Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Roots of
Innovation
The mountains and forests of the
Crown of the Continent, Montana.
Mission
CONTE NTS
A Message from the President 1 Introduction 2 Protecting Strategic Lands 4 Keeping Fresh Water Flowing 12
2010: The Year in Conservation 20 Securing Forests and Climate Health 26 Conserving Oceans and Coasts 34
Financial Summary 42 Board of Directors 44
A M ESSAG E FROM TH E PR ESI DE NT
Mark R.Tercek
PR ESI DE NT AN D CH I E F EXECUTIVE OFFICE R
ABOVE:
Chinese scientists working on the Upper
Yangtze River confer with counterparts from
the Upper Mississippi River in Wisconsin.
A generation later in Maine, a $3 million investment with complements and completes our science. Together we build
a timber company to protect 40 miles of the fabled St. John on the essential connections between land, water and
River evaporated. The Conservancy faced a similar challenge: communities to benefit both nature and people, in order
Buy the full 200,000 acres for $35 million — in six weeks — to achieve the essence of our mission, which is to save life
or lose the opportunity. The Conservancy stepped up again, on Earth.
and a new era was launched — conservation of whole Our task in the 21st century is to care for nature as she
landscapes at a watershed scale. cares for us. Ignore the link between us, and both will suffer.
Now, a decade later, the challenges to life are ever more Support nature to thrive, and both humans and nature will thrive.
daunting, global and interconnected. They are measured in This is the goal of The Nature Conservancy, in the
declining fish populations, sinking aquifers and melting United States and in the more than 30 other countries where
glaciers. In some places, we still apply strategies developed we work around the world. Building on nearly 60 years of
in the early days. But purchases of land alone will not win experience, we are continually lifting our eyes to the next
the day; there is not enough money and not enough time. horizon of opportunity and effectiveness in our care for
And so we are expanding our toolbox by partnering with life on Earth.
and catalyzing communities, businesses and governments
to work with us to achieve conservation at ever-larger scales. With gratitude for your support,
Everywhere the Conservancy invests today, from the
coral reefs of Indonesia to Montana’s Rocky Mountains, to
the Everglades and the headwaters of the Yangtze River —
just as at Mianus River Gorge — we work closely with local Roger Milliken Jr.
people, recognizing that their hard-won knowledge of place C HAI R MAN, B OAR D O F D I R E CTO R S
ORDWAY PRAIRIE
ANGELO COAST
SYSTEM
RANGE RESERVE
CROWN OF THE
CONTINENT,
MONTANA
GRAY RANCH,
NEW MEXICO NORTHERN KENYA
AMAZON INDIGENOUS
LANDS
AN G E LO C OAST R AN G E R E S E RV E, CALI F O R N IA
LEFT:
Angelo Coast Range
Reserve, California.
O R D WAY P R AI R I E SYST E M G R AY R AN C H , N E W M E X I C O
“[Katherine
1970s to begin preserving tallgrass
prairie in earnest. It was the first time the Ordway] encouraged us to think
Conservancy pursued creating a system
of preserves to protect a single habitat big about preserves — to get over our mind-set,
type. Through Ms. Ordway’s largesse,
the Conservancy protected 31,000 prairie
which assumed we could only get postage-
acres in five states during her lifetime. stamp preserves. She showed us that really
”
Her estate then dramatically expanded
that figure across other ecosystems as well. major gifts for our work were possible.
PAT N O O NA N
Nature Conservancy president, 1973-1980
A M A Z O N I N D I G E N O U S L AN D S
BY THE 1980s, THE CONSERVANCY WAS In 2006, the Conservancy and the
working cooperatively with Native largest indigenous federation in the
American tribes to improve the manage- Amazon launched the Amazon Indigenous
ment of tribal lands in the United States. Training Center, or CAFI, to prepare the
Recognizing the important role of next generation of indigenous leaders in
indigenous lands in conservation, the all aspects of effective land management,
Conservancy has placed them at the new technologies and long-range
ABOVE LEFT:
heart of our strategies for conserving conservation planning. With the training Deniziu Araújo Ticuna, a graduate of the Amazon
the Amazon Basin. No one’s survival is center as a milestone, the Conservancy Indigenous Training Center in Manaus, Brazil.
more intimately linked to the lands and now sees the empowerment of indigenous
ABOVE RIGHT:
waters of the Amazon rainforest than the communities as a primary strategy for Indigenous people from the Raposa-Terra do
indigenous people who have lived there conserving some of the planet’s largest Sol indigenous land in the Brazilian Amazon
for thousands of years. Today, indigenous intact natural areas in such far-flung participate in GPS training delivered by
the Conservancy.
lands occupy more than 20 percent of places as East Africa, the Pacific Islands
the Amazon Basin, an area the size of and Australia.
California, Arizona, Florida, New York
and Texas combined.
RIGHT:
William Housty, head of the Coastwatch Grizzly
Monitoring Project and a member of the
Heiltsuk First Nation in the Great Bear
Rainforest, British Columbia, Canada.
BELOW:
The Koeye River, which flows through the
Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia, Canada.
C R O W N O F TH E C O NT I N E N T, M O N TANA
IN THE LARGEST PRIVATE CONSERVATION land in the Crown from the Plum Creek Watershed, 30 years of community-
land deal and one of the boldest Timber Company. This helps eliminate based conservation and restoration have
conservation efforts ever undertaken the patchwork of public and private preserved vital valleys and wetlands.
in the United States, the Conservancy is ownership that can fracture habitat. The Conservancy’s purchase of more
working to reconnect fragmented lands We’re also protecting vital corridors than 80,000 acres of private timberland
to preserve the integrity of some of the needed by wildlife for food, breeding and was key to pioneering this community-led
most vital large-scale wildlife habitat adapting to the effects of climate change. conservation effort.
in North America. The Crown of the Acquisition of the Plum Creek
Continent, a 10-million-acre complex acreage builds on decades of Conser- MORE ONLINE: NATURE.ORG/CROWN2010
of wild lands in western Montana and vancy action along the Rocky Mountain
southern Alberta, comprises some of the front, where healthy prairies and wetlands ABOVE LEFT:
The Rocky Mountain Front, Montana.
biggest blocks of roadless lands in the support some of the highest densities
contiguous United States. The Conser- of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states. ABOVE RIGHT:
vancy and The Trust for Public Land have Our partnerships with local ranchers Race to the Sky, Montana’s biggest dogsled
race, runs through the Swan Valley.
purchased more than 310,000 acres of have preserved this land for both wildlife
and family agriculture. In the Blackfoot
BELOW:
Samburu women near Namunyak, northern Kenya.
N O RTH E R N K E NYA
“Now we know that wildlife has very big benefits. Both the wild
animals and our domesticated animals bring equal benefits. Maybe
those in the wild have even more importance … since they bring jobs
for our people and education for our children. They help pay hospital
bills and bring economic development.
”
E ST E R L E O K O N O
Resident of Kenya’s northern rangelands
Although the focus at Mianus River Gorge was saving a hemlock forest,
the stream running through it was prophetic. From the beginning,
freshwater resources were recognized as an important conservation
target, and more than 50 years later, strategies have multiplied and
diversified to keep rivers flowing for people and wildlife.
LEFT:
Sandpipers at Griswold Point Preserve
in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
WATER CERTIFICATION
PROGRAMS
MONTANA, MEXICO
AUSTRALIA, CHINA
was undertaking much more complex habitat — a first for the state. With the Pascagoula River Wildlife Management Area.
PAS CA G O U L A R I V E R, M I S S I S S I P P I
Since 1986, Conservancy state chapters have led nearly 200 state and local
conservation ballot measures, which have generated
BELOW:
Green River, Kentucky.
migration corridor for 60 percent of habitat loss, altered water flow and The paddles on the rear of the vessel pushing
the excursion paddle-boat “Spirit of Dubuque”
North America’s bird species and provides degraded water quality. Similar multistate up the Mississippi River near Dubuque, Iowa.
critical habitat for fish, mussels and rare efforts are now being pursued on the
creatures like the Louisiana black bear. Colorado River and on the salmon rivers
The river plays a vital role in the well-being of the Pacific Northwest. The Conservancy’s
of human communities who depend on restoration work on the Mississippi also
it for water, food, jobs and recreation. spawned the Great Rivers Partnership,
The Mississippi has also been a an effort underwritten by the Caterpillar
primary learning laboratory for the Foundation to protect large river systems
Conservancy for decades, and it can be around the world by facilitating a global
said it’s where we learned that actions exchange of knowledge and experience.
should be coordinated across the full
MISSISSIPPI RIVER
products and seafood industries are and social justice organizations with The Roper River watershed on the Elsey
Station cattle ranch and Elsey National
transforming corporate practices, extensive freshwater experience. Park east of the town of Mataranka in
consumer behavior and environmental The Conservancy is directing AWS’s Australia’s Northern Territory.
conservation. The Conservancy believes efforts to design, build and implement
ABOVE RIGHT:
the same need and opportunity exist for the certification program, slated for
A seasonal “waterfall” near
water. From Montana to Mexico, and official launch in late 2012. The program Quito, Ecuador.
Australia to China, the demand for will recognize water users who achieve a
fresh water is far outpacing our global range of economic, social and environ-
supply, and the impact on people and mental sustainability objectives, including
wildlife can be devastating. Having watershed protection, water-use efficiency,
invested heavily in more than 600 protection of environmental flows,
freshwater projects around the world, improved water quality and social justice.
the Conservancy is now leading an The goal is to enroll 100 companies in
unprecedented effort to design and the program over three years, ultimately
launch a market-based global water moving thousands of companies toward
certification program. sustainable water use in their operation
This year the Conservancy led the and supply chains by 2020.
way in founding the Alliance for Water
Stewardship (AWS), an international MORE ONLINE: NATURE.ORG/CERTIFICATION2010
Colombia, Ecuador,
Brazil and Peru.
L ATI N AM E R I CA WAT E R F U N D S
SELF-FUNDING FRESHWATER PROJECTS costly industrial water treatment. health of another 2.3 million acres of forest
provide clean drinking water to urban In Quito, a relatively small investment and grassland for people and wildlife.
centers and protect large watersheds in of $21,000 by the Quito Water Authority Also on the horizon are plans to
a model of ecosystem services protection and the Conservancy led to the estab- expand the water funds to become
that can be replicated around the world. lishment of a $7.5 million endowment truly global.
The Conservancy pioneered the first that produces around $600,000 each
water fund in Quito, Ecuador, to protect year for conservation projects in the MORE ONLINE: NATURE.ORG/QUITO2010
a 5.4-million-acre mosaic of public watershed. The people who live and work
protected areas, farms, ranches and in the watershed are seeing quality-of- ABOVE LEFT:
indigenous territories. This watershed life benefits as they reforest and enhance Schoolchildren from Sangolqui participate
captures, holds and filters 80 percent the ecosystems in which they live. The in activities designed to teach them about
the environment at Parque Ecológico Cachaco
of the fresh water that supplies Quito’s fund is also enabling local people to
in Amaguaña, Pichincha Province, Ecuador.
2 million people. Water users — hydro- start small businesses, reducing the
power plants, brewing companies and need to deforest for farms and pasture. ABOVE RIGHT:
municipal agencies that provide water The ultimate success of the project is A park guard at home with his organic garden,
Pichincha Province, Ecuador.
to the public — contribute to the fund, reflected in the fact that more than a
which is then used for conservation dozen additional urban centers across
efforts upstream that maintain water South America are adopting the water
quality and limit the need for far more fund model, positively affecting the
LO O K I N S I D E
nature.org
(You can also find us at Facebook.com/thenatureconservancy
and on Twitter @nature_org)!
Twenty-three bison are helping the grass so other species may thrive and BELOW LEFT:
Conservancy to restore Mexico’s promoting water infiltration. Bison A young boy takes the fruit from a cacao
tree in Costa Rica.
once-vast prairie ecosystem. The bison, reintroduction is a key component to
donated by the U.S. National Park Service the Conservancy’s grassland restoration BELOW RIGHT:
and taken to the Conservancy’s El Uno efforts, which also include invasive Alligator, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve
State Park, Florida.
Ecological Reserve in Chihuahua, species control, native grass restoration,
Mexico, will serve as a “seed herd” for prescribed fire and grassbanking.
grassland recovery projects across the
country. Bison provide a number of LEFT:
A bison stands in grassland habitat.
benefits to grasslands: breaking the soil
so seeds can easily emerge, clipping the
Conservation Easements
for Florida Everglades
Nine environmental groups and 21 timber communities. Over the next three years,
companies signed a historic agreement the Conservancy and other partners will
that will protect 178 million acres of work with the government, First Nations
Canada’s Boreal Forest. The agreement indigenous groups and local communities
covers the largest amount of land ever to develop the guidelines to direct how
involved in such conservation efforts and the forests are managed and logged.
unites a coalition of forestry and conservation
organizations to sustainably manage the BELOW:
forest while meeting the needs of local British Columbia, Canada.
BELOW:
Forest cleared for cattle ranching in the
state of Pará in the Brazilian Amazon.
Reducing Deforestation
in Brazil’s Amazon
ATLANTIC FOREST,
BRAZIL
LEFT:
Kipahulu, East Maui, Hawaii, and Hawaiian tiki
statue at Maui Stables, Kipahulu, East Maui.
RIGHT:
A tour guide hikes to Boiling Lake, Dominica.
BELOW:
Waterfall at Braulio Carrillo National Park,
Costa Rica.
LEFT:
Hiker in Braulio Carrillo National Park,
Costa Rica.
began in 1990 as an emergency effort to generated sustainable finance mecha- A hiker on the Boeri Lake Trail of the Morne
Macaque volcano in the Morne Trois Pitons
protect imperiled natural areas in Latin nisms that eventually leveraged more National Park, Dominica.
America and the Caribbean by building than $450 million from other entities and
the capacity of independent, self-sus- worked with government agencies BELOW RIGHT:
A diver observes a yellow tube sponge in
taining conservation organizations. At the on supportive policies.
Parque Nacional del Este, one of the Caribbean’s
time, many parks in this region were just One key to PiP’s success was its largest marine parks, located on the tip of the
“paper parks” — legally decreed but not emphasis on engaging local communities Dominican Republic.
actually protected because of the limited to ensure proper management for
resources of the regions’ governments. long-term conservation — an important
Over its 17-year lifespan, PiP helped Conservancy strategy. For example,
convert 45 of these paper parks — totaling Bolivia’s Noel Kempff Mercado National
45 million acres — into fully functional Park (the site of our Climate Action
protected areas. The Conservancy, Project) used PiP funding to train park
USAID and other organizations worked rangers, who worked with local residents
with local partners to provide necessary to eliminate illegal logging and dramatically
infrastructure, conservation knowledge reduce poaching.
and hands-on experience in park
PAR KS I N P E R I L
RIGHT:
Damaged trees in the logging concession
are measured and tagged so FAN staff can
measure forest mortality and regrowth in
logged areas outside Noel Kempff Mercado
National Park, Bolivia.
N O E L K E M P F F, B O LI V IA
IN 1996, THE CONSERVANCY HELPED areas adjacent to an existing national demonstrating that forest carbon projects
launch one the world’s first large-scale park and incorporated these lands into are an important part of an overall
projects to reduce carbon emissions the park, creating the 3.9-million-acre solution to climate change. By protecting
created from deforestation, the second Noel Kempff Mercado National Park. forests, the Noel Kempff project simulta-
leading contributor of carbon emissions The project has also created park ranger neously addresses climate change,
worldwide. With Bolivian partner positions and other jobs that provide conserves biodiversity and brings
organization Fundación Amigos de la an alternative to logging. Through the sustainable benefits to local communities.
Naturaleza (FAN), we created the avoidance of deforestation the project is
30-year Noel Kempff Mercado Climate expected to prevent the release of up to FAR RIGHT:
Seedlings in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.
Action Project, which aims to reduce 5.8 million tons of carbon dioxide over a
carbon emissions by protecting 1.5 total of 30 years. NEAR RIGHT:
million acres of tropical forest that In 2005, Noel Kempff became the Paulo Henrique Pereira.
were threatened by deforestation. first Reduced Emissions from Deforestation
BOTTOM RIGHT:
Together with the Bolivian govern- and Degradation, or REDD, project to The Atlantic Forest, Brazil.
ment and three energy companies, the have its carbon reduction benefits
partners terminated logging rights in independently verified by a third party,
“Itintofeelsmature
great to see the seedlings we’ve planted growing
trees that will keep the air and water clean,
but for me, the real success of the Water Producer Project
is that we’re changing the way farmers and ranchers think
about conservation and the economic value of services
that nature provides.
” PAU LO H E N R I Q U E P E R E I R A
Secretary of environment for Brazil’s Extrema municipality
B E R AU, I N D O N E S IA
INDONESIA IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S 50 percent, save 3 billion tons of carbon spearheaded by foreign governments
leading emitters of greenhouse gases emissions each year and sustain the (Australia, Germany and Japan), making
— and 80 percent of Indonesia’s emis- livelihoods of 1.6 billion people. BFCP the only selected project to be
sions are due to forest degradation and In the Berau district of East sponsored by an NGO.
deforestation. But the Conservancy is Kalimantan, the Conservancy is helping The Conservancy is now helping
working to reverse the deforestation test this innovative concept. In 2008, finalize the program, integrate existing
and ecosystem destabilization currently the Conservancy helped bring together field programs with BFCP and secure full
affecting the country’s people and provincial and national stakeholders to funding. We are also continuing to test
tropical forests. develop the Berau Forest Carbon Program the forest management approaches needed
The solution could lie in Reduced (BFCP). This REDD+ program will to support on-the-ground REDD+ work.
Emissions from Deforestation and protect forests by providing incentives to Over the next few years, the BFCP will
Degradation (REDD). The idea is to create harvest timber sustainably, effectively serve as an important test case for how
a market that could provide billions of manage protected areas and develop a developing countries can participate in
dollars for protecting standing forests sustainable oil palm sector. the fight against climate change and
and improving the way forests are In January 2010, the Indonesian obtain financial benefits from sustainably
managed, while also creating economic government selected BFCP as one of managing their forests.
opportunities for people who depend on the first four REDD pilot projects in
them. Once fully operational, REDD+ the country. The projects will help guide MORE ONLINE: NATURE.ORG/BERAU2010
programs (advanced REDD programs hands-on action while contributing to
that include reforestation and conservation the foundation of a nationwide REDD TOP LEFT:
Conventional logging in the forests of
efforts) could cut global deforestation by framework. The other three pilot sites are East Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia.
TOP RIGHT:
Orangutan and baby in Borneo, Indonesia.
32 The Nature Conservancy nature.org
Forest planner Suryadi Mentemas looks for
mature trees to tag for harvest in the Kalimantan
region of Borneo, Indonesia, where his logging
company has a permit to conduct reduced
impact logging.
LEFT:
A Conservancy volunteer examines a clam
while collecting eelgrass in shallow coastal
waters of Virginia Coast Reserve.
V I R G I N IA C OAST R E S E RV E
GULF OF MEXICO
THE REPUBLIC OF PALAU
FLORIDA KEYS
CORAL TRIANGLE
IN 1990, CONSERVANCY STAFFER vancy helped establish the nation’s first A Conservancy discovery on the
Chuck Cook arrived in Palau with an ice civic group, the Palau Conservation reefs of Palau helped lay the groundwork
chest, a fax machine, two legal pads and Society (PCS) — an approach to conser- for the scientific principles of reef
a pen — ready to create the Conservancy’s vation that was designed to endure and resilience. After studying reefs in Palau
first “office” outside the Western Hemi- be financially self-sufficient. that survived the 1998 mass coral
sphere. The Conservancy chose Palau as This type of community-based bleaching event, scientists are now using
its first endeavor in Asia Pacific because conservation has become a pillar of the that data to understand what makes
of its extraordinary marine biodiversity, Conservancy’s work across the world. some reefs more resilient to warmer
and because the people of Palau wanted In Palau, PCS helped bridge the gap waters and bleaching events. This reef
to conserve their natural world but lacked between conservation-minded citizens resilience strategy is being employed
many of the resources to do so. and the government. About a decade across the world — from Papua New
Success here required developing later, Palauan leadership inspired the Guinea to the Florida Keys.
a program that would strengthen local ambitious Micronesia Challenge, a five-
ABOVE:
conservation leadership while collaborating nation commitment to effectively conserve The Conservancy’s Chuck Cook (left) conducts a
with regional and international partners at least 30 percent of near-shore marine marine resources meeting in Palau in the 1990s.
to provide technical, scientific and resources and 20 percent of terrestrial
financial resources. In 1994, the Conser- resources across Micronesia by 2020.
LEFT:
A sign is updated with the latest fish for sale at a
restaurant and fish market, Morro Bay, California.
BELOW:
The Morro Bay “rock” and docks at Morro Bay,
California.
M O R R O BAY, CALI F O R N IA
conservation strategies require not just investigate what factors can influence a A diver carries a cement formation used for
growing coral in a water nursery near the
protecting what’s there, but also bringing reef’s resilience and how to protect it. Florida Keys.
an ecosystem back to its more natural Ideas being tested here, such as that
state. Staghorn coral was once one of some reefs are more resistant to coral BELOW RIGHT:
Cuttings of coral glued to cement blocks
the most abundant corals on Caribbean bleaching than others, can be traced near the Florida Keys. Water nurseries like
and Floridian reefs but is now listed as almost directly back to the waters of these will help determine which coral strains
a threatened species. The Conservancy Palau. There, Conservancy scientist Rod are successful in which conditions.
is working to reverse that trend through Salm noticed that corals were still alive
a coral restoration project in which beneath the shade of a rocky overhang,
researchers are growing staghorn coral while unshaded corals of the same
in underwater “nurseries” and using species were dead just meters away.
them to restore reefs damaged by Information gathered through the
bleaching, hurricanes and disease. program is allowing the Conservancy to
Ensuring that these corals can propose reef management approaches
withstand new threats is another that protect the most resilient corals,
important piece of long-term conservation. which will repopulate and heal more
The Florida Reef Resilience Program vulnerable reefs.
brings together scientists, reef managers
F LO R I DA K EYS
LEFT:
The village of Tarobi in Papua New Guinea’s
Kimbe Bay created a locally managed marine
area, supported by the Conservancy. Here, Tarobi
villagers stand with a ceremonial dugout canoe.
C O R AL TR IAN G LE
BETWEEN THE SOUTHERN TIP OF ASIA marine protected areas designed around
and northern Australia, hundreds of the reef resilience principles conceived
miles of coral reefs connect six island by the Conservancy’s Rod Salm and others.
nations — Indonesia, the Philippines, The Solomon Islands’ Choiseul
Malaysia, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea province, where the Conservancy began
and the Solomon Islands. These reefs working more than a decade ago at the
harbor 75 percent of all known species invitation of the community, embodies
of coral and nearly 40 percent of the the type of work inspired by the CTI.
world’s reef fish species. Long-term During a 2009 community meeting
conservation here must focus on protecting in Choiseul, more than 100 local chiefs
fragile reef ecosystems from warmer met to vote on two recommendations
waters, overfishing, illegal fishing, made by Conservancy science staff: the
unsustainable development and pollution. creation of a network of protected areas
The region secured a big win in May and the establishment of at least one
2009, when heads of government from marine and one terrestrial protected area ABOVE:
all six nations signed the Coral Triangle in each of Choiseul’s 12 districts in the next Conservancy senior scientist for Melanesia
Richard Hamilton (left) and Ekan Velo, chief of
Initiative (CTI), a partnership committing two years. The chiefs unanimously Choiseul’s Chivoko village, Solomon Islands.
unprecedented resources to marine approved both recommendations.
protected areas, fisheries protection This kind of commitment to conser-
and climate change adaptation. vation and the strategies that we’re helping
The CTI was a culmination of the local communities implement lie at the
Conservancy’s two decades of work with heart of the CTI. If marine protected
coral reefs. The Micronesia Challenge, areas are the threads that make up the
which the Palau Conservation Society’s fabric of the CTI, we’re the ones helping
creation helped inspire, motivated local communities weave them together.
Indonesia’s president to launch the
initiative, which will create a network of MORE ONLINE: NATURE.ORG/CT2010
Roots of Innovation The Nature Conservancy 39
BELOW LEFT:
Cleanup crews use suction pumps and
absorption booms to remove crude oil from
the beach at Louisiana’s East Grand Terre Island.
BELOW RIGHT:
Cindy Brown, Gulf of Mexico program director.
G U LF O F M E X I C O
ON APRIL 24, 2010, ALL EYES TURNED and restoration of the Gulf. New Orleans caused by the oil spill will affect not only
to the Gulf of Mexico and the Deepwater native Cindy Brown, director of the the ecosystems and wildlife we’ve
Horizon oil rig explosion. As days of Conservancy’s Gulf of Mexico program, worked tirelessly to protect, but also the
uncertainty became weeks of struggle, worked with partners and staff to livelihoods of 24 million Americans
the Conservancy was there, part of the develop the Gulf 20/20 report, which who rely on a healthy and resilient
Gulf Coast community — as we have has helped to focus broader efforts Gulf of Mexico.
been for nearly 40 years. to restore the Gulf, from local, state But we have a plan — a vision for
The Conservancy immediately and federal governments, to industry, restoration in the Gulf that includes
mobilized local staff to protect our universities and other nonprofits. To help restoring millions of acres of coastal and
current projects. From Texas to Florida, fund our efforts, we launched the $10 estuarine habitats, such as oyster reefs,
staff and volunteers removed trash from million Fund for Gulf Coast Restoration seagrass beds, sand dunes and marshes.
beaches before oil could turn it into and participated in the Larry King Live The Conservancy’s successful on-the-
hazardous waste. In Florida, preserve telethon, which raised more than ground and in-the-water work has
managers camped on the beach to try to $400,000 for Gulf restoration. shown that restoration works and that
protect nesting birds. And in Mobile Bay, Working with partners, the Conser- nature — given the opportunity and the
Alabama, Conservancy staffer Jeff vancy has helped to protect more than necessary assistance — can heal itself.
DeQuattro stored boom in his garage 3 million acres in the Gulf region over
and spent hours working to protect the the last 35 years. Places like Grand Isle MORE ONLINE: NATURE.ORG/GULF2010
nascent oyster reefs that had just been in Louisiana or Topsail Hill in the Florida
created as part of a $2.9 million project panhandle have benefited from our RIGHT:
Aerial view of wetlands in Louisiana’s Mississippi
funded by the American Recovery and conservation work. But moreover, the health River delta after the April 2010 oil spill disaster.
Reinvestment Act of 2009. of the environment is linked to the health
Beyond the initial cleanup, we began of the economy and community on a vast
developing a plan for long-term recovery scale. The environmental devastation
Operationally, spending reductions taken by the Conservancy in FY09 took full effect in FY10, and operating expenses declined by
9 percent. In addition, because of the uncertainties around the future funding of capital projects, the Conservancy continued to slow its
purchases of conservation lands and easements, looking instead for opportunities to accomplish large-scale conservation projects with
less Conservancy-committed capital. The Conservancy’s budget-tightening and reduced capital activity contributed to the somewhat
lower-than-average programmatic efficiency of 76 percent.
The financial results depicted on page 43 are derived from the Conservancy’s June 30, 2010, audited consolidated financial statements,
which contain an unqualified opinion. The Conservancy’s complete, audited financial statements can be obtained online at
nature.org/annualreport or by calling (800) 628-6860.
Stephen Howell
C H I E F F I N A N C E A N D A D M I N I S T R AT I V E O F F I C E R
34% INDIVIDUALS
7% CORPORATIONS
33% FOUNDATIONS
4% OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
22% BEQUESTS
76% PROGRAM
Total Expenses & Purchases of Conservation Land & Easements 723,665 1,194,648
Note: The figures that appear in the financial summary shown are derived from the 2010 & 2009 consolidated financial statements that have
been audited and have received an unqualified opinion. The complete, audited 2010 & 2009 financial statements for The Nature Conservancy
can be seen at nature.org/annualreport, or can be ordered from The Nature Conservancy at (800) 628-6860.
Photography Credits
Photographs by Mark Godfrey/TNC except as noted: Cover: (top) Ian Shive, (bottom) Bridget Besaw; Inside Front Cover: John Lambing; Pg 1: Erika Nortemann/TNC; Pg 2: (Maine) Ami Vitale;
Pg 3: Erika Nortemann/TNC; Pg 4: Ron Geatz/TNC; Pg 5: Ian Shive; Pg 6 (left) Sherrie Beal/TNC, (right) Harold Malde; Pg 7: (left) Fernanda Preto, (right) Reinaldo Lourival/TNC; Pg 9: Ted Wood;
Pg 10-11: Suzi Eszterhaus; Pg 12: Bridget Besaw; Pg 13: Jerry and Marcy Monkman/EcoPhotography.com; Pg 14: (left) Becky Stowe/TNC, (right) Bridget Besaw; Pg 15: (left) Ami Vitale,
(right) Lynda Richardson; Pg 16: (left) Robert J. Hurt; Pg 17: (right) Erika Nortemann/TNC; Pg 18-19: Erika Nortemann/TNC; Pg 20-21: Bridget Besaw; Pg 22: (left) Walter Wust, (right), (left)
Peter Eve; Pg 23: (right) Ian Shive; Pg 24: (LtoR) Chris Pague, Ami Vitale, Eric Blackmore; Pg 25: (clockwise from bottom left) Jason Lindsey, Charlie Ott, Haroldo Palo Jr.; Pg 26: John Maier;
Pg 27: (left) Peter Menzel, (right) Greg Elms; Pg 28: (clockwise from left) Gary Braasch, Axiom/Glasshouse, Macduff Everton/Corbis; Pg 29: (left) George H.H. Huey/Corbis, (right) Jeff Yonover;
Pg 30: (left) Hermes Justiniano, (right) Margo Burnham/TNC; Pg 31: Adriano Gambarini, (top right) Scott Warren; Pg 32: (left) Bridget Besaw, (right) Eileen Herrling; Pg 33: Bridget Besaw;
Pg. 34: Jeff Yonover; Pg 35: (left) Doug Wechsler, (right) Jez O’Hare; Pg 37: Bridget Besaw; Pg 38: Ken Nedimyer; Pg 39 (right) James Hardcastle; Pg 40: (left) Erika Nortemann/TNC, (right)
Bridget Besaw; Pg 41: Bridget Besaw; Inside Back Cover: Jeff Yonover; Back Cover: (clockwise from left) Lance Beeny, Ron Geatz, Jeff Yonover.
Angela Sosdian,
Acting Chief Philanthropy Officer
Philip Tabas,
General Counsel
BACK COVER:
(Clockwise from left): Black bear, Glacier National
Park, Montana; Ester Leakono of Serolipi village,
northern Kenya; Parque Nacional del Este,
Dominican Republic.