Shiras Moose Conservation Fund
by The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming press release
October 20, 2007
The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming has announced a $250,000 challenge grant to Wyoming’s Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust for private lands conservation projects that focus on the Shiras moose, an iconic species living on the Wyoming Range’s eastern slope.
“This generous effort...solidifies [the Conservancy's] place as a leader in conservation,” says Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal.
The Conservancy’s Shiras Moose Conservation Fund is a challenge: Of the $250,000 donation, $150,000 will kick in only when the Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust has raised another $150,000 in private funds.
Once matched again by the trust and the legislature, the Conservancy’s challenge could amount to $1.2 million in on-the-ground conservation.
“The Nature Conservancy’s grant is a very generous contribution that deserves to be matched,” says Bob Budd, Wyoming’s Wildlifeand Natural Resource Trust executive director. “The trust really likes to see these kinds of leveraging opportunities; so does the legislature.”
What the Fund Supports:
If met, the Conservancy’s fund will support trust-selected conservation easements on a million-acre stretch of private ranch lands harboring what many believe is the largest concentration of Shiras moose in North America.
The focus area lies along the Green River between Bondurant and Kemmerer. Moose, a species that depend on this landscape’s wetlands and riparian habitats, face increasing threats from growing residential and energy development.
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