The Conservation Alliance Contributes $800,000 in Grants to 24 Organizations

Group Will Disburse $1.65 Million in 2015

Bend, Ore., March 31, 2015 – The Conservation Alliance sent grants totaling $800,000 to 24 organizations working to protect wild places throughout North America. The donations mark the Alliance’s first funding disbursal for 2015. The Conservation Alliance plans to contribute a record $1.65 million in 2015.

The Conservation Alliance has more than 190 member companies from the outdoor industry. By a vote of these members, The Conservation Alliance made donations to 24 grassroots conservation organizations as follows:

Organization	Location	Grant Amount
Audubon Alaska	Anchorage, AK	$35,000
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – Quebec	Montréal, QC	$35,000
Conservation Resource Alliance	Traverse City, MI	$30,000
Friends of the Inyo	Bishop, CA	$30,000
Grand Rapids Whitewater	Grand Rapids, MI	$35,000
Lake George Conservancy	Bolton Landing, NY	$35,000
Los Padres Forest Watch	Santa Barbara, CA	$30,000
Montana Wilderness Association	Helena, MT	$30,000
New Mexico Wilderness Alliance	Albuquerque, NM	$35,000
Niparaja	La Paz, Mexico	$25,000
Pew Charitable Trusts	Washington, DC	$35,000
Potomac Conservancy	Silver Spring, MD	$30,000
San Juan Citizens Alliance	Durango, CO	$35,000
Save Mount Diablo	Walnut Creek, CA	$30,000
Sierra Club of BC	Victoria, BC	$30,000
Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition	Hazelton, BC	$40,000
Soda Mountain Wilderness Council	Ashland, OR	$25,000
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance	Salt Lake, UT	$35,000
The Wilderness Society – Idaho	Boise, ID	$35,000
Trout Unlimited – Alaska	Anchorage, AK	$35,000
Western Colorado Congress	Grand Junction, CO	$30,000
Western Rivers Conservancy	Portland, OR	$50,000
Whatcom Land Trust	Bellingham, WA	$35,000
Wild Salmon Center	Portland, OR	$35,000
Total		$800,000

“Our member companies continue to step up and support efforts to protect the places where their customers recreate,” said John Sterling, Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance. “This list of grants supports the best land and water conservation opportunities in the US, Canada and Mexico.”

Seven out of the 24 organizations received funding from The Conservation Alliance for the first time: Pew Charitable Trusts, Whatcom Land Trust, Save Mount Diablo, Grand Rapids Whitewater, Potomac Conservancy, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society of Quebec and Lake George Conservancy.

Conservation Alliance funds will support efforts to: remove or halt dams in Michigan and Alaska; designate or expand national monuments in Oregon and Alaska; secure new wilderness designations in California, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Colorado and New Mexico; protect wildlands in British Columbia, Quebec and Colorado; protect wild rivers in California and Colorado; and acquire wildlands in West Virginia, New York and California.

Each project was first nominated for funding by a Conservation Alliance member company.

“Our member companies continue to identify great projects for funding,” said Sterling. “Our program gives our members the ability to contribute real dollars to protecting wild places in their backyards.”

For a complete overview of each grant, visit conservationalliance.com or download the Winter 2015 Grant Announcement:

Website: http://www.conservationalliance.com

PDF: http://www.conservationalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/W15GrantAnnouncement.pdf

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 $15 million to grassroots conservation groups. Alliance funding has helped save more than 44 million acres of wildlands; protect 2,945 miles of rivers; stop or remove 25 dams; designate five marine reserves; and purchase 10 climbing areas.

For complete information on the Conservation Alliance, seewww.conservationalliance.com.

Media Contact:

Julie Evans
(970) 259-3555
julie@verdepr.com