Conservation Alliance Awards $450,000 in Grants to 17 Organizations

Bend, Ore., April 15th, 2008 — The Conservation Alliance sent checks totaling $450,000 to 17 organizations working to protect wild places throughout North America. The donations marked the Alliance's first disbursal of funding for 2008, and represent the largest single funding round in the organization's history. This round brings total giving to $6.5 million since the organization's founding in 1989.

By a vote of the group's 155 member companies, The Conservation Alliance made donations to 17 grassroots conservation organizations as follows, by organization, location and amount:

1. American Whitewater (Cullowhee, NC) $25,000

2. Appalachian Mountain Club (Boston, MA)/Trust for PublicLand (Montpelier, VT) $30,000

3. Audubon Alaska (Anchorage, AK) $30,000

4. Campaign to Save the Roan Plateau (Carbondale, CO) $20,000

5. Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (Ottawa, ON) $30,000

6. Cascade Land Conservancy (Seattle, WA) $30,000

7. Colorado Mountain Club (Carbondale, CO) $20,000

8. Colorado Wild (Durango, CO) $20,000

9. Conservation Northwest (Bellingham, WA) $25,000

10. Greater Yellowstone Coalition (Bozeman, MT) $30,000

11. Idaho Conservation League (Boise, ID) $20,000

12. Northern Alaska Environmental Center (Fairbanks, AK) $30,000

13. Oregon Natural Desert Association (Bend, OR) $30,000

14. Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition (Asheville, NC) $30,000

15. Trout Unlimited/Alaska (Juneau, AK) $30,000

16. WaterWatch of Oregon (Portland, OR) $25,000

17. West Virginia Wilderness Coalition (Morgantown, WV) $25,000

Total $450,000

"We are proud to once again make the largest grant disbursal in our history," said John Sterling, Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance. "Our member companies continue to recognize that protected wild places are important to the outdoor industry."

This round of grant recipients reflects the geographic distribution of Conservation Alliance members. Conservation Alliance funds will support efforts to: secure new wilderness designations in West Virginia, Tennessee, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon; protect wild rivers in Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington; halt oil and gas development on public lands in Wyoming and Colorado; protect private forest lands in Maine; and expand park boundaries in Canada.

Each project was first nominated for funding by a Conservation Alliance member company.

"Our members do a terrific job identifying projects for funding," said Sterling.

This is the first grant disbursement The Conservation Alliance has made in 2008. The Alliance plans a second $450,000 funding cycle in October.

"We are on track to contribute $900,000 in 2008," said Sterling. "That's a significant investment in protecting our wild places." (See below for a description of each project.)

About the Conservation Alliance:
The Conservation Alliance is an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas. Membership in the Alliance is open to companies representing all aspects of the outdoor industry, including manufacturers, retailers, publishers, mills and sales representatives. The result is a diverse group of businesses whose livelihood depends on protecting our natural environment.

Since its inception in 1989, the Alliance has contributed more than $6.5 million to grassroots environmental groups. Alliance funding has helped save over 38 million acres of wildlands; 26 dams have either been stopped or removed; and the group helped preserve access to more than 16,000 miles of waterways and several climbing areas.
For complete information on the Conservation Alliance, see www.conservationalliance.com.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF GRANTS
1. American Whitewater (Cullowhee, NC): Colorado Stewardship Program to protect and restore water flows in streams throughout Colorado.
2. Appalachian Mountain Club/Trust for Public Land•Vermont (Montpelier, VT): Mahoosuc Campaign to protect key natural and recreational areas in the Mahoosuc region of New Hampshire and Maine.
3. Audubon Alaska (Anchorage, AK): Alaska Conservation Program to build support to protect key Alaska wildlands including the Tongass National Forest and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
4. Campaign to Save Roan Plateau (Carbondale, CO): Oil & Gas Development Campaign to protect the public lands on Colorado's Roan Plateau.
5. Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society (Ottawa, ON): Nahanni Forever Campaign to protect the 7•million•acre South Nahanni River Watershed in Canada's Northwest Territories.
6. Cascade Land Conservancy (Seattle, WA): Boulder Falls Acquisition Campaign to protect Boulder Falls on Washington State's Boulder River, a site threatened by a proposed
hydroelectric dam.
7. Colorado Mountain Club (Carbondale, CO): ORV Management Plan Campaign to secure a network of non•motorized recreation designations on public lands throughout Colorado.
8. Colorado Wild (Durango, CO): Wolf Creek Pass Development Campaign to protect key habitat in the Southern Rockies from a proposed development on Wolf Creek Pass.
9. Conservation Northwest (Bellingham, WA): Columbia Highlands Initiative to protect 350,000 acres of wilderness, and restore 300,000 acres of forests in Eastern Washington.
10. Greater Yellowstone Coalition (Bozeman, MT): Wyoming Range Campaign to protect the 1.2- million-acre Wyoming Range from proposed oil and gas development.
11. Idaho Conservation League (Boise, ID): Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness Campaign to protect 320,000 acres of wildlands in central Idaho's Boulder-White Clouds Mountains.
12. Northern Alaska Environmental Center (Fairbanks, AK): Yukon Flats Refuge Campaign to protect three areas in Alaska's Yukon from oil development.
13. Oregon Natural Desert Association (Bend, OR): Badlands Wilderness Campaign to secure Wilderness designation for 30,000 acres of desert wildlands in central Oregon.
14. Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition (Asheville, NC): Tennessee Wilderness Campaign to permanently protect 18,000 acres of public land in Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest.
15. Trout Unlimited Alaska Program (Juneau, AK): Pebble Mine Campaign to protect the Bristol Bay watershed from a proposed open-pit gold-copper mine in the bay's headwaters.
16. WaterWatch of Oregon (Portland, OR): Free the Rogue Campaign to remove Savage Rapids Dam and other barriers to fish passage and river recreation on Oregon's Rogue River.
17. West Virginia Wilderness Coalition (Morgantown, WV): Wild Monongahela Wilderness Campaign to protect more than 70,000 acres of public land in the Monongahela National Forest.