Working Forests, Farms & Ranches

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“Conservation,” as Gifford Pinchot, the first director of the USDA Forest Service, once said, “is the application of common sense to the common problems for the common good.” Today, The Conservation Fund has put Pinchot’s words into practice by developing common-sense solutions that keep working forests, farms and ranches in operation, while setting aside exceptional lands for wildlife habitat, open space and recreation.

Adirondack State Park, NY

In one of the largest land conservation projects in New York state history, the Fund and its partners protected 257,000 acres of forestland - conserving sensitive wildlife habitat, protecting water quality and benefiting the Adirondack Region’s economy. Read more>

Big River and Salmon Creek Forests, CA

The Big River and Salmon Creek Forests conservation project is a model for large-scale forestland conservation in California and across the northwest. Read more>

Craig Bair: Protecting a Family's Ranching Heritage

The Conservation Fund partnered with third generation rancher Craig Bair to protect nearly 5,000 acres in Colorado’s Vail Valley, thus safeguarding spectacular landscapes and a family’s ranching heritage. Read more>

Downeast Maine: Partners Protect Large Forest Landscape

In 2005 the Fund joined with a diverse network of partners to secure a conservation easement on 327,000 acres of working forestland in Downeast Maine. Read more>

Garcia River Forest: A New Future in Carbon

In 2004, the 23,780-acre Garcia River Forest became California’s first large nonprofit-owned working forest, and in February 2008 became one of the first forests – and the largest – to receive verification of its carbon offsets by the California Climate Action Registry. Read more>

Minnesota Northwoods: Landmark Conservation Effort Protects 51,000 Acres

In a landmark conservation deal, Minnesota has taken a major step to protect valuable wildlife habitat in its Northwoods region. Read more>

North Rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ

The protection of the Kane and Two Mile Ranch properties on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon demonstrates the Fund’s unique brand of conservation, one that relies on creativity and collaboration rather than confrontation to address the nation’s growing need to balance economic and environmental objectives. Read more>