This year began with a dramatic shift in the political climate for conservation and we rejoiced that critical decisions about our region's resources will increasingly be made by policymakers who appreciate the importance of conserving water, wildlife and open land. At the same time, we were sobered by the economic downturn which hurt grantees and foundations alike. Our endowment took a significant hit, yet we emerged with a renewed commitment to high quality and strategic grantmaking.

In order to better communicate what we hope to achieve before the foundation sunsets, we strengthened our external communications and redesigned this Web site.

In recognition of the changing political and economic landscape, we updated our place-based conservation focus areas to include: the High Divide, Crown of the Continent, North Cascades and Central Oregon.

Grantmaking Highlights

Conservation Policy

In June, a federal court ruled against the U.S. Forest Service in its third attempt to eliminate virtually all environmental safeguards from the rules that oversee the management of our national forests. Several current and past Brainerd grantees were plaintiffs in this legal challenge by Western Environmental Law Center, including Cascadia Wildlands Project, Forest Service Employeees for Environmental Ethics, Gifford Pinchot Task Force, the Lands Council, Oregon Wild and The Wilderness Society.

In the spring of 2009, Governor Christine Gregoire signed an executive order to reduce Washington's greenhouse gas emissions and announced the creation of a 30-state, bi-partisan coalition of governors, that called on national policymakers to enact climate policy. Brainerd has supported the work of Washington Environmental Council, Washington Conservation Voters and Climate Solutions, which contributed to this accomplishment.

Place-based Conservation

Long-time grantees in our Conservation Policy and Place-based Conservation programs seized this window of opportunity to advance the largest land protection package passed in 25 years: The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 protected more than two million acres of land as Wilderness; designated over 1,000 miles of Wild & Scenic Rivers; and advanced conservation through a host of provisions affecting nearly every state in the country. In the Northwest, Brainerd's largest investments in this effort centered on the Idaho Conservation League's efforts to preserve roadless areas which paid off with the protection of the Owyhee Canyonlands and the Oregon Natural Desert Association's work to win protection for the Badlands and Spring Basin areas of Central Oregon, one of the foundation's place-based priority areas. Read a summary of the Act's conservation wins for the Northwest.

On a related note, it has been a big year for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. First, about 900 acres were added to the monument, preserving important wildlife corridors and protecting several critical wetlands. This small acquisition represents a major step toward conserving nearly 5,000 acres currently held in trust by the Pacific Forest Trust. Second, as part of the Omnibus Public Lands Act, 24,000 acres of the monument's backcountry (nearly half of the total acres contained in the monument) became the new Soda Mountain Wilderness. Since its inception, the Brainerd Foundation has funded the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council's tireless work to improve protection for this exceptional place.

Conservation Capacity

This year, the foundation placed an added emphasis on capacity building to support groups coping with the downturn in the economy-encouraging grantees to find ways to be more effective and efficient with less money.

Recognizing the role that leadership plays in the effectiveness of grantees, the foundation grappled with how groups can support leadership in ways that will ensure high performing organizations. To explore investment opportunities, we contracted with Janna Rolland, a consultant with extensive experience in both nonprofit management and leadership. Read the white paper "Building Executive Leadership Capacity".

To improve the efficacy of nonprofit communications, over a hundred northwest conservation leaders participated in a series of Brainerd Foundation-sponsored Webinars provided by Spitfire Communications and the Communications Leadership Institute.