Organizations & Institutions involved in Rewilding
North American OrganizationsThe Rewilding Institute:The Rewilding Institute Mission is "to develop and promote the ideas and stategies to andvance continential-scale conservation in North America, particularly the need for large carnivores and a permeable landscape for their movement, to offer a bold, scientifically credible, practically achievable, and hopeful vision for the future of wild Nature and human civilization in North America". Dave Foreman is Executive Director of The Rewilding Institute and an influential actor in Rewilding North America. Since The Rewilding Institutes creation it has been focused on educating the public about rewilding as well as implementing conservation efforts in North America. This institution is not known for its political involvement but it does indirectly effect policy by providing information to political leaders in the form of books and articles that explain the necessity of conservation efforts in North America. This institution is financially dependent mainly on donations from individuals and members, as well the Weeden Foundation, EMA Foundation, and Patagonia, Inc. The donations from individuals generally come in forms of gifts or the purchase of books. Some institutions The Rewilding Institution has connections with are New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, Sierra Club, Green Corps, American Zoo and Aquarium Association, as well as being connected with Michael Soule and the Society for Conservation Biology and the Wildlands Project and the Wild Farm Alliance. As is portrayed by the name of this organization, The Rewilding Institution is ProRewilding and is sponsoring Rewilding Programs across the globe.
Defenders of Wildlife:Defenders of Wildlife is an organization that is "dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities" that was founded in 1947. They are a politically active group. Currently they are urging President Obama to stop aerial wolf killings. In the past they have been influential in the recovery of wild bison (especially in Yellowstone) as well as preventing the “Jurassic Park” bill from being passed in Florida. They are a nonprofit organization so their funding comes from members donations, as well as programs hosted by Defenders of Wildlife like Wildlife Guardian and Wildlife Adoption programs. Having been an active organization for the past 65 years the Defenders of Wildlife have made both allies and enemies. On the Defenders Board of Directors they have science advisors from across the country, including universities like Harvard University, Princeton University, Stanford University, and University of North Carolina, as well as one advisor from the Institute of Zoology in London. In the past the Defenders of Wildlife have fought with United States Fish and Wildlife Service about mismanagement of Mexican gray wolf recovery program. They have also fought with Big Oil & Big Developers, who wanted to deny any new species from being added to the Endangered Species list, which resulted in Congressmen from both parties joining together to stop this Extinction Rider from making it through Congress. In respect to Rewilding, the Defenders would be considered Pro-Rewilding of native species.
Sierra Club:The Sierra Club was founded over a century ago in 1892 and have spent that time working on maintaining their original purpose, to be an organization that is recreational, educational, and conservationist in nature. Currently the Sierra Club has 6 main projects that are described in the Climate Recovery Agenda. The Climate Recovery Agenda is a "set of initiatives that will help cut carbon emissions 80% by 2050, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, create a clean-energy economy, and protect our natural heritage, communities, and country from the consequences of global warming”. These campaigns range from working with youth to promoting smarter/greener transportation. The campaign of the Sierra Club that is directly related to Rewilding is the Greater Yellowstone Resilient Habitats Campaign which “works to protect, connect and restore wild lands, rivers and wildlife in the face of a changing climate”. This campaign has 4 objectives; Create climate-resilient habitats in 10 targeted ecosystems by 2020, increase the resilience of natural systems on all federal lands and waters by 2020, increase the resilience of priority wildlife habitats in every state by 2020, and by 2020, 20 million acres of private lands and waters are managed in perpetuity as resilient habitats. While attempting to achieve these objectives the Sierra Club is working to prevent industrialization of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), protect & connect intact wild places, and protect iconic wildlife of the GYE, like the gray wolf, bison, grizzly bear, or lynx. In order to achieve these goals Sierra Club recieves its funding from member gifts or benefactors like Google; REI; Tom Scholz & Boston; Fred & Alice Stanback; and Microsoft. The Sierra Club endorses many democratic Congressional candidates, including Ben Cardin from Maryland. They are also supporters of the Utah Wilderness Campaign, which is a partner with the Rewilding Institute. Thus showing that when concerned with Rewilding the Sierra Club is generally supportive.
Great Plains Restoration Council:The Great Plains Restoration Council (GPRC) is one of the main founders of the emerging Ecological Health movement. Its mission is to "work to restore and protect shattered prairies and plains through developing youth leaders in Ecological Health. Protecting wild nature is a matter of public health, and participating in its hands-on recovery offers therapeutic modalities for many social & physical ills." GPRC has two main social work groups, Restoration Not Incarceration & Plains Youth InterACTION that are used to achieve their mission. The Buffalo Commons is one of the most well known projects by the GPRC. It began in 1987 by Dr. Frank & Deborah Popper. This project will "help reestablish and reconnect prairie wildland reserves and ecological corridors large enough for bison & other native prairie wildlife to survive and roam freely". This is in alignment with rewilding in a way that few other organizations could be. GPRC is not a politically active group although the programs that it hosts are influential in determining what changes occur in specific places around the nation. It is also influencing the youth in certain areas, who will become leaders of the ecological movement. GPRC is a nonprofit organization, like most other restoration organizations, which accepts donations from organizations and individuals. The North Face has provided funds for GPRC in the past to support the Plains Youth InterACTION program. Other organizations that have been connected to GPRC are Dixon Water Foundation, Native Prairies Association, and the Wildlands Restoration Corporation. The GPRC is Pro-Rewilding in the sense that it is attempting to protect the land that will be influential in the success of rewilding. Unlike many other organizations that are pro-rewilding in specific instances, the goals of GPRC align with Rewilding goals in a more broad way.
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International InstitutionsThe Knepp Wildland Project:The Knepp Castle is located in West Sussex, England. It has a long history of allowing wild animals to roam free in a park setting. Deer roamed free on this land in the past, until the 16th century when the iron industry was introduced to the area. However, during the 18th century the land was turned into an agriculture landscape, which then developed into a park. The Knepp Wildland Project's aims are to improve the biodiversity of the land by enabling natural processes to take place, encouraging the return of the ecosystem from the British countryside; to implement as near-natural grazing regime as possible, within the limits required by animal welfare law and the production of top-quality meat for human consumption; to monitor changes in landscape; to contribute to scientific research on naturalistic and conservation grazing and habitat restoration projects; and to advise other projects how to minimize adverse impacts on wildlife. Knepp is not a political institution, it does follow specific management conditions set by Natural England under the Higher Level Stewardship agreement, including a Capital Works Plan. These management conditions understand that this area is an open area, available to the public for specific events like weedings or charity gift fairs, yet maintain that the land is not to be changed in any significant way, detailed in the agreement, for the augmentation or destruction of wildlife by anthropogenic influences. Funding for the Knepp Castle area comes from the events hosted on the land as well as from products like meat, timber, and dairy. The Knepp Castle is associated with Wildland Network, The Global Restoration Network, The Large Herbivore Foundation, and Hans Kampf. This estate is Pro-Rewilding since it is the application of rewilding in Britain. The Knepp Castle is considered one of the first places in the world to have successfully rewilded an area. Oostvaardersplassen:Oostvaardersplassen is a nature reserve located in the Netherlands that began in 1968, when large bodies of water were left alone instead of developed into an industrial area, by Franz Vera. The Oostvaardersplassen was then made a Staatsnatuurmonument (State Natural Monument) thus "allowing a comprehensive, nutrient-rich marsh ecosystem to develop". Oostvaardersplassen was at one point managed by The Rijksdienst voor de IJsselmeerpolders (the State Service for the IJsselmeer reclaimed land) but is now under Staatsbosbeheer control. It is the governments wish to continue to allow space for nature to grow and is currently working on creating Oostvaarderland, which will also have an ecological corridor for animals and plants. They then want to create "a robust connection to the Veluwe and, via the Veluwe Massive, with the rest of Europe". The objective of this land is to "provide room for natural dynamics" while "limiting human intervention". The Heck cattle is one example of a reintroduced animal into Oostvaardersplassen. In 1983, 32 Heck cattle were introduced at the Oostvaardersplassen. Since their introduction the cattle have prospered and developed naturally. They have also introduced konik horses & reddeertoOostvaardersplassen. Oostvaardersplassen is associated with The Dutch Animal Welfare Association, as well as The Rijksdienst voor de IJsselmeerpolders and Staatsbosbeheer and the Council of Europe. As is apparent by the structure of this park, Oostvaardersplassen is pro-rewilding, as it is an application of the rewilding concepts.
World Wildlife Fund:The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was created in 1961 in order to provide financial support for the conservation organizations across the globe. The WWF's mission is "to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth." In North America, WWF is working to conserve the living prairie, by collaborating with tribal leaders, private landowners and land management agencies to improve land and wildlife management practices; create opportunities to reward landowners for conservation practices; and conserve & restore endangered and threatened species & their habitats. Currently the WWF is opposing the production of a new coal-fired power station in Ayrshire. During this past year the WWF has been influential in convincing the UK's Deputy Prime Minister to attend the Rio+20 Conference as well as working on incorporating the use of Sustainable Development Goals into the post 2015 International Development Framework. WWF is also aiming to build a program called One Planet Future, which will allow people and nature to thrive on this planet. World Wildlife Fund is a funding agency, much of its funding is from its members, major donors, foundation & corporations, government grants & contracts. WWF is affiliated with HSBC, Marks & Spencer, RSA, Sky, MBNA, Tetra Pak, SAB Miller, The Coca-Cola Company, Barclays, Vodafone, BT, Ecover, United Biscuits, BGL, WarmGuard Ltd, Coinstar, LCRSL as well as the UK government’s Department for International Development. Some events the WWF hosts are Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon, London to Paris, and the Loch Ness Marathon. Considering the WWF's attempts to conserve the landscapes that would be used for rewilding and its efforts to protect endangered species, it is shown that WWF will be influential in rewilding efforts across the globe.
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