The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive.

The Nature Conservancy was founded in the U.S. through grassroots action in 1951. Its mission is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. To achieve this, we must boldly address the biodiversity and climate crises over the next decade. By maximizing our ability to affect change between now and 2030, we can shape a brighter future for people and our planet.

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National FWS Programs They Work With

A lone bison stands atop a grassy hilltop
Once spanning more than 580 million acres across Indigenous Lands, Canada, the United States, and Mexico, the Central Grasslands, also known as the Great Plains, are the world’s most imperiled and least conserved ecosystem. One of the last intact temperate grassland landscapes in the world, these...
Close up of a California condor. Its pink featherless head contrasts with its black feathers.
We provide national leadership in the recovery and conservation of our nation's imperiled plant and animal species, working with experts in the scientific community to identify species on the verge of extinction and to build the road to recovery to bring them back. We work with a range of public...

Related Stories

Image of North Park phacelia, a small plant in muddy soil with purple flowers and green leaves
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is announcing the proposed removal of the North Park phacelia (Phacelia formosula) from the list of threatened and endangered species due to advancements in recovery for this species. This action follows a thorough Species Status Assessment and a five-year review...
Fall foliage in Canaan Valley
Big Cove — the heart of one of the most intact landscape corridors and biodiversity hotspots in West Virginia — is now conserved in perpetuity for the benefit of wildlife and people as part of Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
Salt marsh with stream
The South Atlantic's iconic salt marshes are disappearing. A slew of federal, state, and nonprofit partners are trying to reverse the climate-fueled trend.
Brown and black spotted lizard in grassy area.
Recent research confirms several thriving populations of the Plateau spot-tailed earless lizard across its historical range in the Edwards Plateau region of Central and West Texas.
A metal structure dams a ditch and prevents water from flowing out.
Water control structures at Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge are improving the swamp’s hydrology and increasing resilience against natural disasters made more likely by climate change.
A black bear stands on its hind legs, facing camera.
Community members in five eastern North Carolina counties can enjoy more benefits of pocosin conservation and outdoor recreation opportunities, thanks to a land donation to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Nature Conservancy recently gave more than 1,700 acres to Pocosin Lakes National...
a close up photo of the relict darter
Following a review of the best available science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is downlisting the relict darter, a small fish native to the Bayou de Chien stream system in western Kentucky, from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service is also implementing...
A man sitting alongside a creek.
ESA 50th Anniversary: More Important than Ever The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is the nation’s most important, and successful, tool to protect animals and plants at risk of extinction. The act currently covers 1,683 U.S. species and 646 foreign species. It serves as the emergency room for fish...
A river passes through a partially deconstructed dam
Construction crews have removed Bridgewater’s High Street Dam, which stood across the Town River for more than 100 years.
A stream through the mountains.
ESA 50th Anniversary: More Important than Ever The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is the nation’s most important, and successful, tool to protect animals and plants at risk of extinction. The act currently covers 1,683 U.S. species and 646 foreign species. It serves as the emergency room for fish...
A closeup portrait of a female eastern indigo snake shows the iridescent black scales with a coral hue tinting her jaw and nose.
This large, docile nonvenomous snake nearly disappeared along with the sprawling longleaf forests of the Southeast. After falling under the protection of the Endangered Species Act in 1978 a multitude of agencies have labored to reestablish this iconic species.
A frog on the edge of a pond with a person standing out-of-focus in the background.
When people think about the southwestern United States, most picture arid deserts and mountainous areas, however southwestern states including Arizona and New Mexico also contain riparian woodlands and wetlands that many species rely on. One of those species is the Chiricahua leopard frog.
Green shrubs in the foreground are backed by golden wetland plants in the middle distance and red-leaved trees in the back, all under a partly cloudy sky
Tucked in the Maine woods, this unassuming, little-known unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System has been quietly providing high-quality wildlife habitat and recreation while moonlighting as a climate superhero.
McNeill-Peach Creek Unit at San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge
In 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added nearly 6,000 acres of public land to the National Wildlife Refuge System in Texas. This brings the total number of Service-managed lands in the state to nearly 700,000 acres at 21 National Wildlife Refuges and three National Fish Hatcheries.
A Dakota skipper butterfly on a pink flower
When we think about landscape conservation, we tend to think big – big problems that require big solutions. But sometimes, it’s the little things that have the greatest impacts. The beating wings of a small butterfly might just be what is needed to save our nation’s grasslands. The butterfly is...
Saltmarsh Sparrow mother and chicks huddled in nest in salt marsh
Saltmarsh sparrows are among the species most imperiled by climate change, especially as sea level rise degrades their marsh home. But, as researchers track changes in the marsh in order to protect the birds, the birds are also teaching researchers about how to bolster the entire marsh system from...
A sihek stand on a branch in a cage. It is cinnamon orange with metallic blue wings and tail. It's beak is large and black and it has a metallic blue stripe retreating from its eye like mascara.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing the experimental population of sihek (Guam kingfisher) at The Nature Conservancy’s Palmyra Atoll Preserve. Captive bred sihek would be released on Palmyra Atoll as an experimental population under section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act, which...
A wide view of the river with a field of Cahaba lilies.
Coal mining left a legacy of habitat destruction and polluted waters. The refuge must be cleaned up before it welcomes legions of outdoor enthusiasts. Today, 20 years after the refuge was created, it has the money, partners, and drive to do just that.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland today celebrated a unique settlement agreement as part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) Program that will return more than 1,000 acres of ancestral land to the Onondaga Nation, one of the largest returns of land to an Indigenous...
Landscape of St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
The St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is under the climate gun as Mother Nature unleashes all manner of temperature, precipitation, and storm havoc on the popular preserve along the Gulf Coast. Sadly, the animals that once depended upon steady weather and predictable tides suffer the brunt of the...
Looking up from the inside of a cave, the entrance is a window-view of a green forest.
Paint Rock, Alabama – Feast your eyes upon the beauty and biodiversity of the Sharp-Bingham Mountain Preserve in northeast Alabama. Waterfalls cascade over limestone ledges. Sixty caves offer miles of subterranean adventure. Second and third-generation hardwoods -- hickories, elms, maples, and even...
Texas pimpleback mussel held by river
A team of researchers from Texas A&M AgriLife Research and The Nature Conservancy are working on a project funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ecological Services and Science Applications programs to study how the extreme low and high flows that plague Texas rivers impact populations...
Snow covering a charred landscape with snow capped mountains in the background.
The idea of using local, native seeds in restoration is taking off, just like the wildfires they are designed to follow, as ecologists and botanists in Nevada embark on research to test the use of these seeds in helping burned areas recover and become resilient.

Partner Category

Here we partner with a wider variety of other organizations on projects to meet shared conservation goals.

Other Partners

Here are just a few of our National Partners. You can view the full list of FWS partners, along with the regions and areas of focus our work together entails.

Partnership Services

Through our partnerships we are able to expand our capabilities through the inclusion of services in areas such as:

  • Grant opportunities
  • Sponsorship of grants
  • Cooperative Agreements

To find out more about how our partner provides services view our partner services below.