Western Conservation

Since 1969, the Hewlett Foundation has been dedicated to preserving the vast open spaces of the West as unspoiled landscapes where wildlife thrives, communities flourish, and ranchers maintain their history of stewardship.

Over the decades, mining, drilling, clear-cutting and expanding population have taken a harsh toll on the natural beauty, critical water sources and local habitats. Today, we make a wide range of grants to protect the extraordinary natural resources of the Western United States, and back efforts to build broad public support and empower citizens who care about the conservation of land, water and air in the West.

The vision of the Hewlett Foundation is to conserve biodiversity and protect the ecological integrity of half of the North American West for wildlife and people for the long-term. Our goal is to conserve 320 million acres of public and private land across the North American West by 2035. In addition, as an indicator of ecological integrity, migrations of key indicator species in priority geographies should be largely unimpeded by human activities by 2035.

Bill and Flora Hewlett cared deeply about the environment and cherished the mountains, meadows, forests and coastlines of California and the American West. Bill was an amateur photographer of wildflowers, an accomplished botanist, and a lifelong climber, hiker, fisherman and hunter.

Their spirit and regard for the well-being of nature and communities still guides the Hewlett Foundation’s western conservation strategy and its grantmaking. We support organizations that are conserving important lands in the West, improving river flows, and minimizing the environmental impact of fossil energy development.