The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Laura Huffman Photo © Barbara Laing/TNC

Dear Friends:

As we bask in the glow of the recent Thanksgiving holiday, I figured it would be a terrific time to update y’all on the many great things that have happened at The Nature Conservancy recently. This news will give you the same warm feeling you get after eating a giant Thanksgiving meal – only you won’t need a long nap or a looser belt once you’re done reading. This is fat- free conservation news that will make you want to roll up your sleeves and get even more great work done (and possibly even bake a celebratory pie).

Home on the Range for Two Cranes and a Black Bear
Fall has brought some important changes to our state; for one, we have all stopped breaking a sweat every 20 minutes. The relief from our heat wave was welcome and signs of conservation success literally came out to show us what they got. There is nothing quite like the first whooping crane sighting of the year at our Mad Island Preserve. We had two cranes drop in recently, and while their stay was brief, it was a positive sign of the species’ population growth and the great habitat we helped create in Mad Island’s marshlands. We also had the first confirmed black bear sighting at our Dolan Falls Preserve – more tangible proof that the whole system conservation work we are doing is, well, working. You get the habitat right and you’ll see the results.

Moving the Needle
The past few months have been incredibly busy and wildly productive. Our board of trustees recently reviewed and approved a number of important conservation deals. Here’s a quick look at what they did:   

1. Approved conservation easements donated by private landowners on the Guadalupe and Pedernales Rivers in Central Texas
2. Accepted a land donation adjacent to the Davis Mountains Preserve in West Texas
3. Approved the purchase, on behalf of Travis County, of a major land acquisition on the Pedernales River
4. Supported the Texas conservation team in closing a deal for a new state park in Palo Pinto County on behalf of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

What do these deals add up to for Texas? In sheer dollar terms, these deals represent about $31 million in conservation, but in terms of meaningful, long-term conservation, the value is incalculable. Here’s what we’ve done:

• We added to the scale of our Davis Mountains Preserve. Science teaches us that conservation isn’t just a project here or a project there; being effective requires us to think about whole systems. The Davis Mountains Preserve is one of our best examples of what right looks like. 
• We helped create a new state park to serve the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, which features a permanent stream, dramatic topography, and habitat for golden-cheeked warblers and other songbirds. Texans from across the state (and even visiting Oklahomans) will be able to enjoy a wide variety of recreational activities and the natural beauty of North Texas.
• We have protected water using some time-tested methods. In Travis County, the passage on November 8 of Proposition 2 authorized more than $80 million in water protection funds and was passed overwhelmingly by votes. The Conservancy also negotiated the contract for 600+ acres dubbed Southern Avaña, which is the centerpiece of the county’s water conservation efforts. This tract of land sits directly over a portion of the incredibly sensitive Edward’s Aquifer recharge zone.
• On the statewide ballot, voters authorized an additional $2 billion to invest in important water and infrastructure projects. And while we’re disappointed our water stewardship proposition did not pass (likely due to confusing ballot language), we still succeeded in building a broad coalition of support, which cut across every perceived difference you can think of. We had the backing of every major newspaper and chamber of commerce in Texas – who else can say that?
• With that broad support in Texas, we moved the ball even further down the field and increased our chapter’s nationwide visibility with major stories in The New York Times, the Huffington Post, MSNBC, Scientific American and MTV.com.

Celebrating our Conservancy Heroes
In October, we remembered and honored a long time conservationist and TNC trustee Dick Bartlett by erecting a memorial plaque at our Davis Mountains Preserve. He was bigger than life and it is fitting that this ‘at scale’ preserve is how he’ll be remembered.

We’ve got other heroes, too. We’re proud to say the list of Conservancy donors continues to grow. It’s exciting to see how many of you are standing up for conservation and standing behind the work we are doing.

Happy Birthday to Us
The Nature Conservancy celebrated its 60th birthday last month, proving our basic conservation recipe has stood the test of time. The reasons are simple: we are a science-based, field-oriented organization with a strong bias toward action and a global reach. In plain English, that means we get a lot done, and we get it done with partnerships all around the world. In Texas alone, we’ve conserved over a million acres of land, helped craft important state laws that protect flow regimes in our rivers and done some important proof-of-concept oyster reef restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico.

It is also striking to see how many volunteers around the country help – I mean, really help – lead. It’s pretty neat to work in an organization that not only strives to leave a local footprint, but understands that 100 percent of innovation does not and should not come from within. Our trustees do a lot of heavy lifting, too.

And it happened, didn’t it? You got that warm feeling. Delicious, isn’t it? This year, as with every year, we are thankful for the time, energy and investment you have made in us. I hope you can see the difference it makes.

Laura Huffman
State Director