I was looking back through some old newsletters recently and realized it has been almost seven years since I wrote about The Nature Conservancy. Because they are one of my favorite conservation organizations, I thought it was time to revisit their good work. Founded in 1951, TNC has protected more than 119 million acres of land and over 5,000 miles of rivers.

A major concern of many folks who are willing to give their hard earned money to a nonprofit organization is the issue of accountability. TNC continually scores at the highest levels given by watchdog groups. In other words, the money you give doesn’t go to overpaid CEOs, it makes it to the land where it belongs. Another great thing that you can do is to specify where you want your money to go. I can choose my annual gift to be split between North Carolina (where I grew up) and Missouri.

While TNC operates in all 50 states and around the world, I am most familiar with their work here in Missouri. Their Dunn Ranch (Grand River Grasslands) area near Eagleville has grown to more than 5,000 acres of protected native grassland and their extensive work in the Ozarks is protecting streams and woodlands that are critical for many of our woodland birds.

As you can imagine, their work does not come cheap and they totally depend on donations to keep going. Please visit www.nature.org for more information and consider joining today.

By Mark McKellar

SUMMER 2009