President's Message for 2012

By Del Langbauer

     March 2012

The Harder Foundation had a successful year in 2011 despite a number of challenges affecting the national economy, the financial markets, and the environmental policy arenas in which we work.  The extraordinary volatility of investment markets over the course of the year presented a challenge to financial planning.  Contentious national politics and disagreements over the role government in society created an anti-regulatory mood that caused gridlock at the federal policy level.  And state and federal budget crises constrained progress on environmental policy and conservation actions on the ground.  Yet our overall grantmaking total remained steady at $1,022,000, and we ended the year with an endowment level of $29,732,000.

Changes to our program priorities and objectives, begun in 2009, allowed us to continue to do strategic and effective grantmaking during 2011. Our fundamental goal remains to maximize biodiversity and healthy ecological functions on public lands and waters and to promote the long-term health and vitality of local communities. Our strategy emphasizes the preservation of large ecosystems’ capacity to adapt to climate change.  We also continued to support statewide conservation organizations in our region, including efforts to strengthen the analysis and tools linking the benefits of functioning ecosystems with economic prosperity and job creation.

We continue to be impressed by the achievements of our grantees and the broader environmental community, and remain inspired by their creativity and dedication.  Despite the defensive nature that characterized so much of the state and federal policy work, there were several notable outcomes in 2011:

• After several years of user conflicts and legal limbo, the US 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 2001 Clinton Roadless Rule, which prevented new road-building on 50 million acres of national forests.  Many of our grantees have fought long and hard to maintain the roadless protections on federal public lands.   
• Grizzly bears remain on the Endangered Species List, and native Columbia-Snake River salmon received protections from an Oregon judge that ruled that the Obama Administration, like the Bush Administration before it, failed to produce a habitat management plan that would lead to effective salmon recovery.
• In Washington and Oregon, a highly visible public campaign has gotten underway to prevent the development of coal export facilities in several ports in important marine and estuary habitats. The campaign has supported a diverse range of constituencies to engage in an important debate about environmental, public health and economic values that are central to the long term sustainability of communities in the Pacific Northwest.  

None of these and many other successful conservation efforts would have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our grantees. They have our deepest appreciation and gratitude for all that they do to protect species, habitat, and communities. 

Our priorities for 2012 are described in this website’s Grantmaking Program section.