C. Upper Mississippi Forest Project, Minnesota

The Fund conserved its 6.5 millionth acre with the Upper Mississippi Forest project, encompassing seven counties in Minnesota. The project was the largest conservation effort ever undertaken by the state of Minnesota and conserved more than 187,000 acres of the state's northern forests—saving wildlife habitat, timber-related jobs and public access for outdoor recreation.

Click on the links below for more information about the other projects:

• Green River Valley: A swath of wide-open private ranchlands in Wyoming's Upper Green River Valley is the best hope for conserving the region’s rich wildlife resources. In an exciting new effort, ranchers are collaborating with the Fund, public and private partners, and community leaders to protect and enhance more than 150,000 acres. Our efforts will preserve Wyoming’s unique wildlife habitat and traditional ranching economy.
• Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge: In 2010, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we launched an effort to protect more than 3,900 acres at Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge in northern Louisiana. The project area connects to 13,000 acres of refuge lands. Preservation of this area not only protects habitat for wildlife, such as tens of thousands of migratory ducks and geese, it also provides open space for public recreation, enhances air and water quality and reduces flooding and erosion.
• Three Sisters Springs: The Fund worked more than two years with numerous public and private partners to complete a conservation project that protects a 57.8-acre property in Crystal River, Florida. The property, known as Three Sisters Springs, contains five pristine, naturally occurring springs, which are home to more than 150 endangered manatees during the winter. The property will be preserved from development and managed as a wildlife refuge.

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C. Virginia

In partnership with the National Park Service, the Commonwealth of Virginia and several local land trusts, the Fund has conserved 25 Civil War battlefield properties, contributing to more than 10 Civil War battlefields in Virginia. Totaling 4,200 acres, conserved properties contributed to Manassas National Battlefield Park, Petersburg National Battlefield Park, and Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial among others.

Overall, with our partners, the Fund has conserved more than 9,200 acres in 14 states through its Civil War Battlefield Program.

Learn more about our Civil War battlefield campaign and our efforts to conserve other historic places across America.

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D. 1 million trees

As of March 2010, our Go Zero program has planted 1 million trees. Go Zero works with national wildlife refuges to replant trees in areas that were once forested but were converted to other land use and now no longer support that use. Our millionth tree was planted as part of the effort to restore 367 acres of walnut, hickory, oak and cypress trees at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge near Puxico, Missouri. As the forest matures, it is expected to trap an estimated 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from the atmosphere.

Go Zero is now working to restore 814 acres of forestland in Louisiana’s Lake Ophelia and Grand Cote national wildlife refuges. Restoring native forests in the Gulf Coast region is more important than ever, as birds forced from oil-contaminated marshes must look for healthy habitat nearby to rest and feed.

Since 2000, the Fund has restored 20,000 acres of forestlands with 6 million trees through its carbon sequestration programs—including the Go Zero program. Learn more about our other carbon programs, including carbon sequestration projects and sustainable forest management.

Pictured at left, Ryan Frohling, manager of Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge, plants a tree for Go Zero.

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D. More than 1.5 million acres

The Fund has conserved just over 1.5 million acres of forestland across the United States. Many of these acres were contributed directly to national and state forests in 37 states.

In addition to adding to national and state forests, we have been a leader in forest conservation through our sustainable forestry work. With this approach, we are demonstrating that sustainable forestry can be used as an effective tool to protect water, wildlife and jobs.

In 2010 we completed several major forestry projects, including the conservation of nearly 188,000 acres of forest in Minnesota, the state's largest land conservation deal ever, and we assisted with the creation of Gilchrist State Forest, the first addition to Oregon’s state forest system in more than 60 years.

The Fund's largest forestland conservation project was in Washington County, Maine, with the acquisition of a working forest conservation easement affecting 311,000 acres. The property was acquired in 2005 in partnership with the New England Forestry Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and remains a working forest.

Learn more about our forestry work >>

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A. Arizona

The Kane and Two Mile Ranch project in Arizona, completed in 2005, is the largest project—in terms of acres—the Fund has completed. In collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management and the Grand Canyon Trust, we acquired about 1,000 acres and grazing leases affecting about 850,000 acres.

The resource values of this property are tremendous. The property shares a 100-mile boundary Grand Canyon National Park along the North Rim, and much of the ranch is made up of the "sky island" of the Kaibab Plateau, which is home to the highest density of old-growth ponderosa pines in the Southwest.

The land also is being successfully managed to ensure the protection of critical wildlife habitat in the area. The Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is enclosed completely within the Two Mile Ranch and is the epicenter of the reintroduction efforts for the endangered California condor in Arizona.

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D. West

Regionally, we have conserved the most property in the West, protecting about 1.2 million acres across Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada.

We have worked with federal, state and local entities to complete 120 projects in the region, protecting local lakes and rivers as well as adding to national forests, wilderness parks and wildlife refuges.

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In 2010 the Fund is celebrating 25 years of conservation work! We've helped protect more than 6.7 million acres across the United States, but how much do you know about our work? See if you can answer the questions below!

1. In which region has the Fund conserved the most acres?

A. Southwest

B. Southeast

C. Mountain West

D. West

2. In which state is the Fund's largest project to date (in terms of acres)?

A. Arizona

B. Montana

C. Texas

D. Wyoming

3. How many acres of forestland has the Fund conserved?

A. Less than 500,000

B. About 800,000

C. About 1 million

D. More than 1.5 million

4. How many trees have been planted through our Go Zero carbon offsetting program?

A. 350,000

B. 500,000

C. 750,000

D. 1 million

5. The Fund has conserved the most Civil War Battlefields in which state?

A. Mississippi

B. Maryland

C. Virginia

D. Pennsylvania

6. In 2010, our 25th year, we conserved our 6.5 millionth acre. What project allowed us to achieve this milestone?

A. Green River Valley Initiative, Wyoming

B. Upper Mississippi Forest Project, Minnesota

C. Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana

D. Three Sisters Springs, Florida

Twenty-five years ago, The Conservation Fund was founded by a small group of business-savvy conservationists who wanted to bring the best of investment principles to the challenge of conserving America's magnificent land legacy. Since then, with creativity and discipline, the Fund has protected more than 6.7 million acres of forests, farms, wildlife habitat, and recreation lands. We have helped communities plan for growth, supported sustainable small business development, and invested more than $5 million in training, education and leadership development for the next generation of conservation leaders. For a relatively small organization on the national stage, we are proud to have made a very large impression on the American landscape.

Photo Gallery: 25 Highlights

Browse these images and learn about some of the highlights of our 25 years in conservation.

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  5 Great Ideas: The Revolving Fund
• 
  5 Great Ideas: Conservation Leadership Network
• 
  5 Great Ideas: Recirculating Aquaculture Systems
• 
  5 Great Ideas: Natural Capital Investment Fund
• 
  5 Great Ideas: Green Infrastructure
• 
  5 Communities: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• 
  5 Communities: Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia
• 
  5 Communities: Resourceful Communities, North Carolina
• 
  5 Communities: Metro Atlanta, Georgia
• 
  5 Communities: Bonneville County, Idaho
• 
  5 Working Lands: Champion Forest
• 
  5 Working Lands: Big River and Salmon Creek
• 
  5 Working Lands: Bair Family Ranch
• 
  5 Working Lands: Cottonwood Ranches
• 
  5 Working Lands: Hager Farm
• 
  5 Wild Havens: Southwest Alaska Salmon Habitat Initiative
• 
  5 Wild Havens: Path of the Pronghorn
• 
  5 Wild Havens: Rocky Fork, Tennessee
• 
  5 Wild Havens: Mississippi Flyway
• 
  5 Wild Havens: Big Thicket National Preserve
• 
  5 Historic Places: Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
• 
  5 Historic Places: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
• 
  5 Historic Places: Minidoka National Historic Site
• 
  5 Historic Places: Antietam National Battlefield
• 
  5 Historic Places: Petersburg Battlefield

Check out some of our accomplishments over the last quarter century:

 

• We have completed 141 projects in historic parks and districts, 93 projects in national parks, 338 projects benefiting national wildlife refuges and 109 projects in state parks.

 

• In 2009, we protected our 300,000th acre in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed—conserving lands valued at more than $631 million.

 

• At our 10 year anniversary we had saved 1 million acres, but only four short years later, we had reached 2 million acres. Since then, we have conserved an additional 4 million acres. As of October 2010 we have protected more than 6.7 million acres!

 



 

Our largest project in terms of acres was the acquisition in 2005 of 851,000 acres along a 100-mile boundary of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona.

 

 

 

• No project is too small for us! Our smallest project was a critical acquisition of almost 1 acre for the City of Atlanta’s Vine City Park.

 

• Regionally, we have conserved the most property in the West at 1.6 million acres, with the Southwest at 1.1 million acres and the Southeast at 1 million acres falling closely behind. Financially, we have spent the most money— more than $1.8 billion—in the Southeast.

 

• We have completed the most projects in Florida with 223. Close behind are Maryland at 158, North Carolina at 143, and Colorado at 135.



 

• As part of our Civil War Battlefield Campaign, we have conserved 9,323 acres at Civil War battlefield sites in 14 states.

 

• We have conserved 1,267,052 acres of forestland, 1,095,559 acres of natural areas and 1,861,292 acres of critical wildlife habitat.

 

• We have conserved more than 2.6 million acres in collaboration with our federal partners—more than a million acres each with the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. With our state and local partners, we have conserved more than 3.5 million acres.

 

• Since 1993, we have made 149 loans assisting local land trusts through our Land Trust Loan Fund Program. We've helped land trusts protect 94,000 acres valued at nearly $197 million.

 

 

What Our Future Holds...

We're passionate about conservation and will continue to work to save your favorite places before they become just a memory. We guarantee your conservation dollars go "in the ground"—we have the highest program allocation—97%—and lowest fundraising costs—1%—in our field. To put your dollars to work conserving America's land and water resources, click here.