Osprey Packs and KEEN Footwear are among the winners of The Conservation Alliance Outstanding Partnership Awards for 2019. The award recognises companies who provide meaningful support to Conservation Alliance grantees working to protect wild places throughout North America.
This year’s winners helped conservation efforts in California, Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands and Nehalem River, Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.
All Conservation Alliance grantees were invited to nominate member companies for recognition. Conservation Alliance grantees submitted 13 nominations highlighting outstanding partnerships with different companies. Each nomination described how the company engaged in a meaningful partnership to help the organisation succeed in its conservation work.
John Sterling, Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance, said, “We were impressed to learn about the support our members are giving to these organizations. This award is designed to highlight these outstanding partnerships, and inspire other members to work with conservation groups in their communities.”
Friends of Cedar Mesa (FCM) nominated Osprey for supporting the group’s effort to protect the greater Bears Ears region by creating a customised day pack to be sold at the Bears Ears Education Center, sponsoring FCM’s largest annual event, engaging customers in social media, sending representatives to D.C. to advocate and providing volunteers to do hands-on work.
FCM is the local organisation that played a key role in establishing the original 1.85m acre Bears Ears National Monument. “Osprey Packs has stepped up in a huge way to protect their world-class backyard,” said FCM’s Josh Ewing. “The company doesn’t just make excellent products, it takes responsibility for helping protect the places their customers use for adventure and inspiration.”
KEEN Footwear received nominations from Save the Boundary Waters (SBW) and Wild Salmon Center (WSC). KEEN provides support to both organisations by raising awareness and inspiring activism. SBW is working to cancel copper mining permits adjacent to Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and WSC is working to protect Oregon’s Nehalem River as a state scenic waterway.
“KEEN is helping to make sure decision makers hear about this issue from people all over the country,” said SBW’s Samantha Chadwick. “Our wonderful partners at KEEN deserve recognition for their great work to protect the Boundary Waters and other storied outdoor places in America.”
The Conservation Alliance is an organisation of like-minded businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organisations and their efforts to protect wild places for outdoor enthusiasts. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas.
Membership in the Alliance is open to all companies who care about protecting threatened wild places for habitat and outdoor recreation. Since its inception in 1989, The Conservation Alliance has contributed more than $22m, awarded 650 grants, helped to protect more than 52m acres of wildlands; protect 3112 miles of rivers; stop or remove 34 dams; designate five marine reserves and purchase 14 climbing areas.
Traynor On The Trail 