A Message from Our Executive Director
September 2024 marked thirty years since our co-founder David Myers and founding board members envisioned The Wildlands Conservancy, and paperwork was filed to establish our nonprofit organization. In the coming year, we'll be celebrating this milestone by reflecting on our history while looking forward to our next chapters. We approach this milestone with a profound sense of gratitude to our friends, visitors, donors, partners, and volunteers.
As our organization has grown, we’ve established core principles that guide our actions—principles that bring our beliefs to life, shaping how we engage with our staff and communicate our philosophy to visitors and supporters. These tenets, including the importance of free access to land and our commitment to a “do no harm” approach, set a standard not only for us but also for the wider conservation movement. By leading with integrity and purpose, we aim to inspire thought, ignite change, and demonstrate that meaningful stewardship and free public access begins with the example we set.
The fundamental principles of our Mission are as relevant now, especially in the face of the climate and biodiversity crises, as they were when we were founded. These include:
Conserving wildlands through acquisition and advocacy;
Stewarding and restoring our Preserves for native species and natural beauty;
Instilling a love of nature in youth to inspire the next generation of environmental leaders;
Opening Preserves to the public daily for free with exceptional facilities.
It is a joyful experience to watch this unfold — to hear the excited voices of children when they first hear the splashing sounds of a wild stream, to watch a restored herd of Tule Elk run in unison across the spring-green hills of Wind Wolves Preserve, or take in the sweet perfume of a field of native wildflowers on a warm sunny day. What would The Wildlands Conservancy be without the bright light in the eyes of children and their families that visit our Preserves? Or without the gasps from visitors in awe as they watch the first steps of a bighorn sheep lamb as it bounds across the cliffs of Whitewater Canyon?
It is these experiences that bring purpose and inspiration into all of our lives and sustain our organization. We are glad to share some of the wonderful and inspiring stories from our first thirty years which are still being written today. It is our way of inviting you to be part of our work in whatever way you so choose — come for a hike or picnic, volunteer to help restore a landscape, make a donation or bequest to support our growing Preserve system and outdoor education programs, or become an advocate for the most special place in your life — it all continues to add new chapters to our unfolding story, co-written by you!