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Wikipedia

The Nature Conservancy

January 20, 2023

This article is about the global charitable organization. For the Canadian organization, see Nature Conservancy of Canada. For the former UK government organization, see Nature Conservancy (UK).

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. As of 2021 it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.

The Nature Conservancy
Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia (2022)
Founded1951 (72 years ago) (1951)[1]
Type501(c)(3) non-profit[2]
FocusEnvironmental conservation
HeadquartersArlington, Virginia, United States
Area served
Global
MethodConservation by design
Members
>1 million
Key people
Revenue
US$1.29 billion (2018)[3]
Websitewww.nature.org

Founded in 1951, The Nature Conservancy has over one million members globally as of 2021, and has protected more than 119,000,000 acres (48,000,000 ha) of land in its history.[4] As of 2014, it is the largest environmental non-profit organization by assets and revenue in the Americas.

History

The Nature Conservancy developed out of a scholarly organization initially known as the Ecological Society of America (ESA).[5] The ESA was founded in 1915, and later formed a Committee on Preservation of Natural Areas for Ecological Study, headed by Victor Shelford.[5][6][7] The primary aim of Shelford was to find areas of land that would be beneficial for long-term research.[5] By the 1930s, Shelford and his colleagues such as Aldo Leopold increasingly sought to advocate for conservation.[5] The divide in viewpoints regarding scholarship or advocacy led the Society to dissolve the committee and in 1946, Shelford and his colleagues formed the Ecologists' Union.[5][6] The latter group eventually took the name "The Nature Conservancy", in emulation of the British agency of that name, which pursued a mission of conserving open space and wildlife preserves. The Nature Conservancy was incorporated in the United States as a non-profit organization on October 22, 1951.[6]

 
The Nature Conservancy at 2017 Capital Pride

As the organization grew, the organization focused largely on buying as much land as possible in the name of conservation with little scientific research conducted on land before being purchased.[5] Patrick Noonan served as President from 1973 to 1980 and spearheaded major land acquisitions, fundraising and decentralized growth of state programs.[8] In 1970 the organization hired its first staff scientist, Robert E. Jenkins Jr., who helped the organization refocus its mission to conserving natural diversity.[8][5] With Noonan's support, in 1974 Jenkins began to partner with state governments to develop state-by-state inventories which assembled and stored data on the "elements" of nature (e.g. rare species and natural communities) and on "element occurrences" (the specific locations where they occur),[8] which later morphed into the Natural Heritage Network, a network of state natural heritage programs.[5]

Land deals controversy

In 2003 the Washington Post ran an investigative series about the Nature Conservancy with allegations of improper dealing and other improprieties that the Nature Conservancy contested.[9] In part, the Post alleged the Conservancy had, time and again, bought ecologically significant tracts of land, attached some development restrictions and then resold the properties to trustees and supporters at greatly reduced prices.[9][10] The sales were part of a program that limits intrusive development but generally allows buyers to build homes on the land.[10] The buyers then gave the Conservancy cash that was roughly equivalent to the amount of the discounts.[10] That allowed the new owners to take significant tax deductions for charitable gifts.[11][12]

The Nature Conservancy suspended a range of practices shortly after the articles ran including these sales, licensing its logo to corporations whose executives sat on the Conservancy's governing board and council, all new logging and other "resource extraction activities" such as oil and gas drilling on its nature preserves, and all new loans to employees.[10] The Conservancy launched an independent review that issued its final report in 2004, calling for sweeping reforms aimed at making the Conservancy a model of ethical standards for nonprofit organizations.[13]

Sexual harassment investigation

After service as The Nature Conservancy's president for one year, Brian McPeek resigned on May 31, 2019, after a report on an internal investigation of sexual harassment was revealed by Politico and two other senior executives were ultimately dismissed based on its findings.[14] On June 7, 2019, Mark Tercek, CEO since 2008, announced his resignation following the resignation of McPeek.[15] On June 10, Luis Solorzano, executive director of The Nature Conservancy's Florida-based Caribbean chapter, became the fifth senior official to depart the organization.[16] On June 11, The Nature Conservancy's board chairman Thomas J. Tierney announced that board member and former US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell would serve as interim CEO, effective September 2019.[17]

Project sites

 
Nature Conservancy of Tennessee's William B. Clark Sr. Nature Preserve on the Wolf River at Rossville, Tennessee

The Nature Conservancy's efforts include conservation in North America, Central America, and South America, Africa, the Pacific Rim, the Caribbean, and Asia.[18]

North America: selected projects

The Nature Conservancy and its conservation partner, Pronatura Peninsula Yucatán, to halt deforestation on private lands in and around the 1.8 million acre (7,300 km2) Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, along the Guatemala–Mexico border. They brokered the protection of 370,000 acres (1,500 km2) of tropical forest in Calakmul.[19]

In another program, TNC is working to protect wildlife habitat in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

In 2007, the Nature Conservancy made a 161,000-acre (650 km2) purchase of New York forestland from Finch Paper Holdings LLC for $110 million, its largest purchase ever in that state.[20][21] In June 2008, The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land announced they reached an agreement to purchase approximately 320,000 acres (1,300 km2) of western Montana forestland from Plum Creek Timber Company for $510 million. The purchase, known as the Montana Legacy Project, is part of an effort to keep these forests in productive timber management and protect the area's clean water and abundant fish and wildlife habitat, while promoting continued public access to these lands for fishing, hiking, hunting and other recreational pursuits.[22][23][24] As a follow-on, in 2015 The Nature Conservancy made a $134 million transaction to purchase 165,073 acres – 257 square miles – of forests, rivers and wildlife habitat in the Cascade Mountain Range of Washington and in the Blackfoot River Valley in Montana. The Conservancy also acquired this land from Plum Creek, including 47,921 acres in the Yakima River Headwaters in Washington and 117,152 acres in the Lower Blackfoot River Watershed in Montana.[25][26]

Nature United is the Canadian affiliate of The Nature Conservancy. Nature United was founded as a Canadian charity in 2014, building on decades of conservation in Canada. Headquartered in Toronto, the organization has field staff located across the country. Nature United supports Indigenous leadership, sustainable economic development, and large-scale conservation, primarily in the Great Bear Rainforest, Clayoquot Sound, the Northwest Territories, and northern Manitoba.[27]

Africa

In December 2015, The Nature Conservancy announced the finalization of the first ever debt swap in Seychelles aimed at ocean conservation. The new protected area increases the country's marine protected waters from less than 1 percent to more than 30 percent including support for the creation of the second largest Marine Protected Area in the Western Indian Ocean.[28] The debt swap deal was made possible through a partnership with the Seychelles Ministry of Finance, support of debt-holding nations including France, and grants from private organizations led by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.[29]

Financing for this effort was organized by The Nature Conservancy's impact investing unit called NatureVest.[30][31] NatureVest was created in 2014 with founding sponsorship from JPMorgan Chase with the stated goal of sourcing and putting to work at least $1 billion of impact investment capital for measurable conservation outcomes over three years.[32][33] For their work on the Seychelles debt restructuring, The Nature Conservancy and JPMorgan Chase were given the FT/ITC Transformational Business Award for Achievement in Transformational Finance. The award is given by the Financial Times and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) for ground-breaking, commercially viable solutions to development challenges.[34]

Plant a Billion Trees campaign

The Nature Conservancy's "Plant a Billion Trees" campaign is an effort to plant one billion trees across the globe in forests with the greatest need.[35][better source needed] The Nature Conservancy pledged to plant 25 million trees as part of the launch of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)'s Billion Tree Campaign.[36][better source needed] This campaign encourages individuals and organizations to plant their own trees around the world and record this action on the website as a tally.

Tree planting

The Nature Conservancy plants trees for every contribution donated by supporters.[37] Its "Plant a Billion Trees" campaign aims to restore Brazil's Atlantic Forest by planting 1 billion native trees on 2.5 million acres that have been deforested.[38]

Operations

The Nature Conservancy has over one million members across the world as of 2021.[39][40] As of 2014, it was the largest environmental non-profit organization by assets and revenue in the Americas.[41]

Big business ties

The Nature Conservancy has ties to many large companies, including those in the oil, gas, mining, chemical and agricultural industries.[42] As of 2016, its board of directors included the retired chairman of Duke Energy, and executives from Merck, HP, Google and several financial industry groups.[43] It also has a Business Council which it describes as a consultative forum that includes Bank of America, BP America, Chevron, Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical, Duke Energy, General Mills, Royal Dutch Shell, and Starbucks.[44] The organization faced criticism in 2010 from supporters for its refusal to cut ties with BP after the Gulf oil spill.[45][46]

Writer and activist Naomi Klein has strongly criticized The Nature Conservancy for earning money from an oil well on land it controls in Texas and for its continued engagement with fossil fuel companies.[47][48] The Nature Conservancy responded by arguing that it had no choice under the terms of a lease it signed years prior with an oil and gas company and later came to regret.[47]

In 2020, Bloomberg published an article claiming that some of the companies (such as JPMorgan Chase, Disney, and BlackRock) that purchase carbon credits from The Nature Conservancy were purchasing carbon credits for forests that did not need protection.[49]

In 2021, The Nature Conservancy partnered with Amazon to compensate local farmers for restoring and protecting rainforests in Para, Brazil.[50] In 2022, a group of smaller non-profit organizations signed an open letter to the Conservancy’s CEO, Jennifer Morris, charging that The Nature Conservancy was overly supportive of logging interests and the use of tree planting as a natural climate solution.[51]

Efficiency and accountability

The Charity Navigator gave The Nature Conservancy a 3-star overall rating, a 2-star financial rating and a 4-star accountability and transparency rating, out of a maximum of four stars, for the 2019 fiscal year.[52]

Hunting

Like many large environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the World Wildlife Fund, the Conservancy includes allowances for hunting and fishing within its management policies. The organization does not totally ban hunting or fishing but defers to state hunting and fishing regulations.[53]

Publication

The organization publishes The Nature Conservancy magazine (ISSN 1540-2428; six issues per year).

Resale

There have been allegations of The Nature Conservancy obtaining land and reselling it at a profit, sometimes to supporters and sometimes to large organizations that allows them to claim tax breaks.[54][55][56] The Nature Conservancy argues that the profit from such sales allows The Nature Conservancy to increase its preservation of what the Nature Conservancy claims are more important locations.[57]

See also

References

  1. ^ Grove, Noel (December 1988). "Quietly Conserving Nature". National Geographic. 174 (6): 818–844.
  2. ^ "Articles Of Incorporation". www.nature.org. from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  3. ^ The Nature Conservancy. Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended June 30, 2018 and report thereon February 16, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed November 22, 2018.
  4. ^ Yachnin, Jennifer (August 27, 2021). "Could 'non-use' rights boost conservation lands?". E&E News. from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Adams, Jonathan S. (2006). The Future of the Wild. Beacon Press. pp. 51–54. ISBN 978-0-8070-8537-0.
  6. ^ a b c "Our History December 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine". The Nature Conservancy. nature.org. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  7. ^ . The Nature Conservancy. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Birchard, Bill (2005). Nature's Keepers. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 0-7879-7158-8.
  9. ^ a b Ottaway, David B.; Stephens, Joe (May 4, 2003). "Nonprofit Land Bank Amasses Billions". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d Stephens, Joe; Ottaway, David (May 13, 2003). "Nature Conservancy Suspends Land Sales". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  11. ^ Stephens, Joe; Ottaway, David B. (May 6, 2003). "Nonprofit Sells Scenic Acreage to Allies at a Loss". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  12. ^ Stephens, Joe (May 10, 2003). "Charity's Land Deals To Be Scrutinized". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  13. ^ Stephens, Joe (March 31, 2004). "Overhaul of Nature Conservancy Urged". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  14. ^ Colman, Zack. "Nature Conservancy president resigns in wake of sexual harassment probe". POLITICO. from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  15. ^ Colman, Zack. "Nature Conservancy CEO Tercek exits as shake-up widens". POLITICO. from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  16. ^ Colman, Zack. "Nature Conservancy's Caribbean program chief to exit after probe". POLITICO. from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  17. ^ Colman, Zack (June 11, 2019). "Nature Conservancy taps Obama Interior secretary as interim CEO". POLITICO. from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  18. ^ . Nature.org. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  19. ^ Adams, Lisa (November 13, 2004). "Plan would protect swath of Yucatán forest". San Diego Union-Tribune. from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  20. ^ "Global Solutions". Conservationgateway.org. from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  21. ^ "The Nature Conservancy Purchases 161,000 acres in New York". The Land Report. August 2007. from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  22. ^ . Nature.org. Archived from the original on May 1, 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  23. ^ "Conservationists Go Big in Montana –Land&People | The Trust for Public Land". Tpl.org. June 12, 2006. from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  24. ^ . Northwestconnections.org. June 30, 2008. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  25. ^ . Nature.org. January 15, 2016. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  26. ^ Gunther, Marc. "Behind one of the Nature Conservancy's largest ever forest purchases | Guardian Sustainable Business". The Guardian. from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  27. ^ "Who We Are". Nature United. from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  28. ^ "Seychelles to protect more than 400,000 square kilometers of Ocean – Reef Builders | The Reef and Marine Aquarium Blog". Reef Builders. March 18, 2016. from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  29. ^ "LDF Supports First Ever Debt-for-Nature Swap in Seychelles – Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation : Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation". Leonardodicaprio.org. March 15, 2016. from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  30. ^ . Naturevesttnc.org. June 20, 2014. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  31. ^ "Nature Conservancy Debt Swap to Finance Conservation in Seychelles | News | PND". Philanthropynewsdigest.org. February 26, 2015. from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  32. ^ "About Us | NatureVest". Naturevesttnc.org. from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  33. ^ "Why TNC and JPMorgan Chase are investing $1 billion in nature". GreenBiz.com. April 29, 2014. from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  34. ^ "FT/IFC Transformational Business Awards organised by FT Live". Live.ft.com. from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  35. ^ "Plant A Billion Trees – restore, plant, protect – with The Nature Conservancy". Plantabillion.org. from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  36. ^ . Nature.org. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  37. ^ "Plant a Billion". Plant a Billion Trees. from the original on May 14, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  38. ^ Watson, Tom (2009). CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-0470460108.
  39. ^ "Donate to our mission". The Nature Conservancy. Bottom right-hand corner, next to "Sign up for e-news": "Join the million supporters who stand with us...". January 1, 2021. from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  40. ^ "Who we are". The Nature Conservancy Australia. from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  41. ^ "The 200 Largest U.S. Charities List: Environment/Animal". Forbes. from the original on February 15, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  42. ^ . Nature.org. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  43. ^ "Board of Directors Member Profiles | The Nature Conservancy". Nature.org. from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  44. ^ "Business Council | The Nature Conservancy". Nature.org. July 1, 2016. from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  45. ^ "Nature Conservancy faces potential backlash from ties with BP". Washingtonpost.com. from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  46. ^ "Reaching for a longer spoon". The Economist. June 3, 2010. from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  47. ^ a b Gillis, Justin (August 4, 2014). "Group Earns Oil Income Despite Pledge on Drilling". The New York Times. from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  48. ^ Klein, Naomi (May 1, 2013). "Time for Big Green to Go Fossil Free". The Nation. from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  49. ^ Elgin, Ben (December 9, 2020). "Nature Conservancy Hooked Corporate America on an Empty Climate Solution". Bloomberg Green. No. 3. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  50. ^ Freedman, Andrew (September 7, 2021). "Amazon, Nature Conservancy launch initiative to help preserve the Amazonian rainforest". Axios. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  51. ^ Ketcham, Christopher (June 29, 2022). "Logging is destroying southern forests — and dividing US environmentalists". Grist. from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  52. ^ "Rating for The Nature Conservancy". Charity Navigator. from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  53. ^ "The Nature Conservancy's Position on Hunting and Fishing" (PDF). The Nature Conservancy. April 2011. (PDF) from the original on September 6, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  54. ^ Stephens, Joe; Ottaway, David B. (June 8, 2005). "Senators Question Conservancy's Practices". Washington Post. from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  55. ^ Stephens, Joe; Ottaway, David B. (May 16, 2003). "Charity Hiring Lawyers to Try to Prevent Hill Probe". Washington Post. from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  56. ^ The Chronicle of Philanthropy. October 18, 2007.
  57. ^ Staff (June 14, 2003). "In Wake of Criticism, Nature Conservancy Changes Policies". The New York Times. from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2014.

Bibliography

  • Tercek, Mark R.; Adams, Jonathan (2013) "Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature". New York: Basic Books ISBN 978-0-465-03181-8.
  • Grove, Noel; with photographs by Stephen J. Krasemann (1992). Preserving Eden: The Nature Conservancy. New York City: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN 0-8109-3663-1.
  • Morine, David E. (1990). Good Dirt: Confessions of a Conservationist. Chester, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press. ISBN 0-87106-444-8.
  • Birchard, Bill (2005). Nature's Keepers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass (a Wiley imprint). ISBN 0-7879-7158-8.
  • Stephens, Joe; Ottaway, David B. May 3, 2003). . The Washington Post.
  • Stephens, Joe; Ottaway, David B. (May 4, 2003). "$420,000 a Year and No-Strings Fund: Conservancy Underreported President's Pay and Perks of Office". The Washington Post.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Nature Conservancy.
  • Official website  
  • Nature United
  • Cool Green Science – The Conservation Blog of The Nature Conservancy
  • The Nature Conservancy's Geospatial Conservation Atlas
  • Nature's Land Brokers Documentary produced by Idaho Public Television
  • The Nature Conservancy at SourceWatch
  • YouTube channel

January 20, 2023
nature, conservancy, this, article, about, global, charitable, organization, canadian, organization, nature, conservancy, canada, former, government, organization, nature, conservancy, this, article, contains, content, that, written, like, advertisement, pleas. This article is about the global charitable organization For the Canadian organization see Nature Conservancy of Canada For the former UK government organization see Nature Conservancy UK This article contains content that is written like an advertisement Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view October 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Nature Conservancy TNC is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington Virginia As of 2021 update it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories as well as across every state in the US The Nature ConservancyHeadquarters in Arlington Virginia 2022 Founded1951 72 years ago 1951 1 Type501 c 3 non profit 2 FocusEnvironmental conservationHeadquartersArlington Virginia United StatesArea servedGlobalMethodConservation by designMembers gt 1 millionKey peopleJennifer Morris CEO Sally Jewell former interim CEO Giulio Boccaletti Chief Strategy Officer Katherine Hayhoe Chief Scientist Fran Ulmer Board Chair Lynn Scarlett VP Policy and Government RelationsRevenueUS 1 29 billion 2018 3 Websitewww wbr nature wbr orgFounded in 1951 The Nature Conservancy has over one million members globally as of 2021 update and has protected more than 119 000 000 acres 48 000 000 ha of land in its history 4 As of 2014 update it is the largest environmental non profit organization by assets and revenue in the Americas Contents 1 History 1 1 Land deals controversy 1 2 Sexual harassment investigation 2 Project sites 2 1 North America selected projects 2 2 Africa 3 Plant a Billion Trees campaign 3 1 Tree planting 4 Operations 4 1 Big business ties 4 2 Efficiency and accountability 4 3 Hunting 4 4 Publication 4 5 Resale 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Bibliography 7 External linksHistory EditThe Nature Conservancy developed out of a scholarly organization initially known as the Ecological Society of America ESA 5 The ESA was founded in 1915 and later formed a Committee on Preservation of Natural Areas for Ecological Study headed by Victor Shelford 5 6 7 The primary aim of Shelford was to find areas of land that would be beneficial for long term research 5 By the 1930s Shelford and his colleagues such as Aldo Leopold increasingly sought to advocate for conservation 5 The divide in viewpoints regarding scholarship or advocacy led the Society to dissolve the committee and in 1946 Shelford and his colleagues formed the Ecologists Union 5 6 The latter group eventually took the name The Nature Conservancy in emulation of the British agency of that name which pursued a mission of conserving open space and wildlife preserves The Nature Conservancy was incorporated in the United States as a non profit organization on October 22 1951 6 The Nature Conservancy at 2017 Capital Pride As the organization grew the organization focused largely on buying as much land as possible in the name of conservation with little scientific research conducted on land before being purchased 5 Patrick Noonan served as President from 1973 to 1980 and spearheaded major land acquisitions fundraising and decentralized growth of state programs 8 In 1970 the organization hired its first staff scientist Robert E Jenkins Jr who helped the organization refocus its mission to conserving natural diversity 8 5 With Noonan s support in 1974 Jenkins began to partner with state governments to develop state by state inventories which assembled and stored data on the elements of nature e g rare species and natural communities and on element occurrences the specific locations where they occur 8 which later morphed into the Natural Heritage Network a network of state natural heritage programs 5 Land deals controversy Edit In 2003 the Washington Post ran an investigative series about the Nature Conservancy with allegations of improper dealing and other improprieties that the Nature Conservancy contested 9 In part the Post alleged the Conservancy had time and again bought ecologically significant tracts of land attached some development restrictions and then resold the properties to trustees and supporters at greatly reduced prices 9 10 The sales were part of a program that limits intrusive development but generally allows buyers to build homes on the land 10 The buyers then gave the Conservancy cash that was roughly equivalent to the amount of the discounts 10 That allowed the new owners to take significant tax deductions for charitable gifts 11 12 The Nature Conservancy suspended a range of practices shortly after the articles ran including these sales licensing its logo to corporations whose executives sat on the Conservancy s governing board and council all new logging and other resource extraction activities such as oil and gas drilling on its nature preserves and all new loans to employees 10 The Conservancy launched an independent review that issued its final report in 2004 calling for sweeping reforms aimed at making the Conservancy a model of ethical standards for nonprofit organizations 13 Sexual harassment investigation Edit After service as The Nature Conservancy s president for one year Brian McPeek resigned on May 31 2019 after a report on an internal investigation of sexual harassment was revealed by Politico and two other senior executives were ultimately dismissed based on its findings 14 On June 7 2019 Mark Tercek CEO since 2008 announced his resignation following the resignation of McPeek 15 On June 10 Luis Solorzano executive director of The Nature Conservancy s Florida based Caribbean chapter became the fifth senior official to depart the organization 16 On June 11 The Nature Conservancy s board chairman Thomas J Tierney announced that board member and former US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell would serve as interim CEO effective September 2019 17 Project sites Edit Nature Conservancy of Tennessee s William B Clark Sr Nature Preserve on the Wolf River at Rossville Tennessee The Nature Conservancy s efforts include conservation in North America Central America and South America Africa the Pacific Rim the Caribbean and Asia 18 North America selected projects Edit The Nature Conservancy and its conservation partner Pronatura Peninsula Yucatan to halt deforestation on private lands in and around the 1 8 million acre 7 300 km2 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve along the Guatemala Mexico border They brokered the protection of 370 000 acres 1 500 km2 of tropical forest in Calakmul 19 In another program TNC is working to protect wildlife habitat in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem In 2007 the Nature Conservancy made a 161 000 acre 650 km2 purchase of New York forestland from Finch Paper Holdings LLC for 110 million its largest purchase ever in that state 20 21 In June 2008 The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land announced they reached an agreement to purchase approximately 320 000 acres 1 300 km2 of western Montana forestland from Plum Creek Timber Company for 510 million The purchase known as the Montana Legacy Project is part of an effort to keep these forests in productive timber management and protect the area s clean water and abundant fish and wildlife habitat while promoting continued public access to these lands for fishing hiking hunting and other recreational pursuits 22 23 24 As a follow on in 2015 The Nature Conservancy made a 134 million transaction to purchase 165 073 acres 257 square miles of forests rivers and wildlife habitat in the Cascade Mountain Range of Washington and in the Blackfoot River Valley in Montana The Conservancy also acquired this land from Plum Creek including 47 921 acres in the Yakima River Headwaters in Washington and 117 152 acres in the Lower Blackfoot River Watershed in Montana 25 26 Nature United is the Canadian affiliate of The Nature Conservancy Nature United was founded as a Canadian charity in 2014 building on decades of conservation in Canada Headquartered in Toronto the organization has field staff located across the country Nature United supports Indigenous leadership sustainable economic development and large scale conservation primarily in the Great Bear Rainforest Clayoquot Sound the Northwest Territories and northern Manitoba 27 Africa Edit In December 2015 The Nature Conservancy announced the finalization of the first ever debt swap in Seychelles aimed at ocean conservation The new protected area increases the country s marine protected waters from less than 1 percent to more than 30 percent including support for the creation of the second largest Marine Protected Area in the Western Indian Ocean 28 The debt swap deal was made possible through a partnership with the Seychelles Ministry of Finance support of debt holding nations including France and grants from private organizations led by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation 29 Financing for this effort was organized by The Nature Conservancy s impact investing unit called NatureVest 30 31 NatureVest was created in 2014 with founding sponsorship from JPMorgan Chase with the stated goal of sourcing and putting to work at least 1 billion of impact investment capital for measurable conservation outcomes over three years 32 33 For their work on the Seychelles debt restructuring The Nature Conservancy and JPMorgan Chase were given the FT ITC Transformational Business Award for Achievement in Transformational Finance The award is given by the Financial Times and the World Bank s International Finance Corporation IFC for ground breaking commercially viable solutions to development challenges 34 Plant a Billion Trees campaign EditThe Nature Conservancy s Plant a Billion Trees campaign is an effort to plant one billion trees across the globe in forests with the greatest need 35 better source needed The Nature Conservancy pledged to plant 25 million trees as part of the launch of the United Nations Environment Program UNEP s Billion Tree Campaign 36 better source needed This campaign encourages individuals and organizations to plant their own trees around the world and record this action on the website as a tally Tree planting Edit The Nature Conservancy plants trees for every contribution donated by supporters 37 Its Plant a Billion Trees campaign aims to restore Brazil s Atlantic Forest by planting 1 billion native trees on 2 5 million acres that have been deforested 38 Operations EditThe Nature Conservancy has over one million members across the world as of 2021 update 39 40 As of 2014 update it was the largest environmental non profit organization by assets and revenue in the Americas 41 Big business ties Edit The Nature Conservancy has ties to many large companies including those in the oil gas mining chemical and agricultural industries 42 As of 2016 update its board of directors included the retired chairman of Duke Energy and executives from Merck HP Google and several financial industry groups 43 It also has a Business Council which it describes as a consultative forum that includes Bank of America BP America Chevron Coca Cola Dow Chemical Duke Energy General Mills Royal Dutch Shell and Starbucks 44 The organization faced criticism in 2010 from supporters for its refusal to cut ties with BP after the Gulf oil spill 45 46 Writer and activist Naomi Klein has strongly criticized The Nature Conservancy for earning money from an oil well on land it controls in Texas and for its continued engagement with fossil fuel companies 47 48 The Nature Conservancy responded by arguing that it had no choice under the terms of a lease it signed years prior with an oil and gas company and later came to regret 47 In 2020 Bloomberg published an article claiming that some of the companies such as JPMorgan Chase Disney and BlackRock that purchase carbon credits from The Nature Conservancy were purchasing carbon credits for forests that did not need protection 49 In 2021 The Nature Conservancy partnered with Amazon to compensate local farmers for restoring and protecting rainforests in Para Brazil 50 In 2022 a group of smaller non profit organizations signed an open letter to the Conservancy s CEO Jennifer Morris charging that The Nature Conservancy was overly supportive of logging interests and the use of tree planting as a natural climate solution 51 Efficiency and accountability Edit The Charity Navigator gave The Nature Conservancy a 3 star overall rating a 2 star financial rating and a 4 star accountability and transparency rating out of a maximum of four stars for the 2019 fiscal year 52 Hunting Edit Like many large environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the World Wildlife Fund the Conservancy includes allowances for hunting and fishing within its management policies The organization does not totally ban hunting or fishing but defers to state hunting and fishing regulations 53 Publication Edit The organization publishes The Nature Conservancy magazine ISSN 1540 2428 six issues per year Resale Edit There have been allegations of The Nature Conservancy obtaining land and reselling it at a profit sometimes to supporters and sometimes to large organizations that allows them to claim tax breaks 54 55 56 The Nature Conservancy argues that the profit from such sales allows The Nature Conservancy to increase its preservation of what the Nature Conservancy claims are more important locations 57 See also Edit Earth sciences portal Ecology portal Environment portalClimate Community amp Biodiversity Alliance List of environmental issues List of environmental organizations Natural capital Natural environment Natural landscape Natural resource Northwest Alliance Private protected area SustainabilityReferences Edit Grove Noel December 1988 Quietly Conserving Nature National Geographic 174 6 818 844 Articles Of Incorporation www nature org Archived from the original on December 1 2020 Retrieved November 23 2020 The Nature Conservancy Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended June 30 2018 and report thereon Archived February 16 2020 at the Wayback Machine Accessed November 22 2018 Yachnin Jennifer August 27 2021 Could non use rights boost conservation lands E amp E News Archived from the original on August 15 2022 Retrieved August 15 2022 a b c d e f g h Adams Jonathan S 2006 The Future of the Wild Beacon Press pp 51 54 ISBN 978 0 8070 8537 0 a b c Our History Archived December 20 2016 at the Wayback Machine The Nature Conservancy nature org Retrieved December 18 2016 About Us The Nature Conservancy Archived from the original on September 10 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 a b c Birchard Bill 2005 Nature s Keepers San Francisco CA Jossey Bass ISBN 0 7879 7158 8 a b Ottaway David B Stephens Joe May 4 2003 Nonprofit Land Bank Amasses Billions Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Archived from the original on October 5 2020 Retrieved August 15 2022 a b c d Stephens Joe Ottaway David May 13 2003 Nature Conservancy Suspends Land Sales Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved March 12 2022 Stephens Joe Ottaway David B May 6 2003 Nonprofit Sells Scenic Acreage to Allies at a Loss Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Archived from the original on February 5 2021 Retrieved March 12 2022 Stephens Joe May 10 2003 Charity s Land Deals To Be Scrutinized Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved March 12 2022 Stephens Joe March 31 2004 Overhaul of Nature Conservancy Urged Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved May 18 2022 Colman Zack Nature Conservancy president resigns in wake of sexual harassment probe POLITICO Archived from the original on October 11 2022 Retrieved March 27 2020 Colman Zack Nature Conservancy CEO Tercek exits as shake up widens POLITICO Archived from the original on October 11 2022 Retrieved December 1 2020 Colman Zack Nature Conservancy s Caribbean program chief to exit after probe POLITICO Archived from the original on October 11 2022 Retrieved March 27 2020 Colman Zack June 11 2019 Nature Conservancy taps Obama Interior secretary as interim CEO POLITICO Archived from the original on June 12 2019 Retrieved June 12 2019 Where We Work The Nature Conservancy Nature org Archived from the original on August 17 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Adams Lisa November 13 2004 Plan would protect swath of Yucatan forest San Diego Union Tribune Archived from the original on June 26 2015 Retrieved June 25 2015 Global Solutions Conservationgateway org Archived from the original on August 22 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 The Nature Conservancy Purchases 161 000 acres in New York The Land Report August 2007 Archived from the original on August 17 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Nature Conservancy News Room The Forestl Nature org Archived from the original on May 1 2010 Retrieved February 21 2014 Conservationists Go Big in Montana Land amp People The Trust for Public Land Tpl org June 12 2006 Archived from the original on August 22 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 The Montana Legacy Project Northwest Connections Northwestconnections org June 30 2008 Archived from the original on August 20 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Forests for America s Future The Nature Conservancy Nature org January 15 2016 Archived from the original on August 18 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Gunther Marc Behind one of the Nature Conservancy s largest ever forest purchases Guardian Sustainable Business The Guardian Archived from the original on August 26 2016 Retrieved December 8 2020 Who We Are Nature United Archived from the original on May 17 2021 Retrieved May 24 2021 Seychelles to protect more than 400 000 square kilometers of Ocean Reef Builders The Reef and Marine Aquarium Blog Reef Builders March 18 2016 Archived from the original on August 26 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 LDF Supports First Ever Debt for Nature Swap in Seychelles Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Leonardodicaprio org March 15 2016 Archived from the original on September 17 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Seychelles Debt Restructuring NatureVest Naturevesttnc org June 20 2014 Archived from the original on August 15 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Nature Conservancy Debt Swap to Finance Conservation in Seychelles News PND Philanthropynewsdigest org February 26 2015 Archived from the original on September 21 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 About Us NatureVest Naturevesttnc org Archived from the original on September 24 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Why TNC and JPMorgan Chase are investing 1 billion in nature GreenBiz com April 29 2014 Archived from the original on August 20 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 FT IFC Transformational Business Awards organised by FT Live Live ft com Archived from the original on August 17 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Plant A Billion Trees restore plant protect with The Nature Conservancy Plantabillion org Archived from the original on November 11 2020 Retrieved February 2 2013 Conservation amp Green News The Nature Conservancy Nature org Archived from the original on December 5 2010 Retrieved February 2 2013 Plant a Billion Plant a Billion Trees Archived from the original on May 14 2020 Retrieved June 1 2020 Watson Tom 2009 CauseWired Plugging In Getting Involved Changing the World Hoboken N J Wiley pp 48 49 ISBN 978 0470460108 Donate to our mission The Nature Conservancy Bottom right hand corner next to Sign up for e news Join the million supporters who stand with us January 1 2021 Archived from the original on March 7 2021 Retrieved February 28 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint others link Who we are The Nature Conservancy Australia Archived from the original on March 2 2021 Retrieved February 28 2021 The 200 Largest U S Charities List Environment Animal Forbes Archived from the original on February 15 2014 Retrieved February 21 2014 Working with Companies Companies We Work With The Nature Conservancy Nature org Archived from the original on August 18 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Board of Directors Member Profiles The Nature Conservancy Nature org Archived from the original on September 16 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Business Council The Nature Conservancy Nature org July 1 2016 Archived from the original on September 23 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Nature Conservancy faces potential backlash from ties with BP Washingtonpost com Archived from the original on June 4 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Reaching for a longer spoon The Economist June 3 2010 Archived from the original on March 22 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 a b Gillis Justin August 4 2014 Group Earns Oil Income Despite Pledge on Drilling The New York Times Archived from the original on April 24 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Klein Naomi May 1 2013 Time for Big Green to Go Fossil Free The Nation Archived from the original on August 15 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 a href Template Cite magazine html title Template Cite magazine cite magazine a Cite magazine requires magazine help Elgin Ben December 9 2020 Nature Conservancy Hooked Corporate America on an Empty Climate Solution Bloomberg Green No 3 Retrieved December 9 2020 Freedman Andrew September 7 2021 Amazon Nature Conservancy launch initiative to help preserve the Amazonian rainforest Axios Retrieved August 15 2022 Ketcham Christopher June 29 2022 Logging is destroying southern forests and dividing US environmentalists Grist Archived from the original on August 5 2022 Retrieved October 11 2022 Rating for The Nature Conservancy Charity Navigator Archived from the original on September 3 2016 Retrieved November 2 2016 The Nature Conservancy s Position on Hunting and Fishing PDF The Nature Conservancy April 2011 Archived PDF from the original on September 6 2019 Retrieved October 17 2019 Stephens Joe Ottaway David B June 8 2005 Senators Question Conservancy s Practices Washington Post Archived from the original on March 22 2017 Retrieved December 4 2020 Stephens Joe Ottaway David B May 16 2003 Charity Hiring Lawyers to Try to Prevent Hill Probe Washington Post Archived from the original on August 13 2018 Retrieved November 30 2020 The Chronicle of Philanthropy October 18 2007 Staff June 14 2003 In Wake of Criticism Nature Conservancy Changes Policies The New York Times Archived from the original on January 1 2015 Retrieved August 11 2014 Bibliography Edit Tercek Mark R Adams Jonathan 2013 Nature s Fortune How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature New York Basic Books ISBN 978 0 465 03181 8 Grove Noel with photographs by Stephen J Krasemann 1992 Preserving Eden The Nature Conservancy New York City Harry N Abrams Inc ISBN 0 8109 3663 1 Morine David E 1990 Good Dirt Confessions of a Conservationist Chester Connecticut Globe Pequot Press ISBN 0 87106 444 8 Birchard Bill 2005 Nature s Keepers San Francisco Jossey Bass a Wiley imprint ISBN 0 7879 7158 8 Stephens Joe Ottaway David B May 3 2003 Conservancy Scientists Question Their Role The Washington Post Stephens Joe Ottaway David B May 4 2003 420 000 a Year and No Strings Fund Conservancy Underreported President s Pay and Perks of Office The Washington Post External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Nature Conservancy Official website Nature United Cool Green Science The Conservation Blog of The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy s Geospatial Conservation Atlas Nature s Land Brokers Documentary produced by Idaho Public Television The Nature Conservancy at SourceWatch YouTube channel Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Nature Conservancy amp oldid 1134270224, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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