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American Lands received $10,000 general support for their work in 2008-09 to advance permanent protection and restoration of the ecologically significant older forests, and their dependent fish and wildlife, on public lands in the Pacific Northwest (Northern California, Oregon and Washington). In particular, their priorities include securing administrative protection both for older forests in the range of the Northern Spotted Owl and for eastside forests, defending existing protections for these forests, and facilitating riparian and aquatic protection and restoration in emerging Pacific Northwest forest policy. In order to help educate decision makers and media on the importance of protecting older forests in the Pacific Northwest, American Lands will also publish two scientific studies this year (“Pacific Northwest: Climate Disruption and the Carbon Connection in the Pacific Northwest.” and “The Implications of Climate Change for Conservation, Restoration and Management of National Forest Lands.” ) Through widespread advocacy and research, American Lands Alliance hopes to advance forest policy that is grounded in science, ensure that decision makers have a greater understanding of ecologically appropriate practices, restore fire-suppressed, dry forest ecosystems, and help increase media coverage of the role older forests play in mitigating climate change, especially in regard to carbon sequestration. American Lands will continue to use its policy and organizing expertise and strong relationships with local and regional grassroots activists to secure the strongest possible protections for these publicly owned forests.

American Rivers received a grant of $15,000 for their work in 2009. American Rivers helped create historic progress in 2008 toward their goal of putting the Klamath River Basin on a path toward ecological recovery. Although they have made tremendous progress this year, they will have to redouble efforts in 2009 to solidify recent gains and ensure the Klamath passes a “point of no return” toward renewal. In 2009, American Rivers will continue its instrumental role in completing the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA). The public review of the agreement began with its release in January 2008, and since then several issues have emerged for which solutions have not yet been developed. Completion of the KBRA will likely quickly follow the finalization of the dam removal agreement. American Rivers will also continue to play a lead role in negotiations with PacifiCorp and other parties to convert the Agreement in Principle into a final, binding agreement that requires dam removal by 2020 at the expense of PacifiCorp. Several significant issues remain to be addressed, such as replacement of generation and compliance with the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act and other statutes. Additionally, American Rivers will continue its work to create a favorable regulatory climate for the final settlement and dam removal, and to help develop a sound dam removal process with a scientific study that is expected to confirm current understanding of the removal process but is nonetheless critical to their commitment to rigorously examine benefits and risks. Finally, American Rivers will promote public understanding and support of dam removal by working closely with the California Coastal Conservancy, which has sponsored more than $2 million in Klamath dam removal studies, to hold a series of workshops in Siskiyou County where scientists will present the findings of Conservancy studies and answer any questions from local residents.

American Wildlands was granted $20,000 support to insure that the results of their Priority Linkage Assessment for the High Divide region (last year’s grant - which addresses habitat connectivity and wildlife movement corridors) is incorporated into a diverse range of new and existing policy and management processes, both in the private and public sectors. Specific to the interests of the Weeden Foundation, much of the work in the High Divide region during FY 2009 will focus on “higher level” policy activities. Primarily, this will involve working with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks on the revision of the agency’s Comprehensive Fish and Wildlife Conservation Strategy, and how that ties into the agency’s efforts to implement the Western Governors Association’s recent set of recommendations for addressing the threats to habitat connectivity (through its Wildlife Corridor Initiative). Additionally, American Wildlands will address other policy and management issues related to the revision of U.S. Forest Service management plans, federal energy transmission line corridor proposals, and county planning efforts. Overall, these efforts will help conserve biodiversity in general, and habitat connectivity and wildlife movement corridors in particular, throughout the High Divide region (SW Montana and SE Idaho). Their Corridors of Life program work in the region will benefit local populations of wildlife such as elk, moose and pronghorn, and will establish and maintain the stepping stones of habitat connectivity between the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and other ecosystems in the region. In 2009, American Wildlands will make the most of the implementation phase of their Priority Linkage Assessment, as they use data to [1] help inform, guide, and strengthen the work of other conservation interests (state and federal agencies, NGOs, county planners, private land owners, etc.); [2] influence major state and federal policy and planning efforts in the region; and [3] then use those improved policy and planning efforts to influence their more site-specific, on-the-ground efforts for the next 2-5 years.

Campaign for America’s Wilderness (CAW) was granted $15,000 in support of their Beaverhead-Deerlodge Wilderness Public Education Campaign. This effort will assist a local coalition of groups in Montana, particularly the Montana Wilderness Association, working to designate or expand 16 wilderness areas (encompassing 573,000 acres) in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in southwestern Montana. In addition to wilderness designation, this effort envisions a forest restoration element that uses stewardship contracting as a tool to conduct landscape-scale forest restoration projects on 70,000 acres over the next ten years. Thus, included within the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership are several timber and wood products manufacturing firms, and local community groups, in addition to a number of conservation groups. CAW has been working with the Partnership for more than two years, within which time it has been able to build solid local congressional support for the Campaign. CAW’s involvement has grown from initially providing advice on proposal development to full-scale campaign assistance in public education and outreach strategy, public opinion research, communications and advocacy efforts. Support for the specific activities related to advancing the wilderness/restoration agreement will help make it possible for the Partnership to lay the groundwork for successful advocacy efforts over the next year or two.

The Conservation Leaders Network (CLN) received $15,000 continued funding 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 individuals, CLN employs economic arguments to show officials that their counties have more to gain from standing, healthy forests than degraded or clearcut forests. CLN will continue its work with the Wilderness Society, other conservation groups, and county commissioners to fend off further weakening of the Northwest Forest plan in the final months of the Bush Administration. The major challenge this year is the O&C Plan Revision – affecting a special category of BLM lands – that threaten to eliminate reserves on O&C lands and ultimately open these areas up to logging. CLN will continue to co-lead the O&C Strategy Group (made up of NGO representatives) to develop and implement strategies to prevent detrimental BLM revisions. CLN will also work in the coming year to recruit 20 county commissioners to join the National Association of Counties (NaCo), a committee notorious for its anti environmental majority

Dogwood Alliance received $20,000 support for their "Packaging Campaign." Through a combination of inside negotiation and persistent pressure from activated corporate customers, DA is steadily convincing the world's largest paper producers to develop and implement high environmental standards for paper-based packaging, which will lead to improved forestry practices and endangered forest protection. The "Packaging Campaign" is initially focusing on the largest paper producer, International Paper, whose solid bleached sulfate (SBS) packaging is of particular environmental concern because it is made exclusively of virgin tree fiber and is generally not recycled. In the next year, the campaign will work to convince four of IP's paper packaging customers to: stop purchases of packaging derived from endangered forests and forests that are converted to plantations; increase purchases of FSC certified paper products; increase use of recycled fiber; and reduce overall use of packaging. DA will also continue its public campaign to engage citizens in challenging the targeted companies, as they did with the successful Staples, Office Depot, and OfficeMax Campaigns. This year's public campaign will focus on building awareness about excessive and non-environmental packaging in the fast food sector.

The Endangered Species Coalition (ESC) received a $20,000 general support grant for grassroots outreach and advocacy activities aimed at mobilizing ESC activists and member groups to act against federal government actions that would compromise ESA protections. With a Washington, D.C.-based Policy Director, ESC works to incorporate local species issues into national policy agendas and ensure that local organizations understand the implications of national policy debates. This year, ESC will focus on stopping the Bush Administration from weakening the Endangered Species Act, and will push for renewed Congressional oversight on the administration’s political manipulation of endangered species programs. Starting in November, they will guide the new administration’s transition team on a pro-active agenda with solutions to problems such as the listing backlog and removing “bad agency actors”, including political appointees and high-level U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service individuals who have purposefully abused science for political expediency. Finally, ESC will launch a new project to draw attention to the nation’s top 10 endangered species, including species that most need to be added to the endangered species list. This report will particularly highlight those species impacted by manipulated species decisions of the Bush administration and those species most impacted by global warming.

The Environmental Paper Network (EPN) was awwarded a $20,000 general support grant to advance macro-level environmental change in the pulp and paper industry and to foster collaboration among organizations working towards this goal. The EPN Steering Committee has identified the following six priority areas as critical to filling gaps in the environmental paper movement during the next year: 1) Network Coordination – provide leadership that catalyzes collaboration, inter-organizational coordination, networking and resource sharing among organizations worldwide; 2) Purchaser Tools – increase the number of paper purchasers making responsible choices through innovative, and easy-to-use tools and resources; 3) Industry Innovation - leveraging the marketplace for industry innovation by holding events for major paper purchasers and producers/suppliers to become informed, network, and pursue solutions for key Endangered Forests heavily impacted by the paper industry; 4) Communications – educate and influence target audiences about the urgency and opportunity of responsible paper choices; 5) Climate – complete research on the carbon footprint of paper, and increase awareness about the climate impacts/opportunities of paper choices and of the paper industry, and the opportunities for responsible paper choices; 6) Recovered Fiber – increase the recovery rate of paper by engaging cities, counties, businesses, industry, educational institutions, and other stakeholders.

The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) was granted $20,000 support for both the defensive and the proactive aspects of their Public Forest Protection Program. EPIC will continue to protect fish and wildlife, forests and watersheds across northwestern California through monitoring, administrative advocacy, and strategic litigation where necessary and potentially effective. Additionally, they will be building the California component of a regional campaign to secure permanent protection for the remaining old-growth forests on national forests in Oregon, Washington, and Northwestern California. Specific goals in 2009 include: (1) monitoring and providing comments on proposed timber sales and other projects on public lands; (2) representing northern California on the Old Growth Legislation Steering Committee, and developing new coalitions to protect mature and old growth forests, roadless areas, and other key habitats; (3) promoting appropriately designed thinning projects that reduce wildfire threats to communities while protecting resource values; and (4) working as the California lead to prevent a proposed Northern Spotted Owl Recovery Plan from undermining both owl recovery and the larger framework of older forest conservation.

Facing the Future (FTF) received $20,000 support to launch their campaign Sustainability Issues Education: National Outreach to systemically integrate education about population, consumption, environment, and sustainability in U.S. schools by educating teachers. FTF's model effectively brings their academically rigorous, standards-based curriculum, and flexible, affordable teacher development programs into all types of communities. Currently, FTF reaches more than 500,000 students per year in all 50 states and more than 60 countries globally. Weeden funds will support a series of 40 professional development workshops and in service trainings, provide standards based educational materials for teachers, and help to develop three new sustainability resources, including a National Sustainability unit for high school social studies. These combined efforts will train 1500 educators, which, in turn, will reach at least 75,000 students in 2008-2009, and more than 300,000 students over the next four years. The cost per student in this program is less than $2.

The Institute for Fisheries Resources received $15,000 renewed funding for their Klamath Project and, also asks that some funds be used for their Salmon Restoration Program. Due to unsustainable land and water use, all three of the largest salmon producing rivers systems on the west coast (Columbia/Snake, Sacramento/San Joaquin, and Klamath Basins) are suffering from unprecedented salmon declines. 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 plan of action includes: (1) securing major water reforms through successful litigation in order to return sufficient water flows back into the California Central Valley's Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers; (2) pushing for major river management reforms within the Columbia River watershed, including (potentially) the selective removal of the worst fish-killing dams on the lower Snake River, and; (3) "closing the deal" on so-far successful settlement negotiations in the Klamath Basin for the decommissioning and removal of four major hydroelectric dams by 2015, with related water reforms to assure a sustainable salmon fishery.

The Klamath Riverkeeper received $15,000 to fund its two most important campaigns: “Un-Dam the Klamath”, and the new “Klamath Salmon Fishermen and Tribal Empowerment Project”. Both campaigns will build on their successes of the past year, in which: KS won two major Klamath Dam pollution lawsuits; started a Coast Fishermen Ratepayer campaign in Oregon; trained at least ten tribal members regarding how to be active on Klamath Salmon issues; upstaged Warren Buffett at his yearly shareholders’ meeting (re: Pacificorp); and created not only a proposed Klamath Restoration legal review, but also a comprehensive Klamath Salmon legal and policy review with a focus on the Scott and Shasta Rivers, which are the Klamath main Coho tributaries. This year KR will continue to use a pronged approach to assure that the Klamath dams are removed and the Klamath River is restored. The Klamath Dams campaign will focus on the Clean Water Act Certification process, in which they intend to make sure California and Oregon deny PacifiCorp’s certification, which would force the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny them a dam license. Furthermore within the next two months KS will be reviewing and finalizing their draft Scott and Shasta Rivers’ legal review and creating a two-year work plan from the review, which will lead to at least one lawsuit to protect Coho in the next year.

The Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center received $20,000 for their Klamath-Siskiyou Ecoregion’s Conservation Program to protect core roadless areas, important habitats and key wildlife migration routes from unsustainable resource extraction and seeks to restore those areas that have been impaired by a century of mismanagement. Their program consists of a three-part strategy: The first part entails public lands monitoring to defend roadless areas and old-growth forests from damaging timber sales, off-road vehicle abuse, mining, livestock grazing and road-building through project tracking, comments, field monitoring, appeals and litigation. The second part deals with issue-oriented campaigning to advocate for the protection of intact roadless areas, the recovery of at-risk species, permanent protective land designations, and ecologically-driven redirection of land management activities through multi-stakeholder collaboration efforts. The third part pertains to education and outreach, which involves educating the public, non-traditional allies and elected officials about the importance of functioning ecosystems, the threats to these ecosystems, and restorative alternatives to ecologically harmful management. Increasingly, KS Wild is also effectively working with federal land managers to encourage beneficial restoration projects on federal land. Through successful collaboration with willing land managers they are slowly shifting agency culture away from destructive management activities. Furthermore, the quickly developing proposals to expand permanent protections for the Oregon Caves National Monument and the salmon-bearing tributaries of the Lower Rogue River demonstrate their growing ability to enact positive change at the national level.

The Montana Wilderness Association (MWA), received $15,000 continued support for their Beaverhead-Deerlodge Wilderness Forest and Travel Plan Campaigns. This campaign aims to obtain the first significant wilderness designation in Montana in twenty-five years, securing agency-based protection for more than eight million acres of Montana’s public wildlands. MWA is coordinating and encouraging public response to preliminary agency forest and travel planning processes throughout the state. Success in these efforts is essential to providing the short-and intermediate-term safeguards necessary for potential wilderness lands until permanent and enduring forms of protections can be achieved. Progress in this arena not only protects Montana’s natural heritage from immediate threats, but simultaneously fosters the political framework for the ultimate conservation objective in wildlands preservation. MWA will continue to play a leadership role in pushing the proposal developed by a group of stakeholders known as the Beaverhead- Deerlodge Partnership. This partnership includes several environmental groups (See Campaign for America’s Wilderness in this docket) community groups, and timber and wood products companies.

The National Center for Conservation Science And Policy (NCCSP) received $20,000 continued support to help defend threatened wildlife and old growth forests in the Pacific Northwest from rollbacks in habitat protections in the final days of the Bush Administration, and to provide conservation science in support of a global campaign to call attention to the international importance of the temperate rainforests in the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and Southern Chile. Activities for the coming year include: (1) evaluating and opposing administrative rollbacks to the Northwest Forest Plan with emphasis on the final recovery plan and critical habitat determination for the threatened spotted owl; (2) petitioning the Fish & Wildlife Service to up-list the owl to endangered status; (3) evaluating and opposing the final BLM Environmental Impact Statement for its Western Oregon Plan Revisions; (4) preparing decision-makers (incoming administration, Congress) for restoring protections for old-growth forests in the Northwest, and; (5) working with the book publisher in completing the Alaska to Redwoods, Valdivian (Chile), Inland Rainforests, and Climate Change chapters of the Temperate Rainforest Book in preparation for publication in late 2009.

National Public Lands received $10,000 in support of its Grazing Campaign, which seeks to permanently retire a public lands livestock grazing allotment in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest of Southern Oregon, and in so doing, to facilitate the expansion of the Oregon Caves National Monument. Anticipated outcomes of this campaign are: the expansion of the Oregon Caves National Monument by approximately 4,400 acres (ten fold); the designation of approximately 10 miles of Cave Creek and its tributaries as a unit of the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System; and, a statutory prohibition against livestock grazing ever again occurring in the two retired allotments. If conservationists can raise the requisite funds, it will grease the political skids to expand the Oregon Caves National Monument and designate Cave Creek a Wild & Scenic River, but should the legislation not be enacted into law, the ranchers would receive no payment and money would be returned to donors. Once the grazing rights permitee agrees to the buyout offer, National Public Lands Grazing Campaign will work with KS Wild, American Rivers, and the National Parks Conservation Association (all Weeden Grantees) to pressure the state legislature to agree to the buyout and subsequent protection in the Monument.

The Pacific Forest Trust (PFT) received $20,000 continued support for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Forestlands Initiative. Currently, over 32,000 acres (40%) within the Monument planning boundaries remain in private hands and thus continue to be vulnerable to development. 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. PFT will work with the BLM to prepare the next acquisition phase and apply for supplemental funding for the Monument in Congress. To build the constituency needed to influence key BLM staff members and members of Congress, PFT will: 1) organize tours of the property for key BLM staff, local politicians, and community members; 2) work with the Pacific Crest Trail Association to develop new acquisitions project; 3)conduct outreach to local, state, and federal policymakers, as well as local conservation and environmental groups, to build and coordinate community support for the expansion of the Monument’s protected area, and; 4) coordinate with partners the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council and Trout Unlimited to create a letter-writing campaign to legislators, which last year led to funding for the BLM’s acquisition of PFT properties. Finally, PFT will work directly with landowners to capitalize on numerous landowner inquiries about permanent land conservation.

The Rewilding Institute (TRI) received $20,000 continued support for an educational outreach program based on the writings, public lectures, presentations at conferences, and organizational outreach of Dave Foreman. Mr. Foreman will publish two papers on population which will be posted on the TRI website and printed as brochures, and a publication of "Around the Campfire," his electronic editorials. Funds will also support TRW's website, which is designed to be an information resource on continental -scale conservation. As primary author and compiler of the website, Foreman is currently developing an informative section on human overpopulation carrying capacity, and the threat of cornucopian thinking, which will have links to important books, articles, and reports about population, including immigration, and links to the groups forthrightly working on population. Finally, TRI and several of its fellows will work closely with the Environmental Leaders Forum (Weeden Foundation project) to get conservation groups and activists to endorse a position recognizing the role of population growth in harming biodiversity and causing climate change.

The Siskiyou Project was awarded $20,000 for a public outreach campaign to secure permanent legislative protection for the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area, which contains the largest remaining complex of wilderness and unprotected roadless areas between Canada and Baja California, and is home to five Wild and Scenic Rivers and nine candidate rivers.
Ongoing threats to the area include: logging in old growth forests, mining operations, erosion and sedimentation from an old road system, and destruction of habitat by off road vehicles. Siskiyou Projects’ goal over the next twelve months is to build a groundswell of support for
Conservation area protection among local residents, business leaders, sportsmen, conservation groups, prominent scientists, public agency employees and newspaper editorial boards. Campaign activities will include: 1) finalizing maps and draft legislative concepts; 2) traveling to Washington D.C. to meet with key legislative officials and D.C. allies; 3) delivering outreach presentations in gateway communities and regional presentations in the San Francisco Bay area, Eugene, Portland and Seattle; 4) publishing articles about the Siskiyou Wild Rivers in local and regional publications; 5) securing project endorsements from prominent scientists, conservation groups, public agency employees, government officials, local business people and private citizens; and 6) increasing Siskiyou Project membership through local and direct mailings, hikes, public forums and online outreach.

SEACC was granted $20,000 to help reach their primary goal of protecting the last of the best habitat and wild places left on the Tongass-- up to 4.5 million acres. The combination of a more positive national climate towards the environment, changing Southeast Alaska economics, conservation groups’ successful challenge of the 1997 Tongass Land Management Plan, and collaborative conversations among diverse Southeast Alaskan leaders have all helped to create a great opportunity to move forward with a pro-active campaign to permanently protect special places in the Tongass. Central to this campaign is the Tongass Futures Roundtable. This is a collaborative forum of national forest stakeholders, which aims to work out an agreement allowing sustainable forestry on second growth/roaded forest, while protecting millions of acres of old growth/roadless forest. In addition to participating in the Roundtable as a stakeholder, SEACC is currently mobilizing Southeast Alaska citizens, leaders, and businesses to build up political support for the aims of this process. In a related effort, SEACC is also working to stop new roads from slicing through Tongass Wildlands by mobilizing opposition to the proposed extension to the Juneau road system, and thwarting an agency roads-to-resources program.

Sitka Conservation Society received $20,000 in funding to prevent further industrial scale logging of the Tongass National Forest, while advocating for a new Tongass future based on appreciation and sustainable management — not destruction — of the region’s natural capital. Together with a coalition of conservation groups and regional partners, they are working on an offensive strategy to congressionally protect the most important ecologically and socially valuable watersheds in the Tongass National Forest. This represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to set aside as Wilderness some of our continent’s most spectacular, and globally rare, landscapes. Sitka Conservation Society’s goals for the next two years cover numerous levels and types of action—legislative, legal, and local. Specifically, they include: ending all commercial old growth logging on the Tongass N.F. within 5 years; developing and introducing in Congress a package for permanent protection of Tongass N.F. lands within 3 years; developing a community vision and management plan for the Sitka Community; actively shaping development of F.S. second growth management policies and plans and assuring that restoration is a funded priority; continuing to pursue the protection of Roadless areas in the Tongass; expanding SCS membership to 1000 (80% Tongass residents); and actively improving organizational, board, and staff effectiveness and capacity. Through traditional advocacy, collaborative partnerships, education of the larger public, cultivation of strategic support, and pure grassroots advocacy, the Sitka Conservation Society is significantly contributing to a new vision for the Tongass National Forest.

Seattle, WA

The Western Lands Project (WLP) received $20,000 continued general support to monitor and challenge both agency and Congressional land trades and sales through policy reform, the media, public education and outreach, legal challenges and lobbying. WLP works to empower citizens by improving public awareness and access to information regarding land exchanges, and provides administrative and legal support to individuals responding to land privatization. At the same time, WLP continues to analyze and report the environmental and legal consequences of Land Policy Reform. WLP does not oppose all land trades but rather wishes to ensure that all consequences of these trades are disclosed and understood; that the trades advance the public interest as required by law; and that land exchange alternatives are given serious consideration. This year, WLP cites their recent settlement against the Bureau of Land Management, granted by the Nevada Federal District Court, as a measure of their success in increasing government accountability. Currently, the organization is expanding its mission to include the control of rural Western sprawl by monitoring exchanges that are “being used to facilitate unsustainable, reckless growth”. WLP received funding to support new staff positions, needed salary increases, software and fundraising investments.

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Wilderness Watch received continued support of $20,000 to support its two major programs, “"Defending Wilderness,” and “Education and Empowerment.” The former program expects to focus in the coming year on: defending recent legal victories to prevent harm to the John Muir and Ansel Adams Wilderness from damage caused by commercial packstations; challenging the BLM’s decision to allow landowners to drive ORVs through the Steens Mountain Wilderness (Oregon); and engaging and convincing the Forest Service to abandon its plans to use helicopters in surveying vegetation in the Tongass National Forest. WW’s Education and Empowerment Program aims to increase congressional oversight of executive agencies, organize a regional wilderness forum in the Southwest, and revamp their on-line presence to attract a broader, younger audience.

The WildEarth Guardians (WEG), formerly known as Forest Guardians before merging with Sinapu and the Sagebrush Sea Campaign, received $20,000 funding for a new phase of their Western Public Lands Grazing Informational Project. The focal point of this year's work is on riparian/wetland habitats, which have suffered from years of abuse due to livestock grazing. Though streams represent less than 1% of the landscape, they are critical ecological corridors, water filters and recreational assets. Funding in 2008-09 will focus on five objectives: 1) acquire spatial data from the USFS, BLM and state and federal water quality agencies to identify the current status of streams as designated under state and federal clean water laws and; 2) acquire data identifying all designated and candidate wild and scenic rivers, and; 3) conduct analysis to determine the names, amounts, and locations of polluted streams on public lands where livestock grazing is a probable source and a similar analysis focusing on wild and scenic rivers; 4) complete two reports relating cattle grazing to, respectively, Clean Water Act, and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act violations; and 5) host a meeting to refine and develop legal strategies that seek to invoke these two laws to reform grazing on public lands. All of the information collected will be integrated with WEG's west-wide grazing database to identify grazing allotments that are in need of focused attention. These products will be used to inform judges, scientists, elected officials, and land managers to influence potential and ongoing grazing litigation.

Wildlands Project, renamed Wildlands Network as of January 2009, was granted $20,000 toward the promotion of the Western Wildway, also known as the Spine of the Continent, a 5,000-mile long wildlife corridor running north from Mexico, through the U.S. Rockies, to Alaska. Their work is focused on two key program areas: developing a synergistic network of partners, and implementing on-the-ground conservation in the far southern part of the Spine. Wildlands Network envisions sweeping changes that will bolster their efforts and broaden their network. The recent economic shakeup, a new administration, and the heightened awareness of conservation issues by the public are creating unprecedented opportunities to make huge strides in US conservation. To take advantage of these changes and to create greater momentum, Wildlands Network is gathering together key experts to participate in a landmark Western Conservation Summit (WCS). The purpose of the WCS is to establish more partnerships, to create synergy between western conservation efforts, and to determine how these organizations can work together in a coordinated system. Participants include: leading scientists such as Paul Ehrlich, EO Wilson and Michael Soulé; leading foundations such as Hewlett, Packard, and Moore (and don’t forget Weeden), and various conservation organizations. On the ground, Wildlands Network’s direct conservation action will continue to protect landscape connectivity in the Sky Islands of Arizona and New Mexico, a critical section of the Western Wildway. The Sky Islands is considered one of the most biologically significant landscapes in North America and is critical to wildlife movement between the subtropical Sierra Madre Occidental and the temperate Rocky Mountains. The 10-million acre Sky Islands region is high in species diversity and provides habitat for endangered wildlife like the Mexican gray wolf and jaguar.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) received funding of $15,000 to support the Western Governors’ Association’s (WGA) Western Governors’ Wildlife Council (WGWC) in their initial assessment of Montana – the first of the western states to begin the formal process of identifying crucial landscapes, prioritizing threats and opportunities, and developing management guidelines under the WGWC. The Montana experience will serve as a key model for the other western states to build their own set of priority landscapes. WCS staff have been invited to join this effort because of their well-known science expertise and history of building strong stakeholder relationships. In 2009, WCS Senior Conservation Scientist Keith Aune and WCS Climate Change Ecologist Dr. Molly Cross will provide essential expertise to help ensure that Montana employs scientifically sound practices to identify essential habitats and corridors and to help Montana incorporate climate change adaptations in the state’s long-term protection strategy.

The Altai Assistance Project (AAP) recieved $15,000 continued funding for several ongoing and new projects. The first project will support for this year’s sixth annual meeting of Altai Republic Nature Park leaders, an important networking and educational event. Second, the AAP will to send three Nature Park representatives for training in surveying snow leopard populations using camera trapping—a system that allows photographs of wildlife to be taken, even when humans are not present by placing cameras with infrared sensors in wildlife areas. Third, AAP will continue support of Steve Gulick’s anti-poaching work in the Altai, involving the installation of poaching detection devices of various types. The fourth project will develop a community based tourism network that would include training in “Leave No Trace” protocols and the establishment of a partnership with the Bozeman based ecotourism company “Boojum,” which operates extensively in Mongolia and is staffed by local people. Fifth, AAP will finalize the Sacred Sites Project, which will produce and disseminate a booklet on sacred sites throughout the Altai republic.

The Altai Project recieved $15,000 continued funding for its work defending wilderness and wildlife in the Altai region of Russia. A 2009 grant will enable the AP to continue support of local campaigns opposing the Katun Hydroelectric dam and the proposed gas pipeline through the Ukok Plateau. Specifically, they will support the creation of the Fund for 21st Century Altai’s website, as well as their established newsletter, Point of View, which has become a mouthpiece for the Altai environmental movement and has also proven to be an effective tool for the campaigns fighting bad infrastructure projects. Also, Weeden funds will supplement a Ford Foundation grant to strengthen local groups through management and communications training. The Altai Project has co-supported (with the AAP) Steve Gulick’s anti-poaching activities with the Altaisky Zapovednik, involving the creation of systems that use infrared, photographic, magnetic, and other kinds of detectors. These systems are already a clear improvement over existing methods that forced rangers to waste large quantities of fuel and time searching for poachers; with the new system, rangers can pinpoint the exact location of an intruder and use their resources to reach their target efficiently and promptly. Finally, the Altai Project will continue to support numerous citizen working groups on issues like forest protection, land registration, and the conservation of natural monuments. The Altai Project are planning for one Altai Project staff member to travel to Altai in summer 2009 to visit project sites and consult with their partners.

Conservacion Patagonica was granted $20,000 renewed support to restore the Estancia Valle Chacabuco and create the future Patagonia National Park. CP works to preserve intact ecosystems by acquiring and protecting privately owned wildlands and ultimately returning these landholdings to the public domain for permanent protection in the form of national parks or reserves. CP purchased Estancia Valle Chacabuco in 2004; its 173,000 acres contain the highest known level of terrestrial diversity in the entire Aysen province of Chile, but these lands have been severely degraded by sheep farming, overgrazing, and erosion. Together with Chile's national forestry and park agency CONAF, CP will restore Chacabuco and connect it with two neighboring parks to create a new national park close to the size of Yosemite Park. Weeden funding will be used primarily for restoration activities such as tree planting, fence removal and the implementation of a species protection program, including property-wide monitoring of keystone species. CP's work will help to stimulate a shift in the local economy from a failing, and damaging pastoral agriculture towards an economy largely based on eco-tourism.

The Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW) received $15,000 support for its work helping Chilean organizations protect the forests and wild rivers of Chilean Patagonia. ELAW is collaborating with Chilean partners to challenge proposals for big dams and create the legal infrastructure to provide alternatives. A recent editorial in the Santiago Times stated: “Chile has enough wind, solar and energy-efficiency potential to more than meet its energy needs for decades into the future. What it lacks is the political will to create the conditions and ‘carrots’ necessary to direct its energy development towards a renewable future - as is occurring in Spain and Germany. ELAW has been working with partners around the world to learn from Spain and Germany’s successes in promoting renewables and will work with partners in Chile to replicate these policies to provide an alternative to damming rivers in Patagonia. ELAW proposes to: 1) Continue to provide legal and scientific support to Chilean lawyers using the law to stop the ill-conceived construction of dams in Patagonia; 2) Collaborate with Chilean lawyers to craft laws that will encourage the development of truly renewable energy sources rather than construction of big dams; 3) Provide critical scientific support, including reviewing any information or studies that are submitted to supplement the inadequate environmental impact assessment (EIA) for HidroAysén’s proposed hydroelectric dam project; and ? Connect Chilean lawyers with advocates from Latin America and around the world who have successfully opposed big dams. Essentially, ELAW proposes to work with Chilean organizations to help them succeed in the campaign against the dams.

Fiscalia del Medio Ambiente (FIMA), the leading public interest law firm in Chile, received $45,000 continued funding to defend Chile's water resources. A top priority this year will be to continue to challenge the Endesa hydroelectric program, a joint venture lead by two electric companies Endesa and Colbun, to build five large dams on the Pasqua and Baker Rivers and over 2000 kms of power lines to transport energy to Santiago. As part of the coalition of groups fighting the dams, FIMA will analyze and respond to the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for the projects and ensure that the EIA process involves adequate citizen participation. They have also introduced legal action to require the EIA to address the total environmental impact of the project, including the transmission lines. Typically, companies will assess only one aspect of a large project in order to reduce its perceived environmental impact. In addition to this program, FIMA will continue to provide legal counsel to the Defend Patagonia Campaign, which has been successful in creating public support against the dams via the book Patagonia Without Dams, a communications campaign in Santiago, and through debates in newspapers throughout the country.

International Rivers (IR) was granted $25,000 to support their campaign to protect Chile’s Baker and Pascua Rivers. The HidroAysén dam scheme threatens to destroy the Aysén region’s unique wilderness, tear apart communities and disrupt livelihoods. In the coming year, International Rivers will work with their Chilean and global partners to expand international resistance to the planned dams and transmission lines. To accomplish this, they will further mobilize opinion in the US and other key regions against both the dams and transmission lines. With the goal of creating uncertainty in places where HidroAysén and Transelect will require economic support, International Rivers will educate US, Canadian, and Italian financial institutions about the risks (financial and public relations) associated with the project. For example, International Rivers is sending a “risk advisory” letter to key financial institutions highlighting the problems the “Patagonia dams controversy” poses for potential financing institutions. Generally they will use their technical, media and legal expertise to support their campaign partners in Chile in building on the early successes of the campaign as it enters a critical phase.

Island Conservation received $15,000 general support for their work in the Caribbean in 2008-09. With previous funding from the Weeden Foundation, Island Conservation has been able to leverage nearly $700,000 for Caribbean island conservation from other private and government sources, such as the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) regional cost-share program, the USFWS Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) program, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and individual private donors. They expect similar leveraging possibilities in the future. Central to their evolving Caribbean Program is the Desecheo Island Restoration Project, which will protect critical habitat for Brown Pelicans, Slippery-back Skinks, Desecheo’s endemic geckos, and endemic Higo Chumbo cactus, and restore these and other species by removing the primary threat to their survival – invasive rodents, rabbits, goats, and feral cats. This project has the potential to effect dramatic recovery on the island, as it was once recorded as the world’s largest Brown Booby colony with 8,000-15,000 individuals. Furthermore, the project will provide data on costs and logistics that will inform restoration efforts on other islands in the insular Caribbean. In addition to the Desecheo Island Restoration Project, they will begin developing new projects in the Caribbean region, based on their successful model for protecting and restoring islands in Northwest Mexico.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) received $30,000 renewed support for their Patagonia BioGems Campaign to prevent massive hydro-electric development in Chilean Patagonia. NRDC's role in the campaign in the coming year will be to strengthen the scientific and legal arguments for protection, promote local support for energy efficiency and sustainable energy, and increase international support for the campaign. Last year NRDC brought together a diverse group of experts to create an energy alternative study in Chile to convince the Chilean government that alternative energy options are a viable option. NRDC is in the process of reviewing the draft study, and by early June hopes to make it the subject of an international workshop. Additionally, NRDC will: present a proposed resolution in opposition to the dams at the next IUCN World Conservation Congress; work with Chile Ambiente (NGO) in coordinating the technical and legal response to the environmental assessment for the dams project; mobilize their e-activist network to put pressure on the Chilean government to act accordingly; coordinate with International Rivers on a markets campaign to encourage American buyers not to purchase forest products from the Matte group (subsidiary Colbun is the Chilean Partner in the hydro project); and continue to play a key role in the exchange of information and strategy among the growing number of groups working against the dams.

This year’s grant of $20,000 will support the next phase of the Private Lands Initiative’s work in Chile (which the Foundation supported last year), which will establish a highly influential, replicable model for private lands conservation throughout Chile. This model will be developed in the process of protecting private lands in Chile’s El Boldo-El Roble Biological Corridor in the coastal range northwest of Santiago. In the past year, the Conservancy has supported its Chilean partners in advancing its legislative and executive strategy on tax reform and conservation easements, and hosted a highly successful training visit to the United States by the Initiative’s Private Lands Working Group. The El Boldo–El Roble corridor is poised to become the first network of connected private protected areas in all of Chile. In order to reach this goal, the Nature Conservancy will conduct three studies this year: 1) A study to a identify priority areas through a preliminary ecological assessment of the biological corridors, and also to identify key landowners. The expected outcome will be a full report of the private land conservation network with detailed maps of vegetation and the potential core area of the corridor. 2) A Conservation Action Plan (CAP) analysis for the biological corridor. The expected outcome will be a CAP analysis for the corridor that has developed in conjunction with local scientists and local stakeholders, including the community. 3) Land tenure analysis for the biological corridor. The expected outcome will be a detailed land tenure description of the biological corridor.

The Santiago Times/Patagonia Times, Chile's only English language newspapers, received $15,000 continued funding to support staff journalists who will investigate and report on the proposed dam projects in southern Chile. Because Chile's national media are entirely in the hands of business interests that will benefit from the hydro projects, little in the way of critical journalism is to be expected from the mainstream Chilean media. The Santiago/Patagonia Times will write up-to-date news stories on project developments and provide extensive coverage of local citizens impacted by proposed dams. The journalistic focus will also include regular stories on energy efficiency measures and energy alternatives, including wind, solar, and thermal. If awarded, funds will supplement current salaries of two editors and provide travel and expense money. Current low wages at both newspapers assure regular turnover of editors to higher paying positions elsewhere in Chile and the U.S. By offering more competitive wages the current editors will keep their positions and allow for the kind of sustained, investigative journalism required for careful reporting of the dam projects and their ramifications.

WTRN was granted $10,000 continued support to protect Chile’s globally significant temperate rainforests through joint campaigns with U.S., Chilean and other temperate rainforest partners. This past year, the WTRN worked to defend Chile’s forests through its support of the Patagonia Chilena ¡Sin Represas! Campaign, the Chile Native Forest Campaign, and the Japan Markets Campaign. Last year’s grant also supported development of the first book on temperate rainforests of the world, which is scheduled to be published by mid 2009. In the coming year, WTRN plans coordinate a global concert tour in Japan— major consumer of all temperate rainforests—by singer/songwriter Dana Lyons, which will include presentation of the slide show “Temperate Rainforests of Home,” and the distribution of posters featuring Chilean Araucaria and Alerce forests to concert attendees. WTRN will also continue to promote Chilean forest protection with activists in the Washington, Oregon, California and B.C. In conjunction with the release of the book on temperate rainforests, the WTRN will enlarge its website to handle the science, maps and stories contained in the book. The WTRN will also continue to work to provide protection for the planet’s rare temperate rainforests in Alaska, British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest, New Zealand and Australia.

ASAP was awarded $10,000 for their work in 2009. In early 2008, ASAP—a six-year-old volunteer organization with 300 dues-paying members—obtained funds totaling $112,000 to conduct ground-breaking studies that comprise the Optimal Sustainable Population Size (OSPS) Project. A third of the research funding was provided by the governments of Charlottesville and Albemarle County, illustrating their faith in the venture. The first phase of this research, consisting of five studies examining the biological carrying capacity of the Charlottesville and Albemarle County community, will be completed during the first half of 2009; four studies investigating socio-economic factors influencing the county’s optimal size will then be initiated. Building on the OSPS research results, ASAP also seeks support to undertake a wide-ranging community conversation involving opinion leaders and policy makers in discussions about paths—including plans for achieving a stationary human population—to ensure a sustainable community. As Mathis Wackernagel (the co-creator of Ecological Footprint analysis, with whom ASAP is collaborating) has observed, “This initiative seeks to bring alive a discussion among opinion leaders about the relevance of ecological constraints for the long-term success of the county, including identification of (and possibly buy-in for) innovative options that the county might want to choose to prepare itself for a resource-constrained future.” Funding is necessary to allow ASAP to recruit the UVA Institute of Environmental Negotiations (IEN)—a neutral, experienced, and highly respected organization—to design and facilitate this 18-month community engagement process, working closely with the ASAP Outreach Committee. It is expected that this exercise will provide a model for other communities across the country. The ASAP program is unique, and in important ways, wise in its attempt to arrive at an optimum population at the more manageable county level as opposed to typical country-level attempts.

The Borealis Centre received $10,000 continued funding to make “environmental paper” markets campaigns more effective. The centre plays an important supportive role by researching and making available information on complex market “Chain of Custody” relationships for wood products. Such information allows campaigners to link specific companies with destruction of specific endangered forests globally. This year campaigners will be able to view and track such information in ways that have not been possible in the past. Environmental groups are increasingly using the tactic of “markets campaigns.” Such campaigns are specifically designed to influence the sourcing policies of leading retailers and companies, in order to simultaneously create a market demand for more sustainable products and cut market demand for products that pose environmental concern. Markets campaigns can only be conducted by following the chain-of-custody (CoC) of a particular product from its source right through to the retailer. As these campaigns become more sophisticated, the need for an efficient system of storing, sharing and maintaining CoC information has become increasingly important. In 2009, funding for the Borealis Centre will support the continued development and live implementation of BeBOLD—a unique database for storing and analyzing CoC information—as well as contribute to the acquisition and input of data sets key to member groups’ markets research needs. The primary focus thus far has been to facilitate the conservation of the world’s remaining intact ancient and endangered forest systems and the wealth of biodiversity and ecological services that these forests support. During 2008, much of the Centre’s work underpinned campaigns such as ForestEthics’ “Do Not Mail” anti-junk mail campaign, aimed at protecting the Canadian Boreal forest and southeastern U.S. forests. Funding for 2009 will especially support the training of Borealis Centre member groups in utilizing our the new web interface called BeBOLD Express. BeBOLD Express is designed exclusively for member campaigners to be able to quickly access the up-to-date chain-of-custody data that they need

Santa Barbara, CA

CAPS was granted $20,000 continued support to expand their Overpopulation Awareness Media Campaign to new areas of California. As in years past, the campaign plans to air radio ads in areas of California with high growth rates and declining quality of life. These ads assert that the vast majority of population growth comes from immigration and draw attention to the environmental devastation caused by continuing population growth. This year, CAPS will continue to focus on raising awareness about the environmental impact of overpopulation on California’s natural resources and existing infrastructure, with the ongoing goal of lowering the state’s present population growth rate to a sustainable level. CAPS expects to use a similar, if not identical script to the one used successfully last year, and approved by the Weeden Foundation. The effectiveness of this campaign will be measured by tabulating increased hits on CAPSweb.com, calls and requests for more information, and increased donations during and immediately after the run of the ad.

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Washington DC

Co-op America’s Magazine was granted $20,000 for their Magazine PAPER Project (Printing Alternatives Promoting Environmental Responsibility), which is the only program in the US devoted solely to changing the magazine industry’s paper choices from virgin-fiber papers to environmentally responsible paper. Their key goal is to increase the number of magazines using recycled paper from 1% of the industry to 5% – a key benchmark for market penetration that will open the door to mainstream acceptance and move the recycled paper market to its tipping point. Since the launch of the Magazine PAPER Project in 2001, they have been instrumental in helping more than 100 large and small publishers and magazine titles – such as National Geographic, Scientific American, Wired, Body + Soul, Fast Company, Shape, Science, and Plenty – to switch to environmentally responsible paper. Publishers of all sizes are now reaching out to the Magazine PAPER Project for assistance in making the switch. They are also building relationships with mega publishing houses such as Meredith and Hearst to reach a larger number of magazine titles. This year, they promoted the environmentally responsible paper message by highlighting magazines in their Responsible Magazine Network in the “Green Paper for People and Planet” bookstore promotions taking place at over 750 Barnes & Noble, Hasting Books and Music, Costco, and Universal News stores around the country.

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) received funding of $20,000 to guide the implementation, defense and leveraging of the new U.S. Lacey Act, enacted by the U.S. Congress in May 2008. Directly instigated by EIA and endorsed by a broad, EIA-led coalition of over 20 major U.S. environmental, labor and industry groups, this new law is the world’s first national ban on the import and trade of illegally logged timber and associated wood products. This law represents a groundbreaking, overarching legal paradigm in the United States that can be uniquely leveraged to systemically change corporate wood sourcing accountability and wood consumption across the entire U.S. economy—and indeed around the world—over the next few years. Importantly, this new law applies to all timber and wood products, including paper, stemming from forests anywhere in the world – whether in the United States, Russia, Chile, Bolivia or anywhere else. Demand for cheap wood in the United States—with no questions asked regarding the wood’s origin—has been the leading driver of illegal and unsustainable wood sourcing practices around the world, fueling a worldwide out-of-control deforestation crisis. Because the United States is the world’s biggest wood product market, the new Lacey Act also has unrivalled potential for systemically changing the way the $1-trillion-a-year global forest products sector sources and trades wood. However, the law’s success hinges on strong and effective implementing regulations and civil society “leveraging” of this law via education and advocacy toward companies about its implications—including companies that source wood from the western United States. The next year will be critical for shaping the implementing regulations and for public education about the law. Given the nature of this law, its large-scale transformative potential, and EIA’s distinctive civil society leadership role in this effort, a grant to EIA for this project provides a rare opportunity to have an unusually high rate of return on investment.

Having transformed the forest-related practices of Staples, Office Depot, FedEx Kinko's, Dell, Limited Brands and many others, ForestEthics' Paper Campaign has evolved in an exciting new direction. They received a $20,000 grant for their “Do Not Mail” campaign, launched in March 2008, which is designed to catalyze a national opt-opt registry for junk mail similar to the Do Not Call list. In addition to wasting our time and invading our privacy, junk mail claims 100 million trees a year, shattering vital ecosystems and creating as much global warming pollution as almost 10 million cars every year. In 2009, Forest Ethics will employ a proven, three-tiered strategy to build the campaign's momentum. First, they will continue their grassroots engagement by organizing demonstrations and doubling their list of 75,000 supporters. Second, they will engage directly with major corporate junk mailers, publicly pressuring those unwilling to reform their practices while working cooperatively with companies interested in becoming environmental leaders. Finally, they will either introduce or support Do Not Mail bills in several state legislatures. Together, these efforts will move the campaign toward a not-too-distant tipping point at which everyone is freed of the environmental and personal burden of junk mail.

Green Press Initiative (GPI) received $20,000 continued support to eliminate market demand for products derived from high conservation value and endangered forests. To do so, GPI is currently concentrating on shifting the U.S. book and newspaper publishing sectors to responsible papers. Since 2001, GPI has worked with some of the largest publishers in the world to pressure them to move away from fiber from virgin forests and towards FSC and recycled fiber. This year’s goal is to increase the number of signatories to the “Book Treatise on Responsible Paper” by over 20% to 200 publishers, 20 printers, and 6 paper manufacturers. GPI is particularly interested in promoting this effort as a carbon reduction strategy for the book industry, and will work to integrate CO2 emission targets into the Treatise, and add forest carbon loss into paper lifecycle data. In the newspaper sector GPI will continue to work with Markets Initiative to meet with top publishing conglomerates (USA Today, News Corporation, Washington Post Company) to develop and implement meaningful paper procurement policies, with the goal of increasing the sector’s use of recycled fiber from 35% to 50% and increasing FSC certified paper to 20%. Specific activities will include: disseminating a briefing report “A Brighter Shade of Green” to industry stakeholders throughout the US; making issue-specific presentations at 3-5 industry gatherings; collaborating with the Newspaper Association of America to explore the development of industry benchmarks; and work with at least 3 newspaper publishers to engage with suppliers on endangered forest issues.

INFORM's was granted $20,000 toward their new mission, which aims to tackle the challenge of environmental illiteracy by using visual media and the web to equip citizens to lead more environmentally aware and responsible lives. INFORM's first video series, The Secret Life, focuses on the lifecycle environmental impacts of everyday objects we all use, and offers simple, clear steps individuals can take that will cumulatively lead to significant environmental protection. Estimates show that INFORM’s Secret Life videos have been viewed by a worldwide audience of over 200,000, and upcoming videos are underway with topics that will include: antibacterial soaps, which contain human carcinogens and negatively impact marine and fresh water biodiversity; steak (meat production), which is responsible for 18% of all man-made greenhouse emissions; and jeans and t-shirts, popular clothing items whose production pollutes soil and water with pesticides, chemicals and dyes. To extend the series’ impact, INFORM is teaming up with The Center for Environmental Education (CEE) to create a curriculum around the Secret Life series for K-12 schools. Their first project will be a set of educational materials to support The Secret Life of Paper video (funded by Weeden) that will meet local, state, and national educational standards. The Secret Life of Paper will educate students about the issue by highlighting the global warming impact of paper, the disproportionately high per capita paper usage in the U.S. versus other nations, the related loss of forests and biodiversity, and the development of promising alternative non-wood paper fibers. By producing a curriculum around The Secret Life of Paper, the goal is to raise awareness about responsible use of paper among students and to spark action at the school level that focuses on both responsible and decreased paper usage. This grant will help fund the development, production, and distribution of these resources for teachers.

The International Forum on Globalization (OFG) was awarded $20,000 to bolster international awareness and debate surrounding global population growth. IFG is a research and educational institution composed of leading activists, economists, scholars, and researchers that provide analyses and critiques on impacts of economic globalization often via publication, public events, issue-specific seminars, press conferences and media interviews. Their strategy for “Does Population Matter?” is two fold: First, to convene a private “leadership” seminar among a targeted group of 50 or so of the most important international NGOs working on issues of globalization, climate change, peak oil, global resource depletion, social justice, etc., and to put them in direct contact with key people capable of drawing all the connections between population and the other issues that otherwise concern these groups. Second, IFG plans to write and edit a report and position paper, largely rooted in these discussions that will be sent to many thousands of other groups to alert them to the outcome of this leadership seminar, and ask their participation. IFG will raise the topic of U.S population growth and immigration for discussion, and include the question of the viability of solutions by which former colonial and western industrial nations might support the revitalization of local communities and economies within the poor nations, and thus forestall the immigration push. With Weeden support IFG will formulate a committee of IFG Board members and Associates, which can have some preliminary meetings, to work together with population issue advocates, and to create an agenda, and an ideal list of participants for the December meeting.

The International Services Assistance Fund received$20,000 to promote the Quinacrine Sterilization (QS), a non surgical, outpatient method of female sterilization. ISAF is currently conducting a Phase III USFDA trial of the QS method. They request funds to continue to display informational exhibits about QS at major medical association meetings, in order to keep reproductive health professionals informed about QS and where it stands. From 1994 until the method obtained initial FDA approval for the Phase III trail in 2006, ISAF took its informational displays to over 100 important medical, public health, and family planning association meetings, both in the U.S. and overseas. They believe that this educational effort played a vital part in garnering substantial support for QS and that it is essential to continue with this program. In 2008, ISAF will bring their educational exhibit to the National Infertility Meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico in August ARHP (Association of Reproductive Health Professionals) September 17-20, Washington, DC, FLASOG (Federacion Latinamericana de Obstericia y Ginecologia) October 27-31, and the ASRM (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) November 8-12, San Francisco, CA. Conferences/meetings for 2009 are yet to be determined.

IPAS received $20,000 continued support for their regional abortion advocacy activities in Latin America. Increasing women's access to abortion and related reproductive health services is an important step toward strengthening their sexual and reproductive rights and increasing their equitable status in the community. This in turn increases the efficacy of efforts to address overpopulation, poverty, and other issues related to the community and the natural environment. Advocacy and Action on Abortion Policy in Latin America will capitalize on converging opportunities-which include changes in political will and leadership, growing regional collaborations, and increasing legal support for abortion rights-to build a movement in support of women's access to safe, legal abortion in the region. As part of this work, Ipas is focusing on: expanding legal abortion to more Mexican states (and the concurrent need to protect the law in the Federal District); working collectively with activists groups in Brazil to combat anti-choice initiatives that have intensified with the Catholic Bishops Conference naming "life issues" its 2008 campaign topic; building a board coalition to influence policymakers to restore therapeutic abortion to Nicaragua; and, playing an active role in Bolivia during contentious constitutional reform.

Markets Initiative was funded $20,000 to support the transformation of consumption practices of large North American paper consumers and to stimulate the commercial scale production of paper from agricultural straw wastes. This year, MI is piggy backing off successful campaign momentum within the Canadian newspaper industry to start transforming the US newspaper and print sectors. Working with the Green Press Initiative they have started dialogue with major US media conglomerates such as the New York Times and Hearst Enterprises. For this and other campaigns specific activities include: engaging 20 leading North American newspapers on environmental paper issues; holding a Paper Futures Leadership Forum for newspaper executives and online learning forums; engaging advertising bodies in encouraging magazines to switch to eco papers; and working with the top ten education book publishers to develop environmental paper policies by January 2009. In June 2008 Canadian National Geographic will be printed on paper made from wheat straw and recycled fiber. MI will publicize this "trial run" to build political and investment momentum that facilitates mainstream mills developing agricultural residue for pulps.

Numbers USA was awarded $25,000 funding for its new Interactive Charts project. The concept behind the project is to develop an interactive experience in which Americans can grasp the population consequences of many possible immigration and fertility decisions – and in which they can easily see where and how the consequences might impact their own lives and the lives of their family’s next generations. Numbers USA is working to create delivery systems for this new tool on the Internet with the goal of educating millions of Americans. To create these interactive tools and the marketing plan that will be used to promote them among a mass audience, they are seeking advice from professionals in education, graphics, the Internet and marketing to assist with the project. Once created, they will attempt to reach the broadest possible array of audiences and uses of the interactive tools. Their hope is that most people using the tools would learn (a) that population growth is not inevitable but a result of choices, (b) that immigration policies have a tremendous effect on the future, (c) that each immigration decision is immensely influential on many aspects of society and quality of life, and (d) that it is not possible to wish away the connections between immigration, fertility and population size and that doing nothing is in itself a choice with massive consequences.

The Population Media Center (PMC) received $20,000 support 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 2007, the project was successful in assisting TV Globo to incorporate $1,268 scenes dealing with these issues into nine telenovelas. These programs are broadcast nationwide, and dubbed into various languages for global markets. Funding for the project will support PMC staff as they continue to provide pro bono research to TV Globo writers regarding issues that they think are most valuable to incorporate into programs. 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.