to (1) preserve the integrity of the Northwest Forest Plan’s “survey and manage” provisions (regarding endangered species-see below); (2) protect the Biscuit Fire Area from unchecked old-growth logging; (3) assist the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council to prevent livestock grazing on the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, and; (4) prevent gold mining operations in the Canyon Creek Watershed of the Trinity Alps Wilderness. Western Environmental Law Center is also working with Wildlands CPR, the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition, and The Wilderness Society to coordinate legal efforts regarding ORV use on public lands.

Western Land Project	Contact Them Seattle, Washington
($20,000) WLP monitors federal land exchanges, sales, giveaways and other projects that turn public land over to logging, development, ranching, and mining interests. WLP’s intent is not to oppose all land trades, but to ensure that: their consequences are disclosed and understood; the trades advance the public interest as required by law; and that land exchange alternatives are given serious consideration. Currently, WLP is fighting certain recent attempts to incorporate land exchanges and giveaways into wilderness bills. Known as “quid pro quo” wilderness, these bills allow large tracts of public land to be sold or given away without public input or environmental review, often allowing nonconforming uses in designated Wilderness Areas.

Western Rivers Conservancy	Contact Them Portland, Oregon
The Western Rivers Conservancy received $15,000 to protect the biodiversity of the Klamath-Siskiyou region through the creation of a center for ecological research, environmental education and riparian restoration. The Deer Creek Ranch project aims to acquire an 870-acre parcel, 3 miles above Deer Creek's confluence with the Illinois Wild & Scenic River. After the Conservancy purchases the land in September 2005, the Siskiyou Field Institute will establish an education and outreach center and Southern Oregon University and Humboldt State University will set up an ecological research station on the site. The scenic site is ideal for the facility as it is located near the biological hotspots of Eight Dollar Mountain, the Illinois River, and Squaw creek. The irrigated fields on the property will be restored to native riparian forest and wetland, and the 225 acres of water rights acquired through the purchase will be used for restoration or returned to the Illinois River.

Wilderness Watch	Contact Them Missoula, Montana
Wilderness Watch was granted $20,000 to fight proposed management plans and national agency policies that threaten national wilderness preservation. Their Wilderness Defense and Outreach Campaign will generate opposition to the National Park Services recently released draft wilderness management policies which, if applied, would define recreational use as the primary purpose of wilderness, elevate wilderness safety as a major goal for wilderness managers, and allow new developments such as cabins, toilets, and picnic tables. The policies would also modify the wilderness review process to make it easier for political appointees to shield areas from further consideration as wilderness. Wilderness Watch will distribute a detailed policy analysis and critique to national and regional conservation associations to aid them in preparing comments to the Park Service. Other activities will include: reinforcing previous case law rulings to ensure proper enforcement of the Wilderness Act in the Emigrant Wilderness and Olympic Wilderness areas; engaging and convincing the Forest Service to abandon its plans to use helicopters in surveying vegetation in the Tongass National Forest; and organizing a training retreat for congressional staff to increase their knowledge of the Wilderness Act and agency policies.

Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads	Contact Them Missoula, Montana
Currently, the Forest Service is attempting to overhaul their offroad vehicle regulations through a national rule change. After nearly two years of deliberation, the release of the Forest Service off-road vehicle rules this July are expected to cause the designations of routes for motorized to be made at the local level. Typically, ORV users show up to fight for every possible route, while non-motorized recreationists do not. In anticipation of this trend, Wildlands will focus on communicating with, and inspiring muscle-powered recreationists and others to show up and speak for the environment and their access to it, ensuring a more sound local transportation policy. Wildlands CPR received $20,000 for their Transportation Policy to promote the removal of unnecessary roads in order to keep ORVs from accessing the backcountry. In addition to limiting ORV access, road removal helps restore watersheds and provides communities with positive economic alternatives to logging.

World Temperate Rainforest Network
($10,000) The World Temperate Rainforest Network (WTRN) was officially created after the Work Temperate Rainforest Conference in May 2003 (funded by Weeden), and consists of scientists and activists from British Columbia, Alaska, Chile, the Pacific Northwest, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Their Campaign to Protect the Temperate Rainforests of Chile is an effort to protect temperate forests from destructive exploitation by international timber companies and other corporate interests. The WTRN counters global market-based threats by organizing joint markets campaigns. In the coming year the WTRN will focus on the following: expanding and developing joint projects such as the Chile Market Campaign; producing the first book on “Temperate Rainforests of the World”; helping the “Ecosistemas”(Defend Patagonia) campaign in Chile with planning; and planning the Second World Temperate Rainforest Conference in Chile.

International Biodiversity

Altai Assistance Project	Contact Them Wadhams, New York
The Altai Assistance Project recieved $20,000 in general support for their work on land use planning and Nature Parks management, community-based eco-tourism, and sustainable energy in the Altai Republic, Russia.. Work in 2006 will largely be a continuation of last year’s activities, but with changed emphasis. For example, last year, the Nature Parks quarterly meetings were organizational and political, because the private parks concept was new and the parks’ legitimacy was still being questioned. The focus of this year’s meetings will be on conservation and restoration: experts will conduct seminars and workshops on management practices, science, and environmental preservation, and recommendations for individual parks will be developed. AAP will also continue to assist the Nature Parks with planning and zoning decisions. This year’s funding will also support an exchange visit to comparable geographical areas in Alaska or the western continental US, allowing high mountain park managers to experience sophisticated monitoring and preservation practices in an alpine environment in the West.

Center for Safe Energy	Contact Them Petersham, Massachusetts
The Center for Safe Energy’s Altai Project supports, educates, and empowers Altai citizens and NGOs to promote regional conservation and sustainability. The CEnter was awrded $20,000 to assist their local partners to strengthen conservation measures, manage tourism effectively, and create strategies for on going protecting of sensitive areas. The Center for Safe Energy will sponsor three training programs for park rangers and employees on anti poaching enforcement, ecological monitoring, visitor and tourist management, and “Leave No Trace” wilderness ethics. The Center will also sponsor the creation of infrastructure such as ranger stations and visitor’s centers in the Ukok and Katun Nature Parks. Finally, in collaboration with other international non-profits, the Center will continue to support citizens’ efforts to prevent construction of a large hydroelectric dam on the Katun River. Such campaign support will provide funds for travel and communications costs.

Conservacion Patagonica	Contact Them Sausalito, California
Conservacion Patagonica (CP) identifies, acquires, and restores large tracts of ecologically important land in southern Chile, while actively working with the Chilean government to augment these lands with adjacent tracts of ecologically significant state lands. Where possible, CP purchases private lands contiguous to existing national parks in order to increase the size and thus the conservation value of these protected areas. CP seeks support to develop and implement a landscape level restoration plan for the Patagonia National Park Project.CP recieved $20,00 of which $2,500 will go toward an ecological assessment of the 173,000-acre Estancia Valle Chacabuco, and $17,500 to its restoration. Lying between two established nature reserves - the Jeinemi National Reserve and the Tamngo Huemul Reserve - Valle Chacabuco generates large connectivity, contains the highest known level of terrestrial diversity in the entire Aysen province, and provides critical core habitat needed to rewild the region’s ecosystem. CP estimates that it will take 7-10 years to restore Valle Chacabuco and finalize the park for donation to the Chilean government. The ecological assessment will determine and document the areas flora, fauna, hydrology, and landscape features and establish ecosystem baselines. Other activities will be reducing and eventually eliminating sheep and cattle, removing over 300 plus feet of fencing, controlling and eliminating invasive species, and general restoration of forest habitat.

Defensores del Bosque Chilenos	Contact Them Santiago, Chile
Defensores was awarded $10,000 for their publication Voces del Bosque, which the Weeden Foundation has funded for several years. Providing information and news that alerts and informs, Voces Del Bosque, is a vital tool in defending Chile’s native forests. Although most of its older readers prefer the newspaper format, the Voces del Bosque website has been successful in engaging Chilean youth in environmental protection issues.

ELAW	Contact Them Eugene, Oregon
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (E-LAW) received $20,000 to provide advocates throughout Latin America legal and scientific tools, resources, and activist training to protect watersheds and ecosystems from ill-advised dams, unsustainable logging practices, industrial pollution, and mining. At the forefront this year is stopping Endesa Chile’s proposal for large hydroelectric dams on the Patagonia region’s Baker and Pascua Rivers. E-Law’s partners at Ecosistemas (Endesa campaign grantee) have called on E-Law to help educate local communities about the proposed projects and to advance legal strategies, including the immediate need of challenging Endesa’s permit process. In addition to the Chile campaign, this year’s funding will continue to support an array of regional campaigns including efforts to protect: free-flowing rivers in Bocas del Toro, Panama, from hydroelectric development; the highly biodiverse Choco forests, Ecuador, from expansion of palm oil plantations; Mexico’s Papayago River from a mega-dam project that would provide no electricity for the affected local communities.

FIMA	Contact Them Santiago, Chile
Fiscalia del Medio Ambiente (FIMA), the leading public interest law firm in Chile, received $15,000 to defend Chile’s water resources. Recently, landmark regulations were passed in Chile that require water rights to be used for the purpose under which they were purchased or the owners will be fined 8% of the water rights’ commercial value. Although the new regulations are intended to stop long-term speculation in water rights, and are generally beneficial to water reform in Chile, they are also having the unintended effect of accelerating the planning and construction of dams by the water rights owners. The most important example of this is Endesa’s massive hydroelectric plans concerning four rivers in Patagonia. Consequently, one of FIMA’s top priorities will be to challenge Endesa on water rights technicalities, and question the fact that Endesa obtained these rights in a closed market devoid of public scrutiny. In addition to this program, FIMA will continue to provide legal counsel to the Defend Patagonia Campaign, educate grassroots leaders, and hold additional legal workshops to Valdivia and Puerto Montt as part of the ongoing fight to stop the Alumysa Aluminum Project.

ForestEthics	Contact Them Portland, Oregon
ForestEthics was awarded $30,000 of support for their Chile Native Forest Program. Within two years of the program, ForestEthics successfully convinced Chile's two largest wood and paper producing companies to publicly commit to stop converting Chile's native forests to tree farms. Building on that success, the program's goals for the next phase include: 1) Expanding the acreage of native forest area protected under the agreement considerably beyond the current one million acres (30 million areas of native forest remain at risk); 2) Promoting sustainable management of native forests; and, 3) Stimulating increased production of certified pulp from Chile. To facilitate the first goal, Forest Ethics will work with partners to develop Chile's first ever comprehensive native forest conservation model. This model will show the amount and type of protection that is felt to be needed, defining which forests are in the most urgent need of permanent protection. Goals two and three will involve the development of large-scale FSC certified projects. ForestEthics will also work legislatively to obtain a commitment from the Chilean government to prohibit the conversion of native forests, reform CONAF (National Forest Service), and increase subsidies for the restoration of degraded forests.

Global Greengrants Fund	Contact Them Boulder, Colorado
GGF received $15,000 for "Building the Environmental Movement in the Altai Region of Russia and Northwest China". GGF's program of small grants to grassroots organizations on both sides of the border is designed to build organizational capacity and geographical reach. Environmental protection in the region is weak; regulatory agencies increasingly bow to Russian and international business interests, which are lining up to take advantage of unprecedented opportunities for exploitation. In particular, the region is facing high levels of deforestation and threats associated with the proposed construction of the Katun Dam. Contributing to this situation is China's emergence as one of Russia's largest natural resource markets. Proposed roads and rail lines to China will likely increase pressures on the region.

International Rivers Network	Contact Them Berkeley, California
IRN received $20,000 for their work with a coalition of Chilean environmental organizations fighting plans to dam Patagonia's rivers. IRN will use their international campaign experience to save Chile's natural heritage and promote sustainable energy development by providing campaign and technical advice, disseminating information globally, preventing international funding to build the dams, and debunking Endesa's public relations greenwashing campaign. The Patagonia Initiative will: 1) Raise awareness among the Chilean public of the environmental and economic impacts of large hydroelectric dams and the availability of alternative energy sources; 2) Identify potential sources of financing for Endesa's dams and develop effective campaigns to stop any bilateral or multilateral funding agencies and private banks' support for these dams; and 3) Assist efforts to assess the feasibility of establishing a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Patagonia, and if appropriate, assist a campaign to this end.

Island Conservation & Ecology Group	Contact Them Santa Cruz, California
The Island Conservation & Ecology Group (ICEG) received $20,000 of general support for their work toward long term protection and management of Northwest Mexico’s insular biodiversity. In 2005-06, ICEG plans to finalize the removal of introduced goats from Guadalupe, Espíritu Santo, and la Partida Island, initiate the removal of introduced rodents from Farallón de San Ignacio and Alcatraz Island, and promote the restoration of Las Marías Islands, Socorro Island, and San Pedro Mártir.

NESsT (Nonprofit Enterprise and Safe Sustainabilty Team)	Contact Them
NESsT was awarded $15,000 to expand the NESsT Venture Fund (Fondo Nido) to a wider network of 15 Chilean environmental civil society organizations (CSOs – the equivalent of NGOs in the U.S.) These CSOs will be provided with financial and management assistance, and possibly seed funding enabling them to iincrease their mission impact, organizational capacity, and long-term financial sustainability. Additionally, NESsT will work to leverage local funds by convening an Investors Circle of local business and philanthropy leaders within Chile to review business plans prepared through the Fondo Nido process.

Pacific Environment	Contact Them Oakland, California
Pacific Environment received $20,000 to promote conservation, renewable energy, and local economic development in the Altai. PE's top priority will be halting construction of the Katun Dam, which, if built, will destroy the river, prevent the establishment of potential nature parks, cripple eco-tourism, and disrupt forests and archaeological monuments. The anti-dam campaign, a coordinated effort by Pacific Environment, Fund for 21st Century Altai, the Siberian Environment Center, and the Altai University Ecoclub, will continue to promote energy alternatives, increase public awareness, conduct outreach to policy-makers, and litigate against the dam. Pacific Environment is also working to establish additional nature parks, including the Chemal Valley Nature Park that overlaps the area of the dam site. Other activities will include the promotion of smaller-scale alternative and renewable energy technologies such as micro-hydro, heat pumps, wind and solar energy.

Resources for the Future	Contact Them Washington, D.C.
Resources for the Future received $20,000 for an issue paper that will provide a comprehensive and current analysis of the major legal and policy issues affecting hydropower in Chile. The analysis will improve the ability of NGOs to participate effectively in technical policy debates, governmental regulatory processes, and stakeholder negotiations involving the three critical sectors of water, electricity, and the environment. Published as an RFF Discussion Paper, the paper will be available on the web in both English and Spanish, and will be supplemented by oral presentations to policy, public, and stakeholder audiences in Chile and the U.S. The paper will also be submitted for publication in journals that would target policy audiences and concerned citizens in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

World Wildlife Fund	Washington, D.C.
With last year’s successful acquisition and inauguration of the Valdivian Coastal Reserve in southern Chile, World Wildlife Fund Chile, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and other partners took a major step toward conserving Chile’s last remaining temperate rainforests. The Foundation provided essential “start-up” funding (together with matching funds from the Manfred Hermsen Foundation, Germany) that has enabled WWF Chile to begin building the infrastructure and capacity needed for long-term management of the reserve. In this second year, WWF recieved $25,000 to continue developing the management capacity and reserve infrastructure needed to ensure that the reserve is on sound footing before its transfer to a private foundation in several years. WWF will also implement an outreach and development program to ensure the participation and integration of local communities into reserve management activities, including the facilitation of compatible small business opportunities such as ecotourism. Work will also be initiated to: begin to restore the 3,000 hectares of eucalyptus plantations on the property to native forest; develop planning for an adjacent marine and coastal protected area; and, improve marine resource management overall for the reserve’s coastline.


Population & Consumption
As You Sow	Contact Them San Francisco, California
As You Sow is dedicated to promoting corporate accountability, social justice, and environmental protection. As You Sow was awarded $20,000 in support of their efforts to get Time Inc. to use more recycled content in its magazines and require higher forest certification standards from its suppliers. Time Inc. the largest US publisher, commands 24% of all magazine ad revenues and purchases 600,000 tons of paper per year. (The U.S magazine industry as a whole uses nearly 2 million tons of paper to print more than 17,000 magazine tiles, all of which consumes 30 million trees each year.) Part of As You Sow’s work in 2006 will focus on ensuring that Time complies with commitments made in 2005 to publish its first environmental sustainability report and to issue a company wide corporate social responsibility report, both of which will include environmental paper usage. The overriding goal of the campaign is to get Time to commit to, and follow through on, recycled content goals for all of its publications. As You Sow is also discussing the possibilities of using grassroots activism and web-based advocacy.

CAPS	Contact Them Santa Barbara, California
Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) received $20,000 for general support and continued support to expand their Overpopulation Awareness Media Campaign, which uses radio and television ads and media follow-up to educate the public on the State's overpopulation problem and its impact on California's environment, including traffic congestion, water shortages, housing scarcity, overcrowded schools, and stagnant wages. Last year’s radio and television ads, supported by Weeden funds, focused on Kern County, highlighting poor air quality (second-worst ozone polluted county in the country) and its connection to immigration-driven high population growth. With Weeden support, CAPS intends to increase its media coverage in 2006 to other overcrowded areas of the state and to continue online and in person lobbying efforts. This year’s radio campaign will likely emphasize the connection between high immigration numbers and crowding and sprawl, and the violation of existing community planning and zoning regulations.
Catholics for a Free Choice	Contact Them Washinton, DC
Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) recieved $20,000 in funding for their Latin America program, which supports a network of country-level reproductive health rights organizations under the banner of Catolicas por el Derecho a Decidir (CDD). Despite several victories for reproductive health rights in Mexico in recent years, CFFC will shift this year’s focus to Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina. Thier goals include implementing any existing laws that permit abortion, advocating for continued liberalization of abortion laws, empowering Catholic youth to make decisions about their own reproductive health, and providing education and training workshops on women’s rights and reproductive health for a variety of audiences. Smaller CFFC grants in Argentina, Colombia, and Chile will support education efforts such as public forums, meetings with legislators, media outreach and publications.

Center for Immigration Studies	Contact Them Washington, DC
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) recieved $20,000 in support of work to lower immigration levels. This year is expected to be crucial for the immigration debate as President Bush continues to push his guestworker/amnesty plan. Increased attention will also likely be paid to border patrol issues and driver’s licenses for illegal aliens. CIS hopes to contribute significantly to this public debate through their Population/Environment Program. CIS expects to publish at least 15 Backgrounder issue papers and to conduct outreach activities including: congressional testimony; participation in conferences; disseminating information via the CISNEWS email services; and, submission of scholarly articles and op-ed pieces. Research projects will include (but will not be limited to): 1) Immigrant Fertility in U.S Compared to Home Countries, 2) Immigration and an Aging Society, 3) Population Projections.

Center for a New American Dream	Contact Them Takoma Park, Maryland
The Center for a New American Dream was rewarded $20,000 of general support to help Americans consume responsibly in order to protect the environment, enhance quality of life, and promote social justice. This year, the Center has three primary objectives: 1) Mobilize and increase their activist base by launching the "Green Cars Today, Blue Skies Tomorrow" campaign, sustaining branding and advertising partnerships with Patagonia and National Geographic, and implementing a series of Alternative Gift Fairs and Local Buying Guides that create New Dream communities across the nation; 2) Increase New Dream's influence by targeting major national retailers regarding stocking environmentally preferable school supplies, strengthening the "Kids and Commercialism" campaign, and playing a lead role within the progressive political community; 3) Leverage the purchasing power of institutions to press for sustainable production practices regarding environmental paper, cleaning products, computers, and hybrid vehicles, and host a meeting at the White House Conference Center to explore the possibility of creating a Responsible Purchasing Network.

Conservatree	Contact Them San Francisco, CA
Conservatree was awarded $15,000 for their project, "Catalyzing Public Support for Environmental Paper Systems Change". Myths about ecopapers, (i.e. it lacks quality, it is more costly, it is no longer relevant) have caused public support for environmental paper to drop significantly since the early 1990s. While many ecopaper campaigns currently target large-scale paper purchasers, Conservatree focuses on re-educating a misinformed public on the continuing importance of buying environmental paper. An informed and motivated public should change the stance of major purchasers, who have refused to budge on their virgin paper use, citing lack of customer demand or concern. The project will 1) provide coaching and assistance to motivated individuals, 2) develop models and case studies, 3) educate influential members of major environmental membership groups, 4) produce e-newsletters and generate news articles concerning recycling systems changes, 5) make Conservatree's website more small-scale purchaser friendly, and 6) reconfigure their workshops to pertain to audiences of graphic designers, printers, paper merchants and copier service technicians.

Co-op America	Contact Them Washington, DC
Co-op America was awarded $20,000 for the PAPER Project, a continuing effort to shift U.S. magazine paper purchasing from virgin stock to eco-papers. Co-op America is increasingly willing to play hardball with recalcitrant magazine publishers. In the coming year, the project will focus on fostering support for the launch of their public campaign targeting National Geographic magazine. Weeden grantee, Forest Ethics, one of the most experienced groups in market campaigns, is expected to be a key partner. In addition to the seventy smaller magazines from which the project has gained commitments, Co-op America is currently negotiating with larger interested publications such as Consumer Reports, Smithsonian, and Scientific American. They consider this a good start, but to accelerate the wider adoption of eco-papers they are currently forming the Ecopaper Magazine Leaders (EML) network comprised of magazine industry allies. The EML will facilitate information sharing, and help Co-op America to advocate from within the industry for eco-paper use. . Finally, the PAPER Project will collaborate with Environmental Defense, Green Press Initiative (another Weeden grantee), and the Environmental Protection Agency to design a program to reward publishers and other paper purchasers that use eco-papers.

Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America	Contact Them Oakland, California
The Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America (DASA) received $15,000 for educational efforts regarding the negative impacts of U.S. population growth. At its current rate, immigration is exacerbating domestic problems such as urban sprawl, environmental degradation, overcrowded schools and roads, the health care crisis, declining wages and unemployment. Thus, to preserve an environmentally, socially, economically, and politically sustainable America for all native-born and legal immigrants, immigration reform is long overdue. DASA conveys this message to reach politicians, policy-makers, citizens and the media through its many articles, interviews, public debates and other outreach activities. This year, special focus will be given to the need to oppose all amnesty proposals, legislation which would act as a massive accelerator to an already rapidly growing influx. Importantly, DASA will continue to bring out minority voices to counter the idea that immigrant reform is synonymous with immigrant-bashing.

E Magazine	Contact Them Westport, Connecticut
E Magazine received $15,000 to publish a special issue on the emerging global trend of "mega-cities," and the implications for the health and well-being of a more populous planet. The story will feature on-the-spot reporting and ground-level assessments of living, health, and environmental conditions from what will be the world's 10 top mega-cities in 2015 (Dhaka, Mumbai, Lagos, Mexico City, Jakarta, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo). By 2050, two-thirds of the world's population will live in urban areas. In addition to detailing the dire conditions of shantytowns and slum communities, the article will offer realistic projections and thoughtful prescriptions as to how to solve some of the infrastructure, environmental and social problems these cities and the areas around them will face. The issue will be promoted as a major event alerting the public, the media, and policymakers around the globe to these daunting changes in demographics. The articles will also be distributed freely to 400 newspapers and websites (including MSNBC.com) that carry E's weekly environmental column, Earth Talk.

Facing the Future	Contact Them Seattle, WA
Facing the Future (FTF), a national nonprofit education organization and a new Weeden grantee, recieved $20,000 to expand their “Global Literacy” program. The program works to systemically integrate education about population, consumption, environment, and sustainability in U.S. schools. FTF’s model effectively brings their academically rigorous, standards-based curriculum, and flexible, affordable teacher development programs into all types of communities. Weeden funds would support a series of teacher workshops in the West that will train and equip 400 teachers this year, subsequently reaching over 40,000 students. FTF is currently focusing on reaching more public schools (private schools have been more receptive to date), with the goal of having 75% of their programs reaching public schools by the end this year.

Green Press Initiative	Contact Them Encinitas, California
The Green Press Initiative (GPI) and Markets Initiative (MI) received $20,000 to preserve ancient and endangered forests by revolutionizing the North American book publishing and paper industries. In the last four years, GPI and MI have successfully engaged end-user and supply-side companies to be leaders in endangered forest protection and natural resource conservation. To date, 165 North American publishers are formally participating in the effort and 21 new environmental book papers have been developed as a result. The work of GPI and MI has generated significant leverage within the paper and logging industries, creating a model for campaigns working to transform other heavy wood and paper sectors in North America as well as internationally. Weeden funds will support: 1) publisher outreach and enrollment with educational textbook and major multi-national publishers, 2) implementation assistance to engage signatories in reaching commitments, 3) the production of an Endangered Forest friendly bible; 4) new participation and commitments from paper manufacturers, printers, and suppliers, and 5) efforts to gain mainstream visibility.

Ipas	Contact Them Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Ipas received $15,000 for their work removing the social, political and geographical barriers limiting women's and adolescent girl's rights to abortion services in Mexico. Ipas will continue to support Centers of Excellence by monitoring abortion services, providing input where necessary, and developing publications and training materials. In an effort to foster the sustainability of their services, Ipas will establish procedures to ensure that health facilities will have the information to take corrective action on their own. Each Center of Excellence maintains a network of services between health institutions referring clients from primary to tertiary levels, hospitals in nearby states, agencies specializing in sex crimes, support centers, feminist groups, and human rights commissions. Ipas will also support the efforts of key strategic partners giving women access to legal abortions in regions where Ipas has not been able to make a significant investment of resources.

National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association	Contact Them Washington, D.C.
NFPRHA received $15,000 to advocate for a strong, well-funded Title X program, full Medicaid funding for family planning services, and overall greater access to voluntary contraception in the United States. Title X of the Public Health Service Act funds the only distinct family planning program and serves more than 5 million Americans needing subsidized family planning services and supplies each year. Patients receiving care at birth control clinics funded through Title X are disproportionately poor, uninsured, and ineligible for Medicaid. Title X offers health services to illegal immigrants that are ineligible for any other government sponsored contraception health programs. Restricted access to subsidized contraceptive care and budget cuts threaten these services. If rewarded, Weeden funds will support the second year of NFPRHA’s “Campaign to Advance Access to Birth Control.” The objectives of this education and communications campaign are to organize coalitions, lobby congress, present current family planning services and statistics at meetings and conferences, conduct public polls, and leverage support from non-traditional allies.

National Wildlife Federation	Contact Them Reston, Virginia
The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) requests a grant to stimulate the market for “environmentally preferable papers” (EPPs) in North America. Over the last two years NWF has developed the strength and vitality of the Environmental Paper Network (EPN) as well as pushed demand in specific sectors of retail paper consumption such as for catalogs and educational textbooks. NWF’s environmental paper program concentrates on specific market segments, identifying industry leaders and major buyers willing to commit to purchasing EPPs. NWF works with both the demand and supply sides of environmental paper; informing the latter on supply, price, grade, and paper quality, while assuring the latter that a substantial and growing demand for EPPs exists. The program also educates intermediate industry employees (such as printers) on the importance and feasibility of switching to environmental paper. A grant from the Weeden Foundation would support an integrated campaign that involves work in the following major areas: 1) collaborating with Green Press Initiative to drive demand for environmental paper in the textbook market; 2) improving uptake of EPPs in the food packaging industry; 3) identifying opportunities for reducing catalog waste; and 4) stimulating conversations that may lead to a joint purchasing effort among key NGOs that have major paper needs such as NWF.

NumbersUSA	Contact Them Arlington, Virginia
As one of the nation’s leading research and education centers for immigration-driven US population growth, NumbersUSA recieved $20,000 in continued funding for their ongoing Sprawl/Maps Project. Two years ago, NumbersUSA, using Census Bureau and USDA data, successfully quantified the respective roles of population growth and per capita land consumption to highlight the fact that population growth is responsible for approximately 56% of urban sprawl nationwide. Their current project, MapsUS, involves the creation of map-oriented database system on the internet. The maps provide a graphical representation of how population growth and immigration affect sprawl, environmental quality, and quality of life in particular counties, cities, and states; a color coded system will distinguish areas that are unlikely to achieve sustainability under current population and consumption patterns. This web-based tool will provide critical information to leaders and voters making planning and zoning decisions, and will be supportive of policies designed to encourage population stabilization

Population Media Center	Contact Them Shelbourne, VT
The Population Media Center (PMC) received $20,000 for a project to incorporate reproductive health and environmental protection into popular Brazilian soap operas (telenovelas). In general, PMC’s work is concentrated on entertainment broadcasting, particularly on long-running serial dramas in which characters evolve into role models for adoption of family planning, delayed marriage and childbearing, elevation of women’s status, avoidance of AIDS, conservation of natural resources, and related social and health goals. In Brazil, PMC is working in partnership with Comunicarte, a non-governmental organization in Rio de Janeiro, to incorporate these reproductive health issues into the three prime-time telenovelas on TV Globo. TV Globo is the largest television network in Brazil, with about 65% audience share, and it exports its programs, dubbed into various languages, to dozens of countries worldwide, including most of Latin America. Funding for the project will support PMC staff as they meet with the soap opera writers during a two-month planning period prior to a show’s premier. In addition to tracking coverage of social and health themes by the telenovelas, the project staff will monitor daily news media coverage of population issues and report the results back to TV Globo.

Rainforest Alliance	Contact Them New York, New York
The Weeden Foundation awarded the Rainforest Alliance $15,000 for their efforts to foster demand for FSC certified wood, pulp and paper. RA fosters markets for certified wood by educating buyers about certified wood products and facilitating their ability to identify reliable sources of wood that meets their specifications. Weeden funds will enable RA to continue to develop education, outreach, and market linkages to publishers, printers, paper merchants, and institutional buyers for certified paper. Activities for the coming year will include: 1) performing inventories of paper buyers in New York that have expressed interest in certified products as well as targeting high-profile companies; 2) identifying key players in these companies and educating them about certified paper; and 3) working to support sourcing of certified paper from FSC/Smartwood suppliers by following up on both the supply and demand sides in order to facilitate linkages.

Redefining Progress	Contact Them Oakland, California
Redefining Progress receivd $15,000 to strengthen their sustainble education program. RP’s uses the Ecological Footprint education model to provide teachers with tools to teach students the basic ideas of sustainability. Research conducted by RP indicates that there are many inadequacies in current materials for sustainability education, including: the dominance of 'stand-alone' lesson plans that do not place sustainability in a larger context; few curriculum units or lesson series; limited correlation of lesson plans to state standards; and, prohibitively high costs for quality education materials. RP addresses these shortcomings by providing comprehensive classroom materials that conform to state standards
.
The Rewilding Institute	Contact Them Albuquerque, New Mexico
While environmental groups wrestle with an existential angst that too often leads to compromises of values and policies, TRI believes it is essential for conservationists to be guided and uplifted by a bold, scientifically credible, practically achievable, and hopeful vision of the future of wilderness and biodiversity in North America. Differentiating themselves further from other organizations is TRI's recognition that human population, internationally and domestically, is the primary driver of the Sixth Great Extinction. The Institute received $20,000 for their educational outreach program based on the writings, public lectures, conference presentations, and organizational outreach by Dave Foreman, Michael Soule, David Parsons, Dona Waller, Brian Miller, and Bob Howard. Promotion of Foreman's book "The Myths of the Environmental Movement" and enhancement of the TRI website will also be a priority for the Institute.

U.S. Inc.
U.S. Inc. $15,000 to publish a concise booklet entitled, The Ethics of Immigration Policy, which is intended to straddle the narrow path between the right and the left on the immigration issue. The booklet will strive to avoid hot button topics on either side of the aisle, but will be generally geared towards a more liberal-progressive audience. Modeled on the pocket-sized booklet, “Common Sense on Mass Immigration”, “The Ethics of Immigration Policy” would be of similar size and also sell for $1.00. “Common Sense”, first published in 2004, has had over 100,000 copies printed. (Only 6,000 remain in stock.) Ethics will contain 19 short essays by knowledgeable persons in the movement including Roy Beck, Mark Krikorian, Governor Richard Lamm, and Peter Gadiel. For example, at least one essay will address the ethical considerations of corporate interests seeking access to cheap labor and its impact on the erosion of the middle class. Weeden funding will go toward printing expenses, professional fees, website creation, postage/shipping expenses, advertising, and staff time. U.S. Inc. expects charitable organizations in the immigration reform movement to order copies for their members and hopes to generate free publicity with news stories on the booklet in the immigration reform movement.

Watershed Media	Contact Them Healdsburg, CA
Watershed Media recieved $15,000 to promote the Weeden-funded book, Paper or Plastic: Searching for Solutions to an Overpackaged World. This education and outreach campaign will highlight how overpackaging and consumption pressure forest ecosystems. If awarded, Weeden funds will support the following campaign goals: 1) collaborating with both the private and non-profit sectors in hosting a series of panel discussions that engage local and regional packaging experts; 2) publishing at least 50 print articles, reviews and op-eds about the book while participating in 30 radio interviews; 3) influencing the packaging decisions of a least 10 new companies; and, 4) hosting at least 5 high profile events around the country to build a network of at least 75 organizations dedicated to sustainable packaging practices.