Wildlife Conservation Initiative
A Collaborative Approach to Species Conservation on Private Lands
Innovative Solutions to Complex Conservation Challenges
The WCI brings diverse stakeholders from across the nation together to achieve species conservation at scale, reduce regulatory risk to forest owners, and build trust in the working relationships between landowners and regulators.
A First-Of-Its-Kind Partnership
In January of 2023, the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the National Council for Air and Steam Improvement, Inc. (NCASI) signed a ground-breaking Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalizing the WCI as a programmatic partnership for voluntary and proactive collaborative conservation benefiting common, at-risk, and listed species.
In January 2024, the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies and NAFO signed a new agreement to advance the collaborative conservation of wildlife on private working forests nationwide.
Our Work
Voluntary. Collaborative. Effective.
From turtles in the Great Lakes, to bumblebees in the West, to songbirds in the East, we are dedicated to conserving species through active forest management of private working forests.
60%
of "at risk" plants and animals need private forest habitat
44 million
acres are made available for conservation projects
1.7 million
acres are conserved as streamside management zones
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Regions
Click on a region to see conservation projects
“We are honored to participate in the Wildlife Conservation Initiative and believe that collaborative commitments between USFWS, working forests, and our conservation partners can achieve impactful results. Voluntary conservation measures and the open sharing of data allow decision makers access to powerful tools that highlight the value of working forests and support conservation of a variety of species.”
Tom Sarno, NAFO member and Global Head of Timberland Investments at Manulife Investment Management