Local Government

Like many American cities, fast-growing Nashville needs green strategy. Obesity-related conditions cost area residents an estimated $255 million annually. There are too few places for people to easily access the outdoors, with only about 3% of Davidson County in metro… Read More

San Diego is known for its miles of coastline and beautiful beaches. But there is more to this coastal ecosystem than just sand and surf: other landscapes, such as coastal sage brush and forest habitat, also are critical to maintaining the… Read More

Known as “The Valley Beautiful,” this rural Appalachian community is prime for development, but it is also home to great natural beauty—making decisions about land use difficult. While helping to conserve one popular destination, Rocky Fork, our Conservation Leadership Network® (CLN) provided training… Read More

More than two million people live in Louisiana’s coastal areas, which generate nearly $120 billion in business every year through energy development, fisheries, ports and more. All  this activity has impacted the coast. We’ve drained and leveed waters, wiping out… Read More

Anyone seeking to escape into the great outdoors can do so in Wisconsin’s Brule River State Forest. This forest contains perhaps the finest trout stream in the state and is a favorite place for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and other outdoor… Read More

As part of the Fund’s efforts to conserve working forests, we helped protect more than 400,000 acres in Adirondack State Park. Our work at the park began in 1999 with the conservation of nearly 145,000 acres and continued until 2005 when, with our partners, we conserved an additional 257,000… Read More

Nestled between the cities of Hendersonville and Brevard, the horseshoe-shaped DuPont State Forest covers 10,400 acres within the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s a gem of North Carolina’s outdoors, known for its numerous waterfalls and large pockets of granite cover. This beautiful forestland… Read More

While Alaska is blessed with an abundance of public land, access to that land is not guaranteed. Chugach State Park, the third largest state park in America, is located at the edge of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city. Chugach has been impacted… Read More

We’ve saved more than 1.5 million acres of forest across the country. As part of our efforts, we helped establish Gilchrist State Forest, the first addition to Oregon’s state forest system in more than 60 years. In addition to the… Read More

In 2009, Grandfather Mountain State Park officially became North Carolina’s newest state park. We helped to protect 2,456 acres along the crest of the famous landmark, truly a natural wonder worth passing on to our grandchildren. Popular hiking trails, the… Read More

Hoke Community Forest, the first community forest in the Southeastern United States, serves as an innovative model for communities struggling to balance conservation and economic goals. The 532-acre property, located north of the county seat Raeford and about a mile… Read More

Pershing State Park’s wet prairies and bottomland forests teem with diverse birds, endangered Indiana bats and lush plants. In 2009, we helped add nearly 1,450 acres that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will restore as habitat and a site… Read More

In northeast Pennsylvania, Lackawanna State Forest is a beautiful natural area that shelters wildlife and offers outdoor enthusiasts a colorful place to hike, hunt, fish and paddle. The forest also provides the natural system that cleans the water supply for the… Read More

The 69-mile long Village Creek is recognized as one of the last free-flowing streams in East Texas. It’s a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts and home to rare fish and mussels. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) worked for some time… Read More

Pennsylvania’s Michaux State Forest covers more than 85,000 acres and is referred to as the state’s ”cradle of forestry.”  The Fund helped grow Michaux SF to its current size with the purchase and transfer of a 2,500-acre expanse of forest, streams and open fields… Read More

Alaska’s Wood-Tikchik State Park is known for its expansive, undeveloped wilderness and abundant wildlife. As a major spawning area for salmon—the foundation of southwest Alaska’s ecology, economy and culture—the park was created in order to protect fish and wildlife breeding… Read More

The establishment of Vinton Furnace State Experimental Forest in 2010 is a great example of the Fund’s ongoing effort to conserve America’s forestland. We were part of a collaboration of public and private organizations that had worked together for four years to… Read More

We know that for conservation solutions to truly last they need to benefit the surrounding communities. After a two-year effort, we helped create the Belfast Wildlife Management Area in South Carolina. This new wildlife management area not only protects wildlife habitat, it also… Read More

Back in 2010, the Fund worked with Douglas County to protect nearly 4,000 acres along the Nemadji River, safeguarding habitat for a variety of fish and wildlife and enhancing the quality of local water resources. A six-mile portion of the North… Read More

Warblers, wood thrushes and whip-poor-wills migrating through Illinois gained more room to stretch their wings, thanks to the efforts of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the National Wild Turkey Federation and a partnership between the natural gas pipeline project… Read More

We’re helping to implement the Ann Arbor Greenbelt Initiative, a far-reaching project designed to protect and link city parks, natural areas and working farms throughout the city, while curbing the growth and effects of sprawl. For a relatively small city,… Read More

Waterloo Recreation Area in Michigan is a little-known treasure. About a one-hour drive from Ann Arbor, this 20,000-acre park is the largest in the lower peninsula and shares a 36-mile hiking trail with the Pinckney State Recreation Area. Yet there wasn’t… Read More

The Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network is a collaborative effort of communities, conservationists, foundations and businesses working to enhance the natural resources of the Saginaw Bay Watershed and create a more sustainable future for all its inhabitants. The Fund administers… Read More

Access to the outdoors is a health and quality of life issue for all Americans, but especially those living in or near urban areas.  Our work with the city of Brentwood in Tennessee is a great example of how our… Read More

Lufkin–Angelina County is part of the colorful east Texas Pineywoods. In 2008, we completed a green infrastructure plan to help the region protect the best of its natural assets and encourage economic development. We convened a leadership forum of 50… Read More

Jefferson County, West Virginia, confronts haphazard growth that disrupt normal ecosystem functions and community vitality. The continued protection of the County’s diverse natural and rural landscapes, and economic vitality, rely on the conservation of its unique ecological and cultural geography. By… Read More