Best conservation charities to support / volunteer with

[Gregg]

Hey all. We make periodic contributions to various charities, but with the change in administration, and what's looking like a less environmentally conscious agenda, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the best conservation organizations to contribute to and volunteer with. The wife and I are re-aligning some monthly donations and looking to get more involved, but obviously can't give to everything. Would love to hear ideas / opinions on where to send $, where to volunteer, etc. TU vs CalTrout? Any smaller local organizations doing good work we should explore? Larger federal organizations? Where do you see funds being used the most efficiently and with the most impact?

[SeanO]

Both Cal Trout and Trout Unlimited do really good work. I know because we work with them on many studies.

Another way to get more directly involved is to volunteer with a group that advocates for a particular river. I know the Klamath riverkeeper and Friends of the Eel River are a couple of good groups, for example.

[johnsquires]

TU and Cal Trout.

For bigger issues, such as fighting the proposed Pebble Mine in AK, I like NRDC.

[Darian]

All of those organizations mentioned are good. I tend to donate to organizations that acquire interests in land or waterways and try to conserve them, like the Nature Conservancy.

[Rick J]

all great organizations. Western Rivers does what Darian likes. I am a huge fan of TU and a member of a local chapter and am the TUCA council representative for the Wild Steelhead Initiative that TU founded with a number of like minded organizations

[TaylerW]

A great local org would be the American River Conservancy, they do a ton of great work to the upper river. In past years they have facilitated the transfer of some huge chunks of land to the public.

[aaron]

All good suggestions. Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is a great organization who is fighting to save our public lands.

[Hogan Brown]

I see the work of Cal Trout and Local TU chapters on various water sheds I work and fish on. I give to them yearly also River Partners locally in Chico and the Sacramento River Land Trust and of course Cast Hope which I am part of...one thing to think about that I tell people all the time when I talk about Cast Hope is that Conservation Organizations mean nothing if we do not create conservation minded people in the next generation. People in each generation have to pick up the torch to protect the rivers, watersheds, and wild species and places we love or they will be gone. I speak from experience as a guide, high school teacher, and someone who works with youth we have to get kids outdoors and away from "screens"...computers, cell phones, video games have monopolized kids lives and "getting outdoors" is incredibly expensive for most families.

I would say look at organizations that get kids outdoors and are working to create the next generation of conservationist. Please do not take this as a solicitation for Cast Hope and what I do...MANY organizations share the outdoors and get kids outdoors and all the organizations listed above make incredibly positive impacts both in regards to conservation and sharing the outdoors. I just have a strong passion for getting kids outdoors and sharing the outdoors with them as conservation, preserving public lands, saving wild species, etc is all moot if no one in future generations care about those things.

[johnsquires]

All good suggestions. Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is a great organization who is fighting to save our public lands.

I agree, Aaron. I was more than impressed in talking to their members and listening to presentations at last year's rendezvous. BHA is dedicated to protecting public lands - and they're doing a great job.
I highly recommend attending the rendezvous in April of 2017 in Missoula and checking it out for yourselves (and maybe doing a bit of fishing on the same trip).

[Bob Loblaw]

We are in deep doodoo with Republicans in charge of all branches of Government and a California GOP caucus that has one agenda item and one only, draining all our rivers dry to grow almonds. Look for immediate efforts to repeal the Endangered Species Act, and look for concerted efforts to amend the FERC process so that when dams are relicensed no flows are dedicated to keeping fish populations stable. Every tailwater fishery in the US is at risk.

[Troutstalker55B]

I see the work of Cal Trout and Local TU chapters on various water sheds I work and fish on. I give to them yearly also River Partners locally in Chico and the Sacramento River Land Trust and of course Cast Hope which I am part of...one thing to think about that I tell people all the time when I talk about Cast Hope is that Conservation Organizations mean nothing if we do not create conservation minded people in the next generation. People in each generation have to pick up the torch to protect the rivers, watersheds, and wild species and places we love or they will be gone. I speak from experience as a guide, high school teacher, and someone who works with youth we have to get kids outdoors and away from "screens"...computers, cell phones, video games have monopolized kids lives and "getting outdoors" is incredibly expensive for most families.

I would say look at organizations that get kids outdoors and are working to create the next generation of conservationist. Please do not take this as a solicitation for Cast Hope and what I do...MANY organizations share the outdoors and get kids outdoors and all the organizations listed above make incredibly positive impacts both in regards to conservation and sharing the outdoors. I just have a strong passion for getting kids outdoors and sharing the outdoors with them as conservation, preserving public lands, saving wild species, etc is all moot if no one in future generations care about those things.

Great point Hogan. South Yuba River Citizens League would be one of those organizations you're referring to, and they are the lead org on the Lower Yuba River. I know Truckee TU Chapter #103 has a kid's trout camp as does the Tahoe Truckee Fly Fishers with their annual Cliff Frazier Memorial 3 day kid's trout camp on the private water of the San Francisco Fly Fishing Casting Club, which I teach at every year. It's all about getting the future generations involved with an understanding of nature and being good stewards of the land.

I like to make my donations to local orgs instead of national ones because I know my money will be directed to our local waters. Two other great conservation groups in the Truckee area are Truckee River Watershed Council, and Truckee-Tahoe Trout Fund. - J.

[JasonB]

Lots of good points here. I have no other particular groups to emphasize, as I suspect you've got more than enough to consider already. Honestly, thank you for posting this; as of late I've been feeling a powerful urge to do more good and have been struggling a bit with what the best avenue that might entail. I think you've hit on an important one, and Hogan raised a really good point about connecting the next generation to the outdoors. I have to say that time in and around waters has been more than just my form of "recreation" for as long as I can remember. I'll avoid the typical cliche comparisons to church, and spiritual enlightenment, but I will say I find the analogies entirely justifiable.

You've inspired me to give a bit more of myself back, financially (not a lot of that to give these days), and otherwise. I cringe at the possibility of this turning into an ugly political thread, and I would hope that we can all compartmentalize our own political views sufficiently to agree that there will likely be a lot more challenges for anything that remotely contains the term "environmental" attached to it. Regardless of party, I think healthy ecosystems offer something critically important for us all, and they deserve all our best. I have the highest respect for ALL those who have made it a priority in life to give something back to the great outdoors for all that it gives us...
Good on ya
JB

[SeanO]

Good points!

I will echo getting more people involved in the sport and outdoor activites in general is one of the best things we can do. Doesn't necessarily mean youth, you can get a neighbor, friend, family member, and so on out on the water pretty easy, and if they like it, there is another advocate for making the environment suitable for such recreation!

I bring lots of newbies out fishing on my boat; from nieces and nephews, college kids, to professors. They all enjoy getting out to experience something new and hopefully will try to protect it going forward.

Best,

[Ralph]

Over the past month SYRCL (South Yuba River Citizen's League) has given salmon rafting tours to over 700 people, mostly kids. SYRCL is also fighting against the plan to trap salmon and steelhead, put them in tanker trucks and haul them up to Downieville. "Trap and haul", like the hatchery system is another injection of human intervention so that agencies can avoid building fish ladders and other habitat improvements. http://yubariver.org/2016/11/syrcl-sends-700-participants-down-the-yuba/

[DLJeff]

When it comes to charitable organizations, besides their general objectives and strategies for whatever they do, I try to learn two things about them before donating. First, I prefer organizations that conduct and utilize science (rather than emotions and popular opinion) when developing their positions. Second, I try to find out what per cent of my dollar actually goes to the thing I'm interested in protecting or accomplishing. Many charitable organizations spend a large portion of your dollar on staff salaries, operating costs, and advertising for more dollars, rather than actually accomplishing what they advertise.

One that hasn't been mentioned that meets my requirements above is Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. If you fish salt water flats there isn't a better place to put your money in my opinion.

[Hogan Brown]

Thanks John!!! all those are great organizations doing great work!

Good work Ralph!

DL Jeff good points. What you are referring to with regards to dollars to programs is called "Pull Through". The industry standard for non profits and the point all shoot for with regards to "looking good for grants and corporate donations" is 75/25...that is the industry standard for good...Cast Hopes pull through is 81/19...the bigger an organization gets the harder the pull through becomes. There are national non profits that operate around 40/60

[Gregg]

Hey all. Great responses, some really helpful information including the pull through stats. We opted to do a monthly to Cal Trout for this year and gonna donate to Cast Hope also, seems like a great organization. Would love it if people posted volunteer opportunities for river cleanup days or habitat restoration on the General thread (I know there's a conservation thread, I'll watch there also).