WCS Receives Gift from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

Black bear, Bear Mountain State Park ©WCS/J.Maher

The Wildlife Conservation Society has received a $2.6 million grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) to help fund wildlife and habitat protection efforts by local, regional, and national conservation groups. The grant supports joint efforts between non-governmental organizations and state fish and wildlife agencies to implement “wildlife action plans.” Part of the State Wildlife Grants Program passed by Congress in 2000, these plans design conservation strategies for key wildlife species in need of protection.

“This very generous grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation will allow conservation organizations to focus on the most pressing threats to wildlife and their habitats in the U.S. by working collaboratively with state wildlife agencies,” said WCS conservationist Craig Groves, the grant program director. “By helping to implement state wildlife action plans, conservation organizations can make great progress toward stemming the tide of habitat loss, the single greatest threat to wildlife in the United States, as well as addressing other key threats.”

The grant program will support projects that integrate land-use planning at the state or federal level, and promote state or federal agency incentive programs. It will also help fund pilot or demonstration projects on habitat stewardship or restoration, and projects that foster local or state-governmental policy changes that benefit priority species and habitats. An advisory committee made up of representatives from state and federal agencies, conservation organizations, and the philanthropic community will assist WCS in establishing and managing the grant program.

To date, DDCF has approved $43 million in grants to conservation organizations, including WCS. These grants support state wildlife action plans that identify critical lands, implement land protection, and build conservation knowledge.

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