To achieve our objectives, The Harder Foundation will make grants in the following Grant Program Areas:

1. Public Lands Conservation: Proposals to the foundation in this program area should address one or more of these issues:

Forest Management:

• protecting forest ecosystems for long-term benefits, including clean water, clean air, biodiversity, carbon storage, and resilience;
• engaging citizens in sound forest transportation planning and efforts to limit ecosystem threats from irresponsible off-road vehicle use;
• leveraging federal agency budgets and planning processes to reduce road density, remove legacy roads, address climate change, and restore the heath of forest ecosystems.

Renewable Energy Development:

• supporting renewable energy development while ensuring that projects on public lands and in nearshore waters do not compromise critical ecosystems, and that habitat concerns are fully integrated into regional renewable energy development strategies.

Wilderness, Roadless Areas, and Wildlife Corridors:

• securing viable wilderness and roadless protections to preserve intact ecosystems;
• supporting policies and programs that protect wildlife corridors and facilitate species migration in response to changing climate conditions.

2. Nearshore Marine and Estuary Conservation: Proposals to the foundation in this program area should address one or more of the following issues:

Marine Protected Areas and Marine Reserves:

• promoting marine protected areas and reserves in Oregon's Territorial Sea.

Ecosystem-based Management and Planning on Washington's Outer Coast:

• building a coastal constituency to support marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based management of nearshore marine and estuary habitats; and
• encouraging local, state, tribal and federal planning processes to guide sustainable resource use and climate adaptation strategies.

Habitat Connectivity:

• developing management plans that enhance habitat connectivity between nearshore marine ecosystems, estuaries and watersheds, and improve ecosystem functions in Washington and Alaska.

3. Conservation Community Effectiveness: Proposals to the foundation in this program area should aim to build a robust conservation community that establishes common policy priorities to solve statewide and regional environmental problems.