Investing in extraordinary rivers.
As we plan for the future we know that threats to wild salmon and steelhead strongholds will become increasingly urgent. Being proactive and getting into watersheds early will matter more than ever. We also know that strongholds have fierce allies, from local groups defending their home waters, to anglers swinging flies for bright steelhead in their favorite stretch of river. But the most profound lesson we’ve learned is that behind every conservation accomplishment is a strong and effective partnership.
With these truths in mind, we founded The Stronghold Fund. The idea was to create a new resource to fill a current void in conservation funding and to ensure financial support for the Pacific’s great salmon, steelhead, and trout strongholds including Bristol Bay, Skeena, Dean, and Kamchatka. The Fund complements WSC’s work by providing the ability to invest in urgent campaigns and new initiatives that go above and beyond the scope and purview of a single organization.
By reinforcing and supporting high leverage, partner-based initiatives, we’re greatly improving our chances of protecting the Pacific’s stronghold rivers.
The Fund was also born from the fact that there are many fisheries and watershed groups with overlapping missions competing for funds and visibility, year in and year out. But the conservation community is most successful when we work together and bring our complementary strengths to a unified campaign. These alliances need to be encouraged and supported, especially when a once-in-a-generation opportunity or initiative needs backing.
The Stronghold Fund’s initial fundraising goal is $15 million and so far, we’ve raised half of that. We’ve supported the Stand for Salmon campaign in Alaska, the Skeena estuary campaign in British Columbia, and a new initiative focused on the Dean River and B.C.’s central coast.
We’re seeking new donors interested in this high-impact approach to conservation. We aim to make The Stronghold Fund a one-stop shop for investors looking to support collaborative efforts that protect the Pacific’s most extraordinary salmon, steelhead, and trout rivers.
The Stronghold Fund is:
Partner-Based
The Fund will support partnerships and organizations working cooperatively and in coalitions—because success in conservation is almost always the result of more than one group’s effort.
“Win-Now”
More war chest than endowment, the Fund is a “win-now” resource that will deliver funding to strategic, targeted initiatives within stronghold watersheds.
Proactive
The Fund will prioritize science-based activities that are preemptive and durable in nature, and will aim to deploy funds before long-term damage and decline occurs.
Learn more at TheStrongholdFund.org.
