It’s been a busy year here at WILD….a lot to recap. AND, we’re moving into 20111 with gusto! Below, I’ve copied our annual letter that went out to WILD donors this past week. I encourage you to also read our 2010 annual report, which covers our FY 2009 audit. Another good read is our recently printed brochure on Nature Needs Half™.

This year, we have a really special year-end giving opportunity. Every donation will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $25,000 by a generous donor. WILD is a smart choice for giving and is rated by Charity Navigator as a 4-star charity – the highest rating – for our organizational efficiency and their organizational capacity. Give the gift of wilderness today >

Dear WILD friends,

Thank you for making wild nature a top priority. We all love wildlife and the solitude and beauty of wild landscapes, but protecting wild nature is about so much more than these experiences. We evolved within wild nature, formed our bodies, developed our minds and felt our spirit. She provides us – and all life – with irreplaceable “life support” services such as clear air and water, medicines and foods, climate control and more. Quite simply, life on Earth is only possible because of wild nature.

The holiday season helps us re-charge two essential human feelings – thankfulness and hope. Here at WILD we are extremely thankful for your continued support, and hope that together we can generate the positive and necessary actions to protect and sustain wild nature and its many gifts.

As I worked with our partners and projects around the world this year, I realized that it is time to “crank up the energy” – to fully acknowledge the current state of our world, create a collective vision and a personal attitude that befits a healthier planet, and to take action to protect more of our planet so that all plants, animals and people on earth can thrive.

Nature-Needs-Half-(TM)_web

At WILD, we’ve fearlessly embraced a holistic vision that addresses both the symptoms we see around us and the underlying causes. Nature Needs Half™ is a global call to action to protect and interconnect at least half of the planet’s land and water. This vision is supported by the best ecosystem science and is achievable when it is applied from the grass roots, region by region.

Over the past year, we’ve worked tirelessly to expand and apply this vision in our own community and around the world by:

Boulder, CO, Photo (c) Morgan Heim

leafWorking in our neighborhood – Boulder County, where WILD’s headquarter office is located, is over half protected already – but this living legacy is at risk of being “loved to death”. With local partners, we’re highlighting Boulder as a Nature Needs Half™ multi-media case study, while working to address the management challenges and protect this natural treasure for all people, for all time.

leafReaching out to partners across the globe – We work daily to expand the network of individuals and organizations who adopt the Nature Needs Half™ vision. Partners from Latin America to Asia are developing Nature Needs Half™ programs within their own organizations and in their local areas, building the global movement and working toward the global goal.

leafFacilitating collaboration – The North American Wilderness Agreement, signed at WILD9 (the 9th World Wilderness Congress, Mexico 2009), encourages and enhances practical collaboration between land management agencies in Mexico, Canada and US. As the facilitator of this international group, WILD works with the three governments on a continental-scale vision for wilderness, encouraging trans-boundary conservation initiatives, collaborative science and training, and creating new types of protected areas (such as marine and private land wilderness designations) and more.

Mali Elephant Project, Photo (c) Carlton Ward

leafImplementing on-the-ground field projects – Our ongoing field projects such as the Mali Elephant Project (West Africa) and the Zulu Village project (South Africa) foster the relationship between people and nature. These hands-on programs work with community members and decision makers to ensure that both people and nature benefit.

In 2011, we’ll continue these ongoing efforts, and expand our work through:

leafNew Programs & Projects – In 2011, we will expand our work in Canada, teaming up with government and conservation partners to further the Nature Needs Half™ vision. Working with The Wilderness Network, In the Tracks of Giants, a new program, will follow traditional elephant migration routes through southern Africa – from Angola to Swaziland – emphasizing interconnected, wild landscapes.

Rocheuses-et-otoskwin, Canadian Boreal, photo (c) Harvey Locke

leafWorld Wilderness Congress – Following on the huge success of WILD9, we are working with our European colleagues to determine the possibility of WILD10, with Nature Needs Half™ as a key organizing theme.

leafWild-Nature and the Arts – WILD was founded on the principle importance of the human connection to wild-nature. We continue this work through innovative communications and the arts. In 2011, we will share international stories of Nature Needs Half™ through numerous online media outlets, fine arts and publications.

As we look to the New Year, we need your support in order for the Nature Needs Half™ vision to have real,positive and lasting impacts on our planet. Please join us – let’s move forward with this bold, new vision for nature and people. Your continued support is essential in our work for wilderness, wildlife and people.

This year, we have a very special year-end matching gift. Every contribution, up to $25,000, will be matched dollar for dollar by an angel donor. Please help us reach this important goal — make a contribution today in support of nature world-wide. Your HALF can make a WHOLE lot of difference!

Thank you!! And, let’s go! Best wishes for a WILD New Year,

Vance Martin
President

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