Conservation Alliance Awards $250,000 in Grants

Contact:John Sterling
541-388-4845
john@conservationalliance.com

Kristin Carpenter
970-259-3555
kristin@kristincarpenter.com

Conservation Alliance Awards $250,000 in Grants
to Ten Organizations
Total contributions surpass $5 million since 1989

Bend, Ore., March 22, 2006 — The Conservation Alliance sent checks totaling $250,000 to ten organizations working to protect wild places throughout North America. The donations marked the Alliance’s first disbursal of funding for 2006, and the largest single round of funding in the organization’s 16-year history.

By a vote of the group’s 97 member companies, The Conservation Alliance made donations to ten grassroots conservation organizations as follows:

Organization (Location)Amount
1.California Wild Heritage Campaign (Sacramento, CA)$35,000
2.Save Our Wild Salmon (Seattle, WA)$25,000
3.Idaho Conservation League (Boise, ID)$25,000
4.Coal River Mountain Watch (Whitesville, WV)$25,000
5.Montana Wilderness Association (Helena, MT)$30,000
6.Arizona Wilderness Coalition (Prescott, AZ)$30,000
7.Winter Wildlands Alliance (Boise, ID)$25,000
8.RESTORE: The North Woods (Concord, MA)$20,000
9.Forest Watch (Richmond, VT)$20,000
10.Oregon Natural Resources Council (Portland, OR)$15,000
Total$250,000

“These funds are going to some of the most effective conservation organizations in the US,” said Conservation Alliance Executive Director John Sterling. “We hope to celebrate some exciting victories over the next year.”

This round of grant recipients reflects the geographic distribution of Conservation Alliance members. Conservation Alliance funds will support efforts to: secure new Wilderness designations for federal lands in Oregon, Idaho, California, and Arizona; improve federal land management in Montana and Vermont; restore salmon populations in the Columbia River Basin; establish a new National Park in Maine; advocate for quiet winter recreation nationwide; and protect West Virginia wildlands and communities from mountaintop removal mining.

“We work hard to identify great projects throughout North America,” said Sterling. “It’s important to our members that we support a diverse range of organizations.”

With the conclusion of this funding cycle, the Conservation Alliance has contributed more than $5 million since its founding in 1989. The Alliance has budgeted to make $500,000 in grants in 2006, a 38 percent increase in just two years.

“There is a real buzz surrounding The Conservation Alliance. Our membership is growing, which allows us to support more conservation efforts,” said Sterling. “The outdoor industry is really stepping up in its support for wildland protection.”

Twenty-five companies joined The Conservation Alliance over the past 12 months, bringing total membership to an all-time high 97 companies. New members include: Ailin, LLC; Babbitt’s Backcountry Outfitters; Black Diamond Equipment; Boulder Incentives; Broudy Donohue Photography; Cloudveil; Dong-In Entech; Ex Officio; Horny Toad Activewear; Howa Design; Kristin Carpenter Public Relations; Mercury Advertising; MoonFoto; Mountain Equipment Co-op; Nikwax; Osprey Packs; Outdoor Industry Association; Outdoor Research; Retailers of the Outdoor Industry; Sanitas Sales Group; Teko Socks; Tibetan Trader; Vasque; and Yakima Products, Inc.

The Conservation Alliance reviews grant requests twice each year.

(See next page for a description of each project.)

About the Conservation Alliance:
The Conservation Alliance is an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas.

Membership in the Alliance is open to companies representing all aspects of the outdoor industry, including manufacturers, retailers, publishers, mills and sales representatives. The result is a diverse group of businesses whose livelihood depends on protecting our natural environment.

Since its inception in 1989, the Alliance has contributed more than $4.5 million to grassroots environmental groups. Alliance funding has helped save over 34 million acres of wildlands; 25 dams have either been stopped or removed; and the group helped preserve access to more than 16,000 miles of waterways and several climbing areas.

For complete information on the Conservation Alliance, see www.conservationalliance.com.

Brief Overview of Projects Funded by the Conservation Alliance, March 2006

1.California Wild Heritage Campaign: North Coast Wilderness Campaign to secure federal Wilderness protection for 300,000 acres on California’s North Coast, including the Lost Coast, and Wild & Scenic River protection for the Black Butte River.

2.Save Our Wild Salmon: Salmon Restoration Campaign to build support in the Pacific Northwest for the restoration of salmon populations in the Columbia and Snake River systems.

3.Idaho Conservation League: Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness Campaign to secure Wilderness protection for 300,000 acres in Central Idaho’s Boulder-White Clouds Mountains.

4.Coal River Mountain Watch: Mountain Justice Summer 2006 Project to mobilize citizens throughout Appalachia to demand an end to mountaintop removal coal mining.

5.Montana Wilderness Association: Rocky Mountain Front Campaign to protect Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front from exploding off-road vehicle use and large-scale energy development.

6.Arizona Wilderness Coalition: Tumacacori Highlands Wilderness Campaign to secure Wilderness protection for 85,000 acres of the Tumacacori Highlands in Southern Arizona.

7.Winter Wildlands Alliance: Non-motorized Winter Recreation Advocacy to promote and preserve a quality human-powered snowsports experience on public lands.

8.Restore: The North Woods: Maine Woods National Park Campaign to protect key wildlands in the proposed Maine Woods National Park.

9.Forest Watch: Green Mountain National Forest Protection Campaign to generate support among businesses for the designation of Wilderness and the prohibition of all-terrain vehicles on the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont.

10.Oregon Natural Resources Council: Oregon Wild Campaign to secure Wilderness protection for forested wildlands on Oregon’s Mount Hood, and defend the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.