Protections

“Wild lands and waters are best conserved not in private hands, locked behind gates, but as public national parks, wildlife refuges and marine reserves, forever open for everyone to experience and explore.”

 — Hansjörg Wyss

Since its establishment in 1998, the Wyss Foundation and its partners have helped local and Indigenous communities, national governments, land trusts, and non-profit partners permanently protect more than 100 million acres of land and more than 3 million square kilometers of ocean. These lands and waters are now conserved in perpetuity for current and future generations to enjoy and explore.  Example projects include:

In 2010, Mr. Wyss’ contributions enabled the transfer of 310,000 acres of former Plum Creek timber land to the U.S. Forest Service and the State of Montana; it is among the largest private conservation purchases in American history (see story).

In 2013, the Wyss Foundation’s investments helped Trout Unlimited and other partners restore and reconnect 1,000 miles of spawning habitat for Atlantic salmon on the Penobscot River in Maine (see story). That same year the Foundation also partnered with local communities and leaders to protect more than 58,000 acres in Wyoming’s Hoback Basin for hunting, fishing, hiking, and recreation (see story).

In 2014, the Wyss Foundation and a cohort of other philanthropic foundations announced they together committed $500,000 to provide immediate support for recreation and habitat restoration projects in and around the new San Gabriel Mountains National Monument (see story).

In 2015, the Wyss Foundation provided a $4 million grant to help launch the Andes Amazon Fund, which secured the designation of the 1.3 million acre Sierra del Divisor National Park in Peru (see story).

In 2016, the Wyss Foundation provided a $3.1 million grant to the Trust for Public Land to purchase a 4,176 acre parcel of land that opened up access to the previously “landlocked” Sabinoso Wilderness Area in New Mexico (see story).

In 2017, to help stem the poaching crisis in Africa, the Wyss Foundation announced a $65 million partnership with African Parks to provide five years of support for parks in Eastern Africa, along with continued support for several parks that the Foundation was already supporting (see story).

In 2018, Hansjörg Wyss and the Wyss Foundation launched the Wyss Campaign for Nature, a ten-year $1 billion commitment to help the world protect 30% of the planet by 2030 (see story).

In 2019, Wyss Foundation support helped create the 5.7 million acre Thaidene Nene National Park Reserve and Territorial Protected Area in Canada’s Northwest Territories, since increased to 6.5 million acres in 2020 (see story).

In 2020, the Wyss Foundation provided the largest private funding for a conservation easement project in Colorado that protected at-risk private lands, completing a 65,000 acre project adjacent to the South San Juan Wilderness Area (see story).

In 2021, the Wyss Foundation provided support to the government of Tristan da Cunha (a UK Protectorate) that catalyzed the creation of the largest marine protected area in the Atlantic Ocean (see story). ​​Hansjörg Wyss and the Wyss Foundation also pledged an additional $500 million in 2021 to support global 30x30 efforts, increasing the total commitment to the Wyss Campaign for Nature to at least $1.5 billion before the decade’s end (see story).

In 2022, Argentina formally designated the 1.6 million-acre Ansenuza National Park and National Reserve (see story). The Wyss Foundation had previously pledged $5.8 million to purchase land and provide funding for initial infrastructure and tourism development to be disbursed once the park was established.

Visit the Wyss Campaign for Nature’s News and Projects pages regularly to learn more about the land and ocean protection projects that the Wyss Foundation is supporting.