FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rob Aldrich
Director of Communications
raldrich@lta.org | 202-800-2225

Grant is part of $3 million philanthropic effort to support community-based environmental projects

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Land Trust Alliance today received a grant from Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) as part of a $3 million Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program across 64 community-based nonprofits nationwide to help support land and water conservation, energy efficiency, infrastructure, and educational outreach.

“We are excited to be a recipient of this highly competitive Wells Fargo environmental grant program,” said Rand Wentworth, President of the Land Trust Alliance.  “We truly appreciate being recognized and will use this grant to strengthen the work of the Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation, which is a coalition of local, regional, state and national land trusts and land conservation organizations devoted to improving land and water conservation on private lands in the Gulf of Mexico coastal region.”  

The initiative is organized under the auspices of the Land Trust Alliance and is patterned after the many successful land protection collaborations operating in other regions of the United States. Wentworth added “This work creates a healthier, more sustainable ecosystem for wildlife and local families who visit there to enjoy nature.”

The Land Trust Alliance was named among 64 nonprofit recipients of Wells Fargo’s 2013 Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program across the country in honor of Earth Day. The grant program began in 2012 as part of Wells Fargo’s commitment to provide $100 million to environmentally-focused nonprofits and universities by 2020. It is funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through a $15 million, five-year relationship to promote environmental stewardship across the country.

“We’re pleased to announce the Land Trust Alliance as a recipient of Wells Fargo’s environmental grant program to help provide long-term solutions to the Southeast region’s environmental challenges,” said Ashley Grosh, head of Wells Fargo Environmental Philanthropy.

The goal of the Wells Fargo Environmental grant program is to provide cash grants for highly impactful projects that link economic development and community well-being to the stewardship and health of the environment. The Land Trust Alliance was identified by Wells Fargo and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) as being in need of extra support in sustaining and advancing the coalition of private, non-governmental land and water conservation organizations working in the Gulf of Mexico.

“We sought out the best ideas and programs to protect and conserve the environment for local communities,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “Through Wells Fargo’s generous contributions, these community-based projects will provide immediate benefits to local ecosystems and will help build and strengthen environmental stewardship ethics.”

The grant program funded proposals in select cities/regions (see full list) in the following focus areas:

• sustainable agriculture and forestry
• conservation of land and water resources
• energy efficiency and urban infrastructure
• community outreach and environmental education

The community and environmental impacts of all grants will be measured and reported. For example, in 2012, the Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program collectively funded 8,621 acres of habitat restoration and 165,970 newly planted trees. The grants also helped reduce more than 2 million gallons of runoff water and an estimated 331,840 pounds in CO2¹.

View the full list of 2013 winners. Details of the program and a link to the 2014 application can be found at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation application website.

¹ Environmental impact estimates were made using the National Arbor Day Tree Benefit Calculator. View more information.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank’s customers who conduct business in the global economy.

A leader in reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions and building sustainably, Wells Fargo has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Center for Corporate Climate Leadership, the Carbon Disclosure Project and the U.S. Green Building Council. Since 2005, Wells Fargo has provided more than $21 billion in environmental finance, supporting sustainable buildings and renewable energy projects nationwide. This includes investments in more than 260 solar projects and 34 wind projects that generate enough clean renewable energy to power hundreds of thousands of American homes each year. For more information, please visit. www.wellsfargo.com/environment.

About The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

Established by Congress in 1984, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) sustains, restores and enhances the nation's fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Working with federal, corporate and individual partners, it has awarded over 12,100 grants to more than 4,000 organizations and leveraged $618 million in federal funds into $2.1 billion for on-the-ground conservation. To learn more, visit www.nfwf.org.

About The Land Trust Alliance

The Alliance is a national conservation organization that works in three ways to save the places people love. First, we increase the pace of conservation, so more land and natural resources are protected.  Second, we improve the quality of conservation, so the most important lands are protected using the best practices in the business. And third, we ensure the permanence of conservation by creating the laws and resources needed to defend protected land over time. The Land Trust Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and has several regional offices. Visit www.landtrustalliance.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rob Aldrich
Director of Communications
202-800-2225| raldrich@lta.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Land Trust Alliance, a national conservation organization representing 1,700 land trusts that work to save the places people love, announced Barton James as its new conservation campaign director. James, formerly the director of public policy for Ducks Unlimited, will guide the Alliance’s advocacy program to build a national grass-tops network.

"I am delighted to join the Alliance in the tremendous task of harnessing the political strength of the nation’s 1,700 land trusts by expanding the relationships that land trusts have with members of Congress,” said James. "As an avid sportsman I’ve seen firsthand the critical role land trusts play in ensuring the opportunities and places I hold dear, an important legacy I want to pass on to my sons." James has worked closely over the years with the Alliance policy team through his role at DU, an accredited land trust.

Throughout his career, James has been involved in advocacy and conservation. For nearly nine years, he served as the lead for DU’s public policy work with federal agencies and Congress on agriculture, tax issues, clean water, coastal habitat loss, the Army Corps, water supply, Great Lakes restoration and hunting issues. James served as a political appointee in the Bush Administration at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Small Business Administration. James has also served as a staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives and as a political consultant.

"James' commitment to conservation is an energizing force, and his relationships and access on Capitol Hill are great examples of the type of relationships we look forward to building with our member land trusts" said Mary Pope Hutson, Executive Vice President with the Land Trust Alliance. "His vast experience in political advocacy will contribute greatly to the Alliance's ability to increase the political strength of the land conservation community."

James will lead a newly-created arm of the Alliance’s public policy program constructing a national grass tops network in partnership with land trusts nationwide. The goal is to ensure that the most important lands get protected by creating the federal and state laws and resources necessary for permanent protection.

About The Land Trust Alliance

The Alliance is a national conservation organization that works in three ways to save the places people love. First, we increase the pace of conservation, so more land and natural resources are protected.  Second, we improve the quality of conservation, so the most important lands are protected using the best practices in the business. And third, we ensure the permanence of conservation by creating the laws and resources needed to defend protected land over time. The Land Trust Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and has several regional offices. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Alliance. www.landtrustalliance.org

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