Conservation Alliance Awards $400,000 In Grants To 17 Organizations

Disbursement brings total giving to $6 million since 1989

Bend, Ore., October 10, 2007 — The Conservation Alliance sent checks totaling $400,000 to 17 organizations working to protect wild places throughout North America. The donations mark the Alliance’s final disbursal of funding for 2007, and represent the largest single funding round in the organization’s history. The Alliance has invested $800,000 in conservation projects in 2007, and this round brings total giving to $6 million since the organization’s founding in 1989

By a vote of the group’s 147 member companies, The Conservation Alliance made donations to 17 grassroots conservation organizations as follows:

Organization (Location) Amount
1. Adirondack Mountain Club (Lake George, NY) $20,000
2. Alaska Wilderness League (Washington, DC) $30,000
3. Appalachian Trail Conservancy (Harpers Ferry, WV) $30,000
4. California Trout (San Francisco, CA) $15,000
5. Clayoquot Solutions Steering Committee (Vancouver, BC) $20,000
6. Colorado Environmental Coalition (Denver, CO) $30,000
7. Friends of Allegheny Wilderness (Warren, PA) $25,000
8. Friends of the River (Sacramento, CA) $20,000
9. Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center (Ashland, OR) $20,000
10. Montana Wilderness Association (Helena, MT) $30,000
11. Nevada Wilderness Project (Reno, NV) $20,000
12. Oregon Wild (Portland, OR) $30,000
13. Save Our Wild Salmon (Seattle, WA) $30,000
14. Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project (Asheville, NC) $20,000
15. The Wilderness Society of Idaho (Boise, ID) $15,000
16. Utah Rivers Council (Salt Lake City, UT) $30,000
17. Western Colorado Congress (Grand Junction, CO) $15,000
Total $400,000

“With these grants, outdoor industry companies have made an important investment in their future,” said John Sterling, executive director of The Conservation Alliance. “Protected wild places are good for outdoor business.”

This round of grant recipients reflects the geographic distribution of Conservation Alliance members. Conservation Alliance funds will support efforts to: secure new wilderness designations in Pa., Colo., Nev., Mont., Ore., and Idaho; protect wild rivers in Calif., Utah and Ore.; improve off-road vehicle regulations in the Adirondacks; establish a new National Scenic Area in N.C.; and protect spectacular ancient forests in Canada.

“Our members continue to identify an amazing array of conservation projects,” said Sterling.

This is the final grant disbursement The Conservation Alliance will make in 2007, bringing the year’s total to $800,000. The Alliance also surpassed $6 million in total giving since founding in 1989.

“For nearly 20 years, our member companies have demonstrated their commitment to protecting wild lands and rivers for their recreation and habitat values,” said Sterling. “We will continue to show that commitment.”


(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 $6 million to grassroots environmental groups. Alliance funding has helped save over 38 million acres of wildlands; 26 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 GRANTS

1. Adirondack Mountain Club (Lake George, NY): Save the Trails Campaign to limit the expansion of snowmobile and ATV use on hiking trails in the Adirondack Forest Preserve.
2. Alaska Wilderness League (Washington, DC): Protect America’s Arctic Campaign to protect wildlands in America’s Arctic from oil development.
3. Appalachian Trail Conservancy (Harpers Ferry, WV): Rocky Fork Tract Acquisition to purchase a pristine 10,000-acre wildland adjacent to Wilderness and roadless areas in Tennessee.
4. California Trout (San Francisco, CA): Klamath Dam Removal Campaign to restore salmon populations by removing four dams on the Klamath River in Northern California.
5. Clayoquot Solutions Steering Committee (Vancouver, BC): Ancient Rainforest Campaign to protect 148,000 acres of rainforest in Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia.
6. Colorado Environmental Coalition (Denver, CO): Colorado Wilderness Campaign to protect wildlands in Rocky Mountain National Park, Brown’s Canyon, and the Lower Gunnison River area.
7. Friends of Allegheny Wilderness (Warren, PA): Pennsylvania Wilderness Campaign to secure Wilderness protection for 55,000 acres in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest.
8. Friends of the River (Sacramento, CA): California Wild Rivers Campaign to protect more than 300 miles of rivers and streams in California.
9. Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center (Ashland, OR): Wild Rogue Campaign to protect 103 miles of river and 58,000 acres of Wilderness in Oregon’s Rogue River watershed.
10. Montana Wilderness Association (Helena, MT): Beaverhead-Deerlodge Wilderness Campaign to permanently protect 570,000 acres of public land in Montana.
11. Nevada Wilderness Project (Reno, NV): Desert National Wildlife Refuge Campaign to secure Wilderness protection for Nevada’s Desert National Wildlife Refuge.
12. Oregon Wild (Portland, OR): Mt. Hood Wilderness Campaign to protect 128,000 acres of wildlands and 81 miles of rivers on Oregon’s Mt. Hood.
13. Save Our Wild Salmon (Seattle, WA): Columbia and Snake Rivers Campaign to restore wild salmon populations in the Columbia Basin by removing four dams on Idaho’s lower Snake River.
14. Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project (Asheville, NC): Grandfather National Scenic Area Campaign to permanently protect 25,000 acres in North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest.
15. The Wilderness Society-Idaho (Boise, ID): Owyhee Initiative Campaign to protect 500,000 acres of Wilderness and 300 miles of rivers in Idaho’s Owyhee Canyonlands.
16. Utah Rivers Council (Salt Lake City, UT): Wild and Scenic Rivers Utah Campaign to protect dozens of rivers in Utah under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
17. Western Colorado Congress (Grand Junction, CO): Greater Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Campaign to permanently protect 160,000 acres of public land in west-central Colorado.

Contact:
John Sterling
541-389-2424
john@conservationalliance.com

Kristin Carpenter-Ogden
970-259-3555
kco@verdepr.com