Forest Guardians
Forest Guardians is a non profit environmental organization that is based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico. We believe that the diversity of wildlife, plants and ecosystems, and our untrammeled wild spaces, hold the key to the rehabilitation of our impoverished region Our economic and cultural success are inextricably tied to a healthy land.
Forest Guardians celebrated 15 years of defending wildness on September 30th, 2004. We’re looking forward to many more years of successes and challenges at the vanguard of the environmental movement—redefining the public debate about wildlands conservation and preservation. [1]
Mission Statement
Founded in 1989, Forest Guardians has emerged as a results-driven group with a proven record of defending and preserving threatened southwestern wildlife and ecosystems. Our approach to conservation features a potent combination of scientific analysis, strategic litigation to enforce existing environmental laws, and efforts to reform misguided public polices.
Endangered Species
Forest Guardians is working to fundamentally reform federal endangered species policy by steadily applying pressure on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list and provide critical habitat for [[endangered species]| imperiled species]; watch-dogging federal land managers such as the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to ensure their activities do not harm species on the brink; and raising awareness in the media and among the public of the importance of recovering at-risk native animals and plants and the need to bring this mandate home to our federal, state, and local governments.
such as:
- The Black-footed Ferret
- The Burrowing Owl
- The Utah Prairie Dog
River Restoration
In this land of little rain, the green river corridors are literally the lifeblood of our communities. In New Mexico, over 80% of the state's population resides in cities along the Rio Grande. But waterways are not only the lifeblood of human communities in the Southwest, these rivers are also the biological backbone of our arid ecosystem. Eighty percent of all vertebrate species in the Southwest depend on riparian areas, and over half these species cannot survive without regular access to riparian zones.
Southwestern river systems are suffering from decades of improper land management. Water diversions, flood control, and cattle grazing have all contributed to the degradation of southwestern river systems. Dewatering and overgrazing and other stresses have eliminated native trees and allowed invasive non-native trees to become established, all of which further stresses the ability of these critical ecosystems to function properly.
Grazing Reform
Livestock production is by far the most widespread destructive activity on the arid and semi-arid western landscape. Forest Guardians is working to fundamentally reform livestock grazing on public lands by enforcing federal environmental laws, challenging wasteful and ecologically harmful ranching subsidies, and educating the public about the real ecological costs of livestock production in the arid Southwest.
Deserts and Grasslands
North America’s native prairie and desert habitats are among the most endangered biological communities on the continent. These areas continue suffering abuse from over-grazing, relentless oil and gas development, urban sprawl, irresponsible recreation, and other human-caused threats. Forest Guardians works to stop this destruction and to restore fully thriving natural grassland and desert communities and recover imperiled species that belong within them. We focus on Central and Southern Shortgrass Prairies of the high plains and the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. Forest Guardians aims to transform a mainstream image of arid landscapes from wastelands to wildplaces.
Staff
- Whitney Bacon -
- Bryan Bird, MS - Forest Program Director
- Rosie Brandenberger - Communications Director
- Melissa Hailey, JD - Grazing Reform Program Attorney
- John Horning - Executive Director
- Merrin Johnson - Fiscal Manager
- Jim Matison - Restoration Coordinator and Program Assistant
- Lauren McCain, PhD - Desert and Grasslands Program Coordinator
- Carol Norton - Associate Director
- Chioma Mary Oruh - Office Manager
- Nicole Rosmarino, PhD - Conservation Director
How to Get Involved
If you are intrested in making a donation to Forest Guardians click here to be directed to their donation page. If you are intrested in reading more about other enviromental organizations click here.
External Links
- ^ About Forest Guardians Forest Guardian Home Page