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7. Environmental Philanthropy
- Johns Hopkins University Press
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7 Environmental Philanthropy Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. theodore roosevelt This page intentionally left blank [44.195.47.227] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 12:04 GMT) 109 the american president known far and wide as ‘‘Teddy’’ was a passionate environmentalist/conservationist and a genuine pioneer, who reflected the prevailing spirit and attitudes of the period. He passionately hunted and fished throughout America and abroad. His larder from an African safari in 1909 was impressive by an earlier standard, but it astounds us today. His yearlong expedition to British East Africa and the Congo produced 1,100 specimens for taxidermy. Because zoos had not yet perfected animal management, and few of the inhabitants prospered in captivity, naturalists of the period often collected carcasses for exhibition and for careful study by specialists in natural history museums. Roosevelt provided a wealth of knowledge in his material donations to the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Smithsonian in the nation’s capital. The realistic depiction of groups of animals within a naturalistic diorama was a precursor to landscape-immersive exhibits in modern zoological parks. Just as relevant to a modern generation, Roosevelt’s words of encouragement are enlarged on the interior walls of the New York museum’s rotunda: There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm. During Roosevelt’s time, early in the twentieth century, the federal government began to annex land for protection A Contract with the Earth 110 and recreation. His legacy can be measured in acres. He protected 230 million acres during his presidency, including 150 national forests, 51 wildlife refuges, and 18 monuments, such as the Grand Canyon National Monument . He established the nation’s fifth national park at Crater Lake, Oregon, in 1902, and he founded the National Park Service to further conservation on federal lands. Today , municipal, state, and federal governments often enter into private-public partnerships to secure and to protect wildlife habitat. Philanthropy is an essential component of any strategy to protect intact ecosystems for the future. Conservation International (CI) and the Nature Conservancy are two of the most active and committed nonprofit environmental organizations engaged in the purchase and protection of threatened and endangered habitat around the world, but many local, regional, and state land trusts are equally committed. Today, environmental leadership is expressed by governments , corporations, nonprofits, and individuals any of which (or whom) can take the lead in a private-public partnership. Increasingly, partnerships on the environment are multigovernmental among towns and cities; county or regional governmental bodies; state and federal agencies; or legislatures. An enduring example is the partnership to protect the surrounding land and waters of the Chattahoochee River flowing through the southern states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. In 1990, the river was identified as one of the ten most Environmental Philanthropy 111 endangered rivers in the United States. Because Newt Gingrich represented a key section of the Chattahoochee, its significance locally and regionally made it a high priority for a unique private-public partnership. Legislation in the House of Representatives in 1996 appropriated $25 million from National Park Service sources to enhance the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area near Atlanta . This legislation had provisions for matching grants from the private sector. The funding expanded to a $160 million land acquisition fund consisting of private and public funding and a list of partners, including the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Atlanta Regional Commission, seven Georgia counties, and seven Georgia cities. With assistance from the private, nonprofit Trust for Public Land, the campaign for land protection ultimately preserved 146 miles of Chattahoochee riverbank. Privatepublic partnerships are working throughout the nation in projects designed to protect our natural resources from the pressure of urban sprawl and the relentless growth of our cities. As we identify opportunities to purchase and set aside forested and wetland bu√ers around the nation ’s essential rivers, streams, and lakes, organized fundraising will become a top priority. The distinction between one-time charitable giving and philanthropy should be noted. Philanthropy is organized, strategic giving to solve longstanding problems. Col- [44.195.47.227] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 12:04 GMT) A Contract with the Earth 112 laborative philanthropy, when paired with governmental or business investments is a powerful incentive for constructive dialogue on...