Widely identified as globally significant, the North Cascades is a wild and complex region bounded in the north by the U.S.-Canadian border, in the south by the Interstate-90 corridor, in the west by the Puget Lowlands and in the east by the Columbia River. The North Cascades region is a critical landscape for both people and wildlife. The area provides important fisheries and wildlife habitat and provides water, hydropower and a place to recreate for people all over the Northwest. Our goal for the region is to strengthen the intersection of ecosystems and communities in the North Cascades, as local people build support for conservation in the region based upon the importance of the natural landscape to their economies, quality of life and cultures.

The basis of the foundation's strategy in the North Cascades is a long-term investment in building community awareness and support for the benefits of wildlands, wildlife, and fish protection within the region's communities. To that end, over the next several years the foundation will seek opportunities to build collaboration and synergies among conservation groups, recreation groups, business interests, federal land agencies and new conservation advocates to develop a widely supported comprehensive vision for the North Cascades that will include a broad range of protections to safeguard this landscape.

Our specific goals for the North Cascades

• Protected wildlands and watersheds in the North Cascades sustain healthy human and natural communities.

• Management of public lands in the North Cascades is coordinated across state and federal agencies.