One trillion dollars in stimulus funding. Shovel-ready projects. Growing demand for more and cleaner energy, water and transportation. Today, for the first time in decades, America is making a major push to rebuild our infrastructure.

Just as we invest in our energy pipelines, water systems and roads, we must also invest in wildlife habitat, freshwater resources and open space. Why? These natural resources are part of our nation’s infrastructure—protecting us from floods, providing clean air to breathe and clean water to drink and supporting jobs tied to the outdoors. In this way, our economy and our environment are tightly connected.

At The Conservation Fund, we’re leading efforts to help business and government improve infrastructure. Together, we’re working to meet America’s resource needs while mitigating, or compensating, for the environmental impacts that progress can bring. With more than two decades of conservation and dozens of successful mitigation projects under our belt, we’ve rolled up our sleeves to rebuild a stronger, healthier America with you.

Our efforts include:

Conservation Real Estate

We acquire and conserve wildlife habitat to compensate for lands and waters lost to development and other resource needs. One example: Wyoming’s Green River Basin, home to grazing pronghorn antelope, sage grouse and one of the nation’s largest natural gas reserves. The challenge is to access new energy resources while mitigating damage to valued wildlife habitat. In 2008, we brokered the first Wyoming conservation real estate deals using dedicated mitigation funds from the Jonah Interagency Office. With the Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust and other partners, we protected more than 3,000 acres of ranchland.

For more information, see: Wyoming: Offsetting Natural Gas Drilling by Protecting Habitat

Fund Management

With demonstrated financial skill, we manage funds to achieve conservation goals. One example: To meet big energy demands, Rockies Express Pipeline LLC has big plans — a new 1,700-mile natural gas pipeline to stretch from Colorado to Ohio. To compensate for the loss of migratory bird habitat in four states along a pipeline section called REX East, the company has agreed to create a replacement fund: the Rockies Express Migratory Bird Account. We’ve partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to manage this fund. We will distribute more than $4 million to conserve forests across America’s heartland, providing migratory birds with critical habitat.

For more information, see: REX East: Managing Funds To Offset Pipeline Impacts

Strategic Planning

With mapping tools and collaboration, we strategically plan conservation to ensure that valued landscapes remain protected, allowing progress to move forward efficiently. For example, when natural gas pipelines travel long distances to fuel communities, wildlife habitat planning gets complicated. Energy provider NiSource Gas Transmission operates more than 15,500 miles of pipeline across 14 states. We’re working with NiSource, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state stakeholders to plan conservation in a whole new way—across this entire region. Together, we’re setting a precedent for more efficient permitting that offers outstanding conservation outcomes.

For more information, see: Strategic Planning To Offset Pipeline Impacts

Click here to see our information on Green Infrastructure