The Nature Conservancy Receives $35,000 Grant from BMW

Funds to support Skylands conservation work

CHESTER, NJ — November 22, 2005 — The Nature Conservancy in New Jersey received a $35,000 grant from BMW of North America, LLC. The grant will be used to support public education and community outreach in the Skylands region of northern New Jersey.

"We are grateful to have the support of BMW NA here in New Jersey,” said Dr. Barbara Brummer, executive director, The Nature Conservancy in New Jersey. “This grant and a loaned vehicle will help us protect the lands and waters of the Skylands and help us in conservation activities throughout the state."

"BMW has a longstanding commitment to communities where our U.S. headquarters are based," said Michael McHale of BMW NA’s Corporate Contributions department. "Our support of The Nature Conservancy signifies our shared commitment to improving quality of life for people in New Jersey."

Fifty years ago the Conservancy completed its first project at Hutcheson Memorial Forest in what is now the Skylands program area. Today, the chapter has protected more than 4,000 acres in northern New Jersey. This grant will help fund outreach activities in the region, engaging volunteers and members of the community in the care and stewardship of the Conservancy’s nature preserves. The Conservancy also works with private landowners of sensitive natural areas and assists with best conservation practices.

A mere hour’s drive from New York City, conservation of the Skyland’s important remaining natural areas is critical. Nearly 5,000 acres of fields and forest are lost to development each year. Perhaps the region’s greatest natural resource is water: in an average year 40 to 50 inches of rainfall are collected in the wide-ranging system of waterways and wetlands, providing clean drinking water for millions of New Jersey residents and visitors. Also important, the biological diversity found in the Skylands is extraordinary, including 143 species of breeding birds, 55 fish species, 49 species of amphibians, 83 species of butterflies, 78 dragonfly or damselfly species, 292 woody plant species, 19 plant communities, and 33 mammal species. Remaining large forests areas are especially significant. Large mammals such as bobcat, black bear, red fox, gray fox and coyote find habitat here. A number or birds, such as neotropical wood thrush, northern parula and magnolia warbler and raptors including northern goshawk, sharp-shinned hawk, and broad-winged hawk, also rest and feed in Skylands forests.

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Within New Jersey, the Conservancy has protected over 56,000 acres and has completed almost 400 conservation transactions with the help of more than 26,000 individual members, as well as corporate sponsors and foundations. Visit us on the Web at nature.org/newjersey.