The Fund for Wild Nature annually awards $1,000 to an activist who has made substantial efforts to preserve the natural world. In 2005, we honor:

Chad Hanson & Rachel Fazio

Chad and Rachel are the Executive Director and Attorney / Grants Administrator, respectively, for the John Muir Project.

The John Muir Project, a project of Earth Island Institute, is dedicated to the conservation of forest ecosystems through scientific research, media, and legal defense work to protect thousands of acres of forest each year. They focus primarily on the national forests of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, and secondarily on western forests in general.

Where science has been misrepresented or ignored by the U.S. Forest Service in order to justify an ecologically destructive timber sale on public lands, the John Muir Project challenges such projects through comments, appeals, and, if necessary, litigation. Site-specific data collection, photo documentation and monitoring are emphasized.

Their work has resulted in the protection of thousands of acres of California’s forest and has through precedent-setting litigation and innovative science resulted in the conservation of forests throughout the country.

To nominate someone for the Wild Nature Award please send us a letter about your candidate: FWN, PO Box 42523, Portland, OR 97242