NFWF Will Use Funds to Safeguard Northern Great Plains and Longleaf Pine Forests

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Bezos Earth Fund today announced a new $60 million grant to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to restore and conserve two vital yet imperiled U.S. landscapes – the Northern Great Plains grasslands and longleaf pine forests of the Southeast. The grant marks the largest single philanthropic commitment for landscape restoration to NFWF.

Over the past three years the Bezos Earth Fund has already provided $90 million in funding to NFWF and over 200 local partners, enabling the restoration and improved management of 2.7 million acres of land, an area larger than Yellowstone National Park, across 47 states. This new grant reflects surging demand for restoration support from farmers, ranchers, Indigenous-led organizations, and community groups. Requests for support in grassland and longleaf pine ecosystems have increased six-fold over the past two years.

"America’s landscapes are treasures that reflect the very heart of our country. By restoring these grasslands and forests, we’re safeguarding their natural beauty for future generations," said Jeff Bezos, Chair of the Bezos Earth Fund. "This partnership is another step toward a future where these iconic American places continue to thrive."

Grasslands are among the most threatened and least protected ecosystems on the planet, while longleaf pine forests boast some of the greatest biodiversity outside of the tropics. Both have been reduced to a fraction of their historical range. Locally led restoration in these areas can have globally significant impact.

“This new phase of work with NFWF will help bring life back to vital U.S. landscapes, protecting their beauty and supporting the communities that rely on them,” said Lauren Sánchez, Vice Chair for the Bezos Earth Fund. “It is part of our larger $1 billion commitment to restore landscapes around the world that have been lost or damaged.”

The new grant from the Bezos Earth Fund will build on the past success of this partnership by restoring and improving management of an additional 1.6 million acres within the Northern Great Plains and longleaf pine landscapes. Over the next two years, 80-100 local projects across Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska in the Northern Great Plains, and Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia in the longleaf pine region, will be supported to restore health to degraded ecosystems, boost at-risk species populations, and enhance carbon sequestration and storage.

Supported activities include planting native trees and grasses, treating invasive species, and improving land management practices through managed grazing in the Great Plains and prescribed burning in longleaf forests. Projects also focus on species-specific interventions, such as ensuring safe passage for migrating pronghorns and mule deer and boosting populations of at-risk species like the black-footed ferret, gopher tortoise, and red-cockaded woodpecker, as well as game species such as the bobwhite quail and wild turkey.

“Our partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund allows us to capitalize on the surge in momentum in the Northern Great Plains and longleaf pine ecosystems and significantly scale up our work in both landscapes," said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. "By collaborating with local partners and leveraging federal and private funding, we’re making real progress toward bringing back these iconic American landscapes.”

In addition to nature benefits, locally led restoration is contributing to carbon storage and sequestration. Taken together, projects supported by the Earth Fund are expected to sequester or store 35-52 million metric tons of CO2e over the next 30 years, contributing to the partnership’s broader goals for climate mitigation. This is equivalent to taking 8-12 million passenger vehicles off the road for one year.

Through this two-year grant from the Bezos Earth Fund, with multi-year impact monitoring, the Earth Fund and NFWF seek to empower local projects with the resources needed to execute longer-term, more ambitious strategies for ecosystem health. This new grant will deepen community engagement and provide technical assistance to more than 1,250 private landowners to develop land management plans, access financial resources, and implement conservation and restoration practices.

Taken together, these efforts aim to bolster the long-term sustainability of these vital ecosystems and the communities that rely on them.

CONTACT: Bezos Earth Fund press@bezosearthfund.org