Our History: 1998
In the Muskwa-Kechika: Gataga River with Split Top Mountain Photo by George SmithThe foundation marked its fourth year by refining its focus and deepening its expertise. Using the science of conservation biology, the Endangered Ecosystems program prioritized specific geographic areas within our funding region for increased attention. The Toxics and Communities program scaled back funding for pulp and paper campaigns, in order to concentrate more resources toward protecting Northwest communities from the impacts of hardrock mining. As we narrowed our focus, we also expanded our grantmaking region to include the Yukon Territory, which encompasses critical ecosystems that cross the political boundaries of both Alaska and British Columbia. We expanded the focus of our communications program to include grants to organizations working on citizen participation, including voter education work.
To deepen our expertise, we assembled an advisory council composed of individuals with expertise in science, politics, economics, community organizing and communications. Representing the geographic diversity of the funding region, these advisors provide the board and staff with an on-the-ground perspective, and help the foundation make strategic grant decisions.
Grantmaking Highlights
A new opportunity to help conservationists communicate more effectively emerged when Environmental Media Services decided to open a Northwest office. Already well established as a national organization, EMS was a welcome addition to our region. The foundation made its first of several significant contributions to Environmental Media Services to help it grow deep roots in the community; now known as Resource Media, it has become a trusted and invaluable advisor to grantees throughout the Northwest.
In the north, the B.C. government announced its long-awaited decision to permanently protect 11 million acres in the Northern Rockies, the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. Future efforts brought this total to nearly 16 million acres, an area roughly equal in size to the state of West Virginia. This announcement came after many years of campaigning of Brainerd grantees, led by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Chetwynd Environmental Society.
After a seed grant in 1996 to Sierra Legal Defence Fund for a Native environmental law center, we made a grant in 1998 to the nascent EAGLE, now an independent organization operating to empower First Nations to protect the environment in their traditional territories by using legal remedies and education.