Conservation Northwest

Stated Purpose:
Conservation Northwest protects, connects and restores wildlands and wildlife from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies.

Year, State Incorporated:
1988, WA

Also Known As:
Northwest Ecosystem Alliance Conservation NW Ancient Forest Roadshow CNW FONC Friends of the North Cascades Greater Ecosystem Alliance I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition NWEA The Cascades Conservation Partnership Washington Invasive Species Coalition Whatcom Legacy Whatcom Legacy Project WLP

Bold, imaginative and effective, Conservation Northwest (CNW) has protected hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlands, supported the recovery of threatened species from wolves to fishers, and touched thousands of lives throughout the greater Northwest. Care for local communities, collaboration, and big-picture thinking define CNW's effective approach to conservation. Elected officials, government agencies, Native American tribes, business leaders and conservationists alike know CNW for being science-based, persistent in seeking a healthier environment, yet realistic in achieving lasting change.

Conservation Northwest's groundbreaking programs have been improving the health of our natural environment for more than 30 years and includes bringing fishers back to Washington, helping to restore species like lynx, wolves and wolverines, leading campaigns to build wildlife crossings on major roadways like Interstate 90, and winning permanent protection for cherished Northwest landscapes like Blanchard Mountain and the Loomis State Forest.

Lead programs include:

Forest Field Program: With specific staffers for the Colville, Okanogan-Wenatchee and Mount-Baker Snoqualmie national forests, Conservation Northwest promotes naturally functioning and ecologically managed forests by:
1) Advancing restoration of forest and watershed resilience and habitat connectivity while protecting old forests and other critical habitat,
2) Partnering with agencies and communities for scientifically credible restoration projects
3) Leveraging field examples into policy through lobbying, media exposure, court rulings, and public support and involvement.

State Trust Lands Reform: Conservation Northwest also works closely with the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), forestry companies and other conservation organizations to promote ecological management and resilience on state and private forest lands, including State Trust Lands and special places including Blanchard Mountain.

Working for Wildlife Initiative: Conservation Northwest is entering the sixth year of a seven-year business plan adopted by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to maintain and restore habitat connectivity between the Cascades and Kettle River Range for Canada lynx, Columbian sharp-tailed grouse and mule deer. To date they have built strong partner capacity, invested in habitat restoration on public and private lands, secured several key parcels in fee (WDFW) or conservation easement, documented lynx presence in the Kettle Range, and initiated recovery planning for lynx.

Habitat Connectivity: It is essential to enable wildlife to cross highways along key corridors at locations like Highway 2 near Stevens Pass, Highway 12 near Randle, Highway 97 near Blewett Pass, and I-90 near Vantage. Conservation Northwest aims to establish a state funding source within the transportation budget and political will within WSDOT to prioritize this issue.

I-90 Wildlife Corridor Campaign: Since 2000, through The Cascades Conservation Partnership and the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition, Conservation Northwest has led efforts to reconnect Washington’s north and south Cascades by protecting and restoring habitat and establishing safe wildlife crossings under and over I-90. These two coalitions represent only part of Conservation Northwest’s involvement in this area, which is organized internally under its I-90 Wildlife Corridor Campaign. This larger campaign includes their role administering coalitions as well as on-the-ground habitat restoration around the new wildlife crossings through volunteer and staff revegetation work, continued forest restoration in the watersheds of the Central Cascades, and wildlife monitoring and snowtracking through the Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Project to document wildlife movement in this corridor.

Central Cascades Watersheds Restoration: As their I-90 Wildlife Corridor Campaign achieves success and eventually sunsets, Conservation Northwest is increasing its focus on forest and watersheds restoration in this larger landscape between the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and Mount Rainier National Park. They will work with the Forest Service and partners to design and fund landscape scale restoration of the upper Yakima, Manastash-Taneum, Little Naches, White and Green River watersheds, including thinning thousands of plantation acres, removing hundreds of road miles, relocating infrastructure from floodplains, reducing invasive species, and blending recreational access with resource protection.

Sagelands Heritage Program: Their new Sagelands Heritage Program works to maintain, restore and connect shrub-steppe landscapes from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley to south-central Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills for the good of both wildlife and people. The Columbia Plateau occupies nearly a third of Washington, but less than half of it remains shrub-steppe instead of crops. Work by the Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group identifies four critical linkages and restoration needs for a habitat network for Columbia Basin wildlife. Their focus is the Connected Backbone from Horse Heaven Hills, near Richland, to the Okanogan Valley, which allows us to build from past efforts to help priority species including sage grouse, bighorn sheep, badgers, sharp-tailed grouse, mule deer, and pygmy rabbits.

Coast to Cascades Grizzly Bear Initiative: The Coast to Cascades Grizzly Bear Initiative is a collaborative effort to stem the ongoing loss of grizzly bear range and to promote grizzly bear recovery in the transboundary ecosystems of southwest British Columbia and northwest Washington state. Partners include Conservation Northwest, the St’at’imc Chiefs Council, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (BC Chapter), Sierra Club BC, BC Nature, Pemberton Wildlife Association, BC Spaces for Nature, AWARE, Whistler Naturalists, Lillooet Naturalist Society. The Okanogan Nation Alliance, Squamish Nation and many local governments and municipalities in British Columbia have also passed resolutions supporting grizzly bear recovery.

Community Wildlife Monitoring Project: Conservation Northwest engages people tracking wildlife in key areas like the I-90 corridor, Kettle Range and North Cascades, documenting the presence of fishers, wolves, grizzly bears, lynx and other species. Now in its eleventh year, their Monitoring Project is one of the largest citizen-science efforts in North America. They harness the power of more than 100 volunteers each year to maintain dozens of remote camera sites in Washington and southern British Columbia, as well as to conduct winter snow-tracking in the Interstate 90 corridor near Snoqualmie Pass to inform wildlife crossing projects. Confirming the presence of rare carnivores and other animals informs land management decisions upon which wildlife depend. It also helps guide their conservation programs and priorities, and those of state and federal agencies.

Wolf Recovery: Since 2006, Conservation Northwest has pursued the goal of Washington being the state where wolf recovery is done right, focusing on both state policy and field modelling of ways to reduce conflict with livestock through their Range Rider Pilot Project. They are committed to the goal of long-term recovery and public acceptance of wolves alongside thriving rural communities. But to achieve these goals, it will take hard work, respect and collaboration from stakeholders on all sides. Today, they are on-the-ground from Colville and Twisp to the Teanaway and Olympia supporting gray wolf recovery. They directly fund, train and implement non-lethal wolf-livestock conflict avoidance methods. They are working with ranchers and hunters to help reduce conflict and increase social tolerance for wolves. With conservation partners, they are lobbying state and community leaders for wolf recovery and sustainable wolf management. Finally, they are protecting critical habitat and working with law enforcement to fight poaching and natural resource abuse.

North Cascades Grizzly Bear Initiative: In 2014, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife began a new multi-year Environmental Impact Statement planning process for restoring a healthy grizzly bear population in Washington’s North Cascades ecosystem. Grizzly bears have been an important part of the North Cascades ecosystem for thousands of years. They play a vital role for the health of the environment and other wildlife species, figure prominently in regional Native American and First Nations’ cultures and contribute to the richness of our natural heritage in the Pacific Northwest. Now is the time to restore a healthy grizzly bear population to the North Cascades. They also support grizzly bear recovery efforts in northeast Washington’s Selkirk Mountains and nearby areas.

Fisher Reintroduction: In 2002, Conservation Northwest began a partnership with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), the National Park Service (NPS) and other federal, tribal and non-profit allies to restore fishers to Washington state. Since then, they have successfully reintroduced fishers to the Olympia Peninsula and Washington’s South and Central Cascades! Next up: the North Cascades.

Reward Fund to Help Stop Poaching: Whether its deer, elk or rare carnivores like wolves, lynx and grizzly bears, poaching is an abuse of our shared natural heritage. No matter how one feels about wildlife, poaching is never OK. Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Conservation Northwest offers standing rewards of up to $7,500 for those who provide information that leads to a poaching conviction in Washington state. They also occasionally offer larger rewards in specific egregious circumstances. Reward funds are provided by generous members and donors.

For the year ended March 31, 2020, Conservation Northwest's program expenses were:

Program services	$1,919,463
Total Program Expenses	$1,919,463

Chief Executive
Mitch Friedman, Executive Director

Chair of the Board
Mr. Joseph Joy, Owner/Manager

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Rinworks LLC

Board Size
16

Paid Staff Size
28

Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Invitations to fund raising events, Grant proposals, Internet, Planned giving arrangements, Membership appeals, Appeals via Social Media (Facebook, etc.)

% of Related Contributions on Fundraising: 13.99%

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.

The following information is based on Conservation Northwest's audited financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2020.

Source of Funds

Contributions and bequests	$1,224,214
Grants	$1,104,940
Special events, less direct benefits to donors of $87,983	$151,782
Total Income	$2,480,936

Programs: 76% Fundraising: 14% Administrative: 10%

Total Income	$2,480,936
Total expenses:	$2,513,794
Program expenses	$1,919,463
Fundraising expenses	$347,092
Administrative expenses	$247,239
Other expenses	$0
Income in Excess of Expenses	$-32,858
Beginning Net Assets	$1,285,379
Other Changes In Net Assets	$0
Ending Net Assets	$1,278,233
Total Liabilities	$149,983
Total Assets	$1,428,216