Conservation Grants

Deadline: Applications for Conservation grants must be made in writing and received at the Mazama Mountaineering Center by 7:00 p.m. April 30.

Conservation Grant Procedures and Guidelines

Thanks for your interest in applying for a Mazamas Conservation Grant.  Please read the following information carefully. The purpose of these guidelines is to identify a minimum standard process for grant review and approval.

• Conservation grants are awarded only to applicants that have established their tax-exempt status under Section 501c(3) of the Internal Revenue Codes and are not “Private Foundation” as defined under Section 509(a) of the Code.
• Grants will be awarded only for qualified purposes as defined within the guidelines and under Section 501c(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
• Grants are only made to qualified organizations in the Pacific Northwest.
• Grant requests should not exceed $2,500.
• Recipients of grants must agree to provide to the Mazamas by April 30th of the following year an itemization of expenditures made from the grant funds. If not all funds have been accounted for in the April report, a final financial report is to be submitted by September 1st of the following year.

The Committee cannot grant requests for the following:

• Endowments
• Annual fund drives
• Overhead funds
• Activities that directly or indirectly attempt to intervene or affect any campaign for public office
• Activities that benefit specific individuals
• Sectarian or religious organizations whose principal activity is for the benefit of their own members or adherents
• Requests to fund litigation - these will ordinarily be denied, but exceptions may be granted in extraordinary or unusual circumstances
• Requests from the same organization will normally be considered only once in each calendar year

Applicants will be notified in writing if their application has been received in an incomplete form. Applicants will be notified of the results of the grant application before July 1st.

For additional information on Conservation grants, please contact the Mazamas Mountaineering Center.

Review Procedures

The Conservation Committee Chair will review all applicants for omissions. Upon satisfactory review, the chairperson will request the full committee to review the grant proposal.  The committee will review each complete grant application within one month of grant submission deadline, and make recommendations by majority vote to disapprove or to approve proposals in part or in full.

Consideration will be given to the following factors in choosing a successful grant proposal:

1. The ability of the grantee to successfully complete the grant
2. Whether the grant proposal addresses an area of the environment significant in the Pacific Northwest
3. Whether the grant proposal addresses an issue within the Mazamas priorities and objectives
4. The funds available to the Conservation Committee for the fiscal year in question
5. The size and resources of the grantee
6. Preference will be given to grantees that find creative ways to educate, inform, and/or include the Mazamas in their conservation projects. Some examples might be a day hike in the wilderness area identified in the grant, an overnight outing (which could include fieldwork), or a slide presentation.
7. The quality of the grant proposal: Is its goal clear? Is it timely? Is the project clearly outlined? Is the line-item budget for the project realistic?  The Mazamas Executive Council will approve grants approved by the Conservation Committee before final notification.

Conservation Grant Application (Note - Please attach 10 copies)

1. Recipient organization


• Legal Name:
• Address:
• Phone, fax and email:
• Type of organization (Corporation, Partnership, Sole Prop, other)
• Year established:
2. Authorized Representative for this proposal:
3. Is this organization qualified under IRC 501(c)(3)?
4. Has this organization made a lobbying election under IRC 501(h)?
5. Current program operating budget of your organization:
6. Please attach list of Board of Directors:
7. List major funding received including source and amounts in last two years:
8. Intended use: include background, objectives, justification, likely impact, expected results, etc.
9. Proposed Grant:


• Project description:
• Amount:
• Line item budget showing how the funds would be used:
• Brief description of proposed method to educate, inform, and/or include Mazamas in the project (see Guidelines/Review Procedures #3).
10. Will any part of this grant be used for direct lobbying? How much?
11. Will any part of this grant be used, directly or indirectly, on behalf of, or in opposition to, a candidate for public office?
12. Previous Mazamas grants to this organization: (List year, amount, purpose, results)

Conservation Grant Recipients

In recent years we have awarded grants to the following groups. (Note that grant amount varies from year to year depending on the overall Mazamas budget.)


2007 Grant Recipients

• Oregon Wild (formerly ONRC) $2,500, to build public awareness and support for the Lewis and Clark Mt. Hood Wilderness campaign, through Wilderness Week 2007.
• Bark $2,500, for assessing Mt. Hood’s road network for purposes of recommending removal of deteriorating logging roads, and promoting Forest Service management that focuses on recreation, clean water, and wildlife.
• Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) $2,000, for promoting Badlands and Spring Basin Wilderness areas.
• Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute $2,000, to run an environmental science program for school children in the Mt. Hood National Forest.
• Oregon Zoo $1,500, for the Urban Nature Overnights program.
• Cascade Resource Advocacy Group (CRAG) $2,500 for research and legal advocacy for the north side of Mt. Hood, and for Wilderness designation of parts of the Mt. Hood National Forest.
• Walama Restoration Project $1,500, to restore limited entry area campsites in the Three Sisters Wilderness.
• Cascadia Wildlands Project $1,000, for events and outreach for old-growth forests in the McKenzie River basin.

2006 Grant Recipients

• Oregon Natural Resource Council $2,500, for brochures and posters in support of 6th annual Wilderness Week promotional activities.
• Cooper Spur Protection Fund $2,500, for ongoing efforts to protect Cooper Spur & North side of Mt. Hood from development.
• Cascade Resource Advocacy Group $2,500, to support Mt Hood Wilderness activities and watershed protection.
• Oregon Zoo Foundation $1,000, to partially fund Urban Nature Overnights, a program that provides outdoor education and an overnight camping experience to inner city 3rd to 5th graders.
• Friends of the Columbia River Gorge $1,500, in support of the park and trail system at Cape Horn.
• Wolftree, Inc. $1,000, to partially fund equipment purchases for their Science in the Forest program for Oregon
• Oregon Natural Desert Association $2,500, for support of ongoing efforts to pass a Spring Basin Wilderness bill, and to build support in Deschutes County for a Badlands Wilderness.

2005 Grant Recipients

• Friends of Mount Hood $4,350
• Waterwatch $1,000
• CRAG $526
• Cascade Resource Advocacy Group $1,500
• BARK $2,500
• Cascadia Wildlands Project $1,000
• Oregon Zoo Foundation $1,000
• Oregon Natural Desert Association $1,500
• Cascade Resource Advocacy Group $500
• Oregon Natural Resource Council $2,500

2004 Grant Recipients

• Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) $2,500 for Wilderness Week 2004 color brochures/posters
• Oregon Zoo Foundation - Urban Nature Overnights Program $1,350 to provide over 75 inner-city children ages 8-11 with outdoor education, including an overnight camping trip to the coast
• Gorge Ecology Institute (formerly Secrets to Learning Rainshadow Institute) $1,350 to provide 300 5th grade school children from the Hood River County School District with an outdoor education daytrip to Tamanawas Trail
• Bark $1,000 to continue Bark’s ground-truthing and timber sales and watchdog program in the Mt. Hood National Forest
• Cascade Resources Advocacy Group (CRAG) $1,000 for research, outreach and preparation of educational materials pertaining to the East Ford of Hood River
• Friends of Forest Park $880 to prepare a map of mountain bike trails in Forest Park
• Oregon Natural Desert Association $850 for continuation of Wilderness Research and Rescue Project.  2004 funds will be used to map inventory 1 million acres of BLM land in the John Day River Basin and Lakeview BLM District to determine which of these lands qualify for Wilderness protection
• Molalla Riverwatch $370 to provide trail improvements and an education kiosk at the Aquila Vista Natural Resource Center
• Audubon Wildlife Care Center $250 to provide support for the Wildlife Care Center and Living With Urban Wildlife Program

2003 Grant Recipients

• Cascade Resources Advocacy Group (CRAG), $1,500 for Cooper Spur protection
• Secrets to Learning, $2,500 for Hood River County 5th Grade field trip (500 students) to Mt. Hood National Forest’s Tamanawas Trail
• Urban Nature Overnights, $2,500 for camping experiences for inner-city youth
• Friends of Opal Creek, $500 for map/field guide publication
• Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA), $2,000 for GIS wilderness mapping
• BARK, $3,750 to track and challenge proposed Mt. Hood National Forest timber sales
• Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC), $2,250, for Mt. Hood wilderness brochures

2002 Grant Recipients

• Center for Environmental Equity, $1,000 for study of abandoned mines
• Urban Nature Overnights, $1,000 for camping experiences for inner city youth
• Friends of the Columbia Gorge, $1,000 for hiking brochures
• Water Watch, $2,000 to protect flows on the Deschutes River
• Wild Salmon Center/Tillamook Rainforest Coalition, $1,000 for leading natural history hikes
• Cascade Resource Advocacy Group (CRAG), $5,000 for opposition to Cooper Spur development
• Sierra Club, Rogue Group, $2,000 for opposition to expansion of Mt. Ashland Ski area
• BARK, $3,500 for opposition to Cooper Spur development

2001 Grant Recipients

• BARK, $3,000 for outreach/grassroots project to ground truth federal timber sales on Mt. Hood National Forest
• Water Watch, $3,000 for lobbying efforts related to the removal of the Savage Dam on the Rogue River
• Birds of Oregon, $2,000 for editing layout and printing of a technical book
• Coast Range Association, $2,500 for education materials including web site development, brochures, and a slideshow
• Molalla River Watch, $3,000 for student education and interpretative trail signs
• Center for Environmental Equity, $1,500 for Abandoned and Inactive Mines (AIMS) in SW Oregon

2000 Grant Recipients

• Friends of Columbia Gorge, $2,680 to create brochures for Gorge Hiking Weekend
• Oregon League of Conservation Voters, $3,500 for general program overhead for Conservation Voter Education Project
• Oregon Natural Desert Association, $5,000 for brochures, mapping, and outreach materials for Steens/Owyhee areas
• Sierra Club-Columbia Group, $5,000 for Tillamook State Forest hiking/recreation book
• BARK, $4,840 for outreach/grassroots project to ground truth federal timber sales on Mt. Hood National Forest
• Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, $5,000 for general overhead work on Soda Mt. National Monument