National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and ConocoPhillips Announce Nearly $1 Million in Grants from the SPIRIT of Conservation and Innovation Program

HOUSTON, Nov. 30, 2017 -- The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) today announced $994,000 in grants to help improve priority habitats and advance innovative water projects in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Texas and Wyoming. The grants will generate $1.9 million in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of $2.9 million.

The grants were awarded through the ConocoPhillips SPIRIT of Conservation and Innovation Program, a partnership between NFWF, ConocoPhillips and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“These grants combine proven approaches and cutting-edge practices to maximize conservation benefits,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “They will support time-tested, cost-effective habitat restoration strategies in key areas while also providing resources to foster the application of emerging tools to address some of the most pressing conservation challenges in these locations.” 

In Alaska, the grants will support projects that will remove a stream passage barrier on the Eklutna River, opening up 7 miles of stream habitat to five different species of Pacific Salmon, evaluate the use of northern Alaska’s barrier island ecosystem by nesting common eiders, and use cutting-edge tracking technologies to determine the most important staging sites on the Arctic Coast for arctic breeding shorebirds.

In Colorado and Texas, projects will focus on restoring grassland bird habitat by working with ranchers on rotational grazing, engaging landowners in voluntary habitat practices, and other restoration strategies, benefitting over 79,000 acres of working ranchlands.

“For more than four decades, ConocoPhillips has invested in protecting species and the critical habitats that are vital components to ecological balance and environmental sustainability,” said Natalie Riley, director of Community Relations at ConocoPhillips. “Through our SPIRIT of Conservation and Innovation Program and partnership with NFWF, we proudly provide conservation grants that enable recipients to develop innovative ideas, tools and techniques that help advance leading-edge solutions for today’s complex water and biodiversity conservation challenges.”

Projects located along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana will utilize innovative seeding techniques to rapidly expand the pace of mangrove planting and increase oyster reefs, resulting in improved wetland health and preventing coastal erosion.

In the Teton River Basin of Idaho and Wyoming, an innovative pilot water market for groundwater recharge will improve the Teton River aquifer by 10,000 acre feet to promote wetland health and streamflow.

Since 1997, ConocoPhillips, NFWF and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have invested more than $10.5 million in projects through the SPIRIT of Conservation and Innovation program. Grantees have matched this funding with an additional $22.9 million for a total conservation impact of $33.4 million. As a result of these investments, more than 293,500 acres of critical fish and wildlife habitat in 13 states have been conserved or restored. 

A complete list of the 2017 grants made through the ConocoPhillips SPIRIT of Conservation and Innovation Program is available here.     

About the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Chartered by Congress in 1984, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) protects and restores the nation's fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Working with federal, corporate and individual partners, NFWF has funded more than 4,500 organizations and committed more than $3.8 billion to conservation projects. Learn more at www.nfwf.org.

About ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips is the world’s largest independent E&P company based on production and proved reserves. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, ConocoPhillips had operations and activities in 17 countries, $75 billion of total assets, and approximately 11,600 employees as of Sept. 30, 2017. Production excluding Libya averaged 1,403 MBOED for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2017, and proved reserves were 6.4 billion BOE as of Dec. 31, 2016. For more information, go to www.conocophillips.com.

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Rob Blumenthal
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
(202) 857-0166
[email protected]

Daren Beaudo
ConocoPhillips
(281) 293-2073
[email protected]