Programs That Empower
NAA is actively working to provide enhanced programs and services to our members and to the natural areas community. Programs that you as members have requested, in order to help you accomplish your goals (see below). Our goal is to be your go-to resource for natural areas information and connections. And we need YOUR financial support to make this goal and the following initiatives a reality.

Help Us Raise $50,000 this $Fiscal Year!

Please make your donation today!—a contribution of just $10 to $50 —all tax deductible —will fund these efforts.

	Update the Status of State Natural Areas Programs report, 2005 (SSNAPs). Copies of this invaluable report—a national evaluation and summary of state-based natural area, nature preserve and natural heritage systems—are still being requested and distributed, compliments of NAA. It has always been our intention to provide a follow-up study to further assess what is actually being protected, managed, and restored, and to provide key contact information for each state program to foster connections and exchange between NA managers and staff throughout the U.S.
	University Internship Program. NAA wants to expand this model program, which provides a unique opportunity for university students in ecology, botany, forestry, zoology, wildlife biology or a related field, to receive significant on-the-job experience in natural areas management—experience relevant for entry into the professional job market. Interns also receive scholarships to the Natural Areas Conference, allowing them to relate to and learn from other land managers in a professional context.
	Activate New Website Features that provide ‘hands-on’ tools to directly connect members with one another, and which provide the links, resources and information you need to get your questions answered quickly and effectively. Example: type in “invasive species in Illinois” and quickly locate conferences or articles available to help you complete your project. Type in the name or affiliation of someone that you met at the annual conference or who presented a workshop, and reach them in real-time. Funding is needed to cover web development, management and ongoing webmaster costs.
	Build Conservation Alliances with other national organizations, such as the Land Trust Alliance. The NAA just completed a day-long

 

Natural Areas Conference field trip participants at the Grand Canyon, North Rim.

	workshop entitled “Fee Land Stewardship” during the annual LTA Rally in Nashville last month. The workshop, presented by NAA members (see newsletter story, page 7), covered the importance of fee land stewardship and how to implement effective, science-based land management strategies. The interactive workshop included a field trip to several Tennessee State Natural Areas, where land management issues were further reviewed and discussed first-hand. Plans are already underway to have NAA present additional workshops in the near future, and funding is needed to cover travel, printed materials and related expenses.
	International Programs Support. NAA is truly international in scope, with members (and potential members who lack the funds to join) living and working in South Africa, Japan, Australia, Germany, and Guatemala, just to name a few countries. Donations to our scholarship fund provide the opportunity for our international members—our conservation peers—to participate in annual conferences and workshops that they otherwise could not afford to attend. International ties are important because they provide the opportunity to exchange information and experiences, offer support, discuss common challenges, and to develop long-lasting conservation alliances around the world. Let’s make it possible for more international members to be actively involved.
	Develop a new Fire Management Compendium CD-ROM, to include fire-related papers from over 24 volumes of the Natural Areas Journal. This project follows the Exotic and Invasive Species Compendium, which is currently available (visit www. naturalarea.org). This project is dependent on funding to cover both staff time and production.

Please donate today! You can easily and securely donate online. Or simply mail a check made out to Natural Areas Association. The NAA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and donations are tax-deductible. Thank You For Your Support!