National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Post

Announcing a major boost for conservation in the Southeast 🐟 📢 Today NFWF and partners announced a record $7.7 million in grants awarded to protect and restore freshwater habitats in the southeastern U.S. This funding will improve water quality and connectivity, restore habitat and support landowners in implementing voluntary practices to improve stream health. https://loom.ly/JIDsZF4 The grants were awarded through the Southeast Aquatics Fund, a partnership between NFWF and USDA’s NRCS, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Southern Company, Nestle, Cargill and Altria. 📷: Bluehead chub

We are honored to share that Woodland Park Zoo has received a transformative grant from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to expand our Advancing Conservation through Empathy Initiative. Empathy allows people to connect their concern for the wellbeing of animals to the importance of acting in caring ways, including protecting the environment upon which both people and animals depend. This three-year grant strengthens our mission to foster deeper connections between people and animals, driving impactful efforts to save species and habitats. With our ACE for Wildlife Network partners, we’re shaping the future of zoos and aquariums while inspiring care and action for wildlife around the world. Learn more about this initiative and its impact: https://lnkd.in/g5SjGRS7 #ThisIsHowWeZoo #WoodlandParkZoo #WildlifeConservation #ACEforWildlife

Some positive conservation news for the Chicago-Calumet River watersheds 🌱💚🌱 NFWF and partners announced six projects selected to receive $2.1 million in grant funding to enhance habitat and greenspace throughout the Chicago-Calumet region. Projects supported by these grants will protect and conserve fish and wildlife habitat, reduce stormwater runoff, engage most-impacted communities in restoration activities, and improve access to greenspace. We can’t wait to see the results! https://loom.ly/GQjCXYg The Chi-Cal River Fund is a partnership among NFWF and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USDA Forest Service, BNSF Railway, Cleveland-Cliffs, Salesforce, Crown Family Philanthropies, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Hunter Family Foundation, the The Joyce Foundation, and the Walder Foundation. 📷: Kayakers in Chicago. Photo courtesy of Shedd Aquarium. #chicago #river #conservation #environment #wildlife

“Walder Foundation is proud to support this important partnership which advances nature-based solutions that benefit biodiversity and communities in the Chicago region. This work will help mitigate the negative effects of climate change in some of Chicago’s most impacted communities while boosting access to safe green spaces, restoring critical habitats, and enhancing community health. By demonstrating multiple benefits, these projects can serve as a catalyst for advancing nature-based solutions across the region.” — Jack Westwood, Senior Program Director, Environmental Sustainability

I am happy and honored to announce that Woodland Park Zoo has received a transformative grant from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to expand our Advancing Conservation through Empathy for Wildlife Initiative—a learning network of 27 accredited zoos and aquariums and more than 550 affiliated professionals around the world. Empathy is a core pillar of Woodland Park Zoo’s Strategic Plan. It allows people to connect their concern for the wellbeing of animals to the importance of acting in caring ways, including protecting the environment upon which both people and animals depend. Woodland Park Zoo’s leadership in advancing empathy learnings and best practices within the zoo and aquarium community spans more than a decade. At the heart of this effort today is the Advancing Conservation through Empathy (ACE) for Wildlife™ Network, which began with 20 founding AZA-accredited partners in Alaska, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. The Network has since expanded to 27 network partner organizations across 13 states and has grown to include more than 550 participating professionals across five continents. https://lnkd.in/gbGqBFnS #ThisIsHowWeZoo, #WoodlandParkZoo, #WildlifeConservation, #ACEforWildlife, #zoos, #aquariums, #biodiversityconservation, #empathy

Exciting news for conservation efforts in the northeastern U.S.! NFWF today announced $2 million in grants to restore and sustain New England forests and rivers that provide habitat for eastern brook trout, river herring, Atlantic salmon, New England cottontail, black-throated blue warbler and American woodcock. https://loom.ly/lNPJx94 The grants were awarded through the Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund, a partnership between NFWF and USDA’s NRCS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), USDA Forest Service and Sylvamo. 📷: American woodcock

A partnership created between The Nature Conservancy and the State of Mississippi in 2018 established the Phil Bryant Wildlife Management Area. This partnership conserved a rare continuous tract of critically important Mississippi Delta wetland forest. As TNC State Director, Scott Lemmons explains here, this property offers a unique balance of flooded timber and cypress swamps that provide habitat for some of the Mississippi’s largest wintering waterfowl concentrations.

Today NFWF and partners announced $122.5 million in grants through the America’s Ecosystem Restoration Initiative: America the Beautiful Challenge. Sixty-one grants will support landscape-scale conservation projects across the country. Learn more >> https://loom.ly/1dZAcnY This year’s grants will benefit wildlife species and communities through the restoration of more than 31,000 acres, open 1,200 miles of stream for fish passage, put nearly 94,000 acres under prescribed fire management and improve grazing practices on more than 15,900 acres. 🙌🙌 Thank you to our partners in this effort, the U.S. Department of the Interior though the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the USDA, the United States Department of Defense, and Native Americans in Philanthropy. 📷: Elk herd in Grand Teton National Park

NFWF today announced $2.2 million in grants to restore forest and freshwater habitat in central Appalachia, including projects in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The grants were awarded through the Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program, a partnership between NFWF and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the USDA Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Richard King Mellon Foundation, Altria and Cleveland-Cliffs. https://loom.ly/mDaGxqQ The grants will help conserve species that rely on these habitats including brook trout, hellbender, freshwater mussels and forest birds like golden-winged warbler, wood thrush and cerulean warbler. 📷: Brook trout

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation recently partnered with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to expand Pennsylvania's elk range. Together, they acquired 1,731 acres of land, which has now been added to State Game Land 14. The new range is located five miles east of the City of St. Mary's and links to nearby public forests, creating a connected 21,500-acre conservation zone. The expanded habitat will not only benefit elk but also other wildlife like whitetail deer, black bears, and wild brook trout. https://lnkd.in/gvP2kbxD