Recognizing the world-class cultural and natural resources of the newly established Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, a group of philanthropic foundations are committing $1.5 million to strengthen collaborative management of the area and ensure inclusion of local community voices.

A conservation partnership, with the support of the Wyss Foundation, last week announced the permanent protection of 4,358 acres of pristine forested watershed land in the North Maine Woods. 

Today, the Wyss Foundation signed the paperwork to donate more than 16,000 acres (6,700 hectares) of forestland and alpine meadows in Romania’s Fagaras Mountains to Foundation Conservation Carpathia (FCC). FCC will restore the land and eventually transfer it to the Romanian government to be included in a Carpathia National Park, once such a park is established.

On the same day the National Park Service celebrated its 100th anniversary, The Trust for Public Land, with the support of philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss, donated 282 acres to the Saguaro National Park. The donation, which includes part of Rincon Creek, is located on the east side of the National Park and adds a critical water resource to the park area.

The Wilderness Land Trust and the Wyss Foundation today announced a major milestone in the effort to unlock public access to the 16,000 acre Sabinoso Wilderness in New Mexico, an area that is currently impossible for the public to access without trespassing on private property.

In an article published this month in the Financial Times Magazine, contributing editor Jeremy Paxman explores Romania’s Carpathian mountains, a 900 mile-long mountain range that is considered to be the last great wilderness area in Europe.

The Wyss Foundation is expanding its international conservation work through a multi-year, multi-million dollar commitment to helping protect the Amazon River basin and the Andes Mountains in Peru.

The Nature Conservancy announced today that it has purchased 3,184 acres along the Hoh River near the Washington coast from the company Rayonier. The project, which will support public access and stewardship of the lands, was made possible with support from the Wyss Foundation, the Norcliffe Foundation, and other private donors and supporters.

The Wyss Foundation has joined the Grantham Foundation for the Environment and dozens of individual donors to support the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) Fund for Environmental Journalism.  The Wyss Foundation’s support is enabling a significant expansion of the Fund for Environmental Journalism.