Braided River 2013 Annual Report

A Year of Renewal

2013 Annual Report

Board of Directors Kate Roosevelt, Chair The Collins Group Elizabeth Lunney, Vice Chair Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust William Borden, Secretary EarthShare Washington Lisa Berntsen GeoEngineers Paul Balle Woodland Park Zoo

Resource Council Tom and Sonya Campion Jacob Engelstein Ellen Ferguson Chip Giller Tim Greyhavens

Florian Schulz presented To the Arctic in six cities during his 2013 tour.

Staff

Helen Cherullo Executive Director Lace Thornberg Development and Communications Director Jill Eikenhorst Development and Communications Coordinator Deborah Easter Development Editor Additionally, Braided River benefits from the support of the entire Mountaineers Books staff.

Find Us Online www.braidedriver.org Facebook.com/braidedriverbooks Twitter: @Braided_River

Andy Porter, The North Cascades

Helen’s Perspective: A Year of Renewal One of the many lessons that the natural world holds for us is that cycles of renewal keep a system in balance, helping it thrive. During the cold winter, many plants store energy for new growth in the spring. In 2013, we took a deliberate break from publishing new titles, instead focusing on our numerous existing projects and campaigns, organizational changes, and carefully planning and funding titles for 2014 and beyond.

As a result, many of our ongoing projects saw new and continued successes in 2013.

Achieving a tangible policy outcome is always an exciting validation of our work, and when that outcome is preserving 11 million acres in the Arctic, it provides the energy and the confidence to take on visionary new projects. On Arctic Ground author Debbie Miller continued to share presentations across the U.S., including congressional testimony and a visit with the interior secretary. Additionally, Florian Schulz, photographer of To the Arctic, visited six cities with his multimedia presentation.

We also took the opportunity to enhance our own infrastructure. We have the honor of working with a smart and dedicated board of directors led by Kate Roosevelt. In the past year we added Paul Balle of Woodland Park Zoo to our board. We invested in supporting our fund development and communications functions and hired both a director and a coordinator. We will work together on finding support and resources for Braided River and Mountaineers Books, bringing continuity, efficiency, and a broader range of skills to our work.

In 2013, we also focused on the intensive work of raising funds and producing two beautiful, engaging books on ecosystems in the lower 48, the North Cascades (in our own Washington State), and the Crown of the Continent (in the beautiful transboundary region around Glacier-Waterton International Park). Now in the creative throes of getting the books off to the printer, we look forward to launching these new projects to change perspectives and encourage public engagement in some of the most important conservation issues of our time.

Sincerely,

Executive Director

One of the new protected areas in the National Petroleum ReserveAlaska, the Arctic Foothills Special Area protects crucial migration routes of the huge Western Arctic Caribou Herd. Patrick Endres, On Arctic Ground.

2013 By the Numbers

2,100

Event Attendees

Steven Kazlowski, On Arctic Ground

3,200

Braided River Titles Sold

15,000 Exhibit Visitors

1 million+

Reached Through Media

Patrick Endres, On Arctic Ground

Preserving 11 Million Acres in America’s Arctic In the spring of 2013, then Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar approved a management plan for one of the largest and most pristine expanses of public land in America. The unfortunately named “National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska” covers 22 million acres of public land—and is located just west of Prudhoe Bay. Here’s how our project On Arctic Ground helped shape a decision that preserves 11 million acres of critical habitat for caribou, migrating birds, and other wildlife: • We developed early partnerships with respected conservation organizations and foundations including, Campion Foundation, Alaska Wilderness League, Audubon Alaska, Earthjustice, Sierra Club, and The Wilderness Society.

With these partnerships in place, we developed a book and campaign that dovetailed with ongoing public education and advocacy efforts.

• Through a grant from Campion Foundation, over 7,000 books were provided at cost to advocacy groups to use strategically in their media and education campaigns.

Author Debbie Miller held up On Arctic Ground in congressional testimony.

• Author Debbie Miller and other contributors to the book presented multimedia events across the U.S., including Washington D.C., to introduce audiences to this unique, environmentally rich, and remote public land.

• Our advocacy partners targeted key decision makers with books and multimedia. Miller presented at the Department of the Interior, sharing the beauty of the Reserve with officials who would decide its fate, but had never had the chance to visit it. Stories and images transported these decision makers to “America’s Arctic.” Our partners confirmed: “the book made a difference.”

Even with this success, there is more work to be done. The critical habitat areas are only protected in a management plan, not permanently designated as wilderness. The book will play an important role as discussions about climate change and energy development continue to be a national priority.

Joel Sartore, On Arctic Ground

To the Arctic Spring Tour In March 2013, photographer Florian Schulz shared his To the Arctic presentation with over 2,100 people in six cities: St. Louis, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Rochester, and Long Island, NY. The multimedia presentation showcased the variety of life in the Arctic, simultaneously delighting and educating audiences.

Media outreach brought To the Arctic images and stories to an even wider audience, reaching tens of thousands more individuals. The diverse media outlets that featured the tour include Treehugger.com, Great Day St. Louis, and Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle.

“Florian’s presentation was fantastic and we had a standing room only crowd! His photography is amazing; he had awesome images of caribou, musk ox and of course, polar bears. His storytelling ability is great. He has a wonderful gift of sharing his knowledge of the amazing animals of the Arctic as well as important conservation messages.”

---Margie Marks, Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium

Florian Schulz, To the Arctic

Amy Gulick, Salmon in the Trees

Salmon in the Trees Permanent Exhibits Photographer Amy Gulick has proven to be every bit as determined as the spawning salmon she so eloquently captures in Salmon in the Trees: Life in Alaska’s Tongass Rain Forest. Her campaign, launched in 2010, now includes two permanent exhibits in Southeast Alaska, which will tell the stories of the Tongass ecosystem for many years to come.

The first permanent exhibit opened in May 2012 at the James and Elsie Noland Center in the Southeast Alaska community of Wrangell, an important stop for tour boats. In 2013, the center saw 15,000 visitors.

Gulick has been invited to develop a second permanent exhibit at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center in the Tongass National Forest.

The center receives over 400,000 visitors annually, many from cruise ships and tour boats, and provides a unique opportunity to interpret the ecosystem right outside the center’s doors.

Through funding from the Wilburforce Foundation, the Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation, and the Campion Foundation, installation began in late 2013 and the exhibit opens in 2014.

Projects In Progress Braided River’s book projects are years in the making. In 2013, we brought two exciting projects closer to their slated 2014 launch dates, and initiated projects for 2015 and beyond.

Launching in 2014

The Rocky Mountains run for 250 miles between western Montana and Alberta, Canada, in a special place called the Crown of the Continent. All told, the Crown holds 18 million acres of unparalleled wild beauty. Known to Native Americans as “The Backbone of the World,” it is one of the most intact ecosystems remaining in North America, one that boasts a successful and inspiring history of conservation.

Launching in May 2014, Crown of the Continent: The Wildest Rockies explores the surprising connections between culture, history, communities, and the great outdoors in one of the world’s most majestic regions. Photographer Steven Gnam takes us into the very heart and soul of the Rockies with unique and stunning images.

Steven Gnam, Crown of the Continent Washington’s North Cascades hold some of the most magnificent mountains, lowland old growth forests, and pristine rivers on the planet. Some of these features are safely contained within national park boundaries or federally designated wilderness areas, but few people realize how many acres remain unprotected. With a growing regional population leading to tremendous development pressures, this project draws attention to the many reasons the integrity of this ecosystem must remain intact.

The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby, coming in fall 2014, brings the North Cascades alive

through vivid imagery and stories, and guides readers to visit first hand. The book features images from 30 talented photographers and essays by William Dietrich. Public events and outreach will bring the stories and imagery to an even larger audience.

Upcoming Projects for 2015 and 2016 Baja to Beaufort The Wild Edge

Following up on our Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam project, photographer Florian Schulz will document a different kind of wildlife corridor. From Baja California to the icy realm of the Polar Bear in the Beaufort Sea, the west coast of North America provides critical habitat where land meets sea.

Through photography and insightful essays, Baja to Beaufort: The Wild Edge shows us that these species and ecosystems are interrelated— and that their health depends upon preserving connectivity.

Bristol Bay, in Southwest Alaska, is one of the few places on Earth where wild salmon still thrive. Each year, some 80 million sockeye return to spawn in Bristol Bay’s tapestry of lakes, rivers and streams. But the beauty and richness of this wild salmon stronghold faces unprecedented threats from large-scale mining projects.

Where Water is Gold Life and Livelihood in Alaska’s Bristol Bay

Where Water is Gold: Life and Livelihood in Alaska’s Bristol Bay with Alaskan photographer Carl

Johnson will be part of a continuing campaign to protect this unique place from mining and development.

Sage Spirit

The “Sagebrush Sea” is one of the most extensive ecosystems in North America and unique among the shrub steppe ecosystems of the world. This land of wide-open spaces, solitude, and wildlife in staggering numbers and diversity is largely unprotected and widely misunderstood. Although development and fragmentation threaten our natural heritage, the West is linked by wildlife, the land, and people determined to build a lasting legacy.

In Sage Spirit, photographer Dave Showalter will examine the beauty, ecological diversity, and human use of this quintessential American landscape.

Caribou along the southeast corner of the Teshekpuk Lake in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Subhanker Banerjee, Arctic National Wildlife Refugee: Seasons of Life and Land

Donor Profile: Tom and Sonya Campion After his first visit to America’s Arctic in 1995, preserving the vast, remote wildlands of Alaska became Tom Campion’s driving cause. “Looking out I could see the expanse of the 19-million acre reserve and actually see where the earth curves,” he said.

“America’s Arctic – Is it for Sale?”

In 2001, the Campions helped fund Subhankar Banerjee on a mission to photograph wildlife in the Arctic. These images became Mountaineers Books’ Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land, the book that Senator Barbara Boxer held up during a Congressional debate on oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge, ultimately helping to defeat the drilling.

Tom and Sonya Campion have The book received key financial underwriting from The Mountaineers supported Braided River since Foundation, and Lannanof Foundation supported two years of extensive public our Kane Hall, University Washington campus, Room 130, Thursday, November founding. 30, 2006, 7:00 events and traveling museum exhibits based on the book. Book sales alone would never have covered the costs for these ambitious efforts. The success inspired Mountaineers Books to found a distinct, philanthropically supported conservation series of photographic books and outreach efforts that wewilderness know today as Braided River.

Development threats to America’s Arctic

An evening with Subhankar Banerjee p.m.

are swiftly expanding beyond the bounds of the still imperiled The founder of Zumiez, a cutting-edge youth retailer with over 400 stores, Tom is a visionary force in both Arcticbusiness National Wildlife Refuge. and philanthropy.

He is willing to take risks, based on finely honed marketing skills—a trait that was

essential to Braided River’s founding and early growth. Sonya brings her impressive professional experience in non-profit development to her philanthropy. She is especially focused on capacity building in the non-profit sector, and her advice has helped Braided River grow seasonably since its founding.

Oil drilling and coal mining development has precedence Over the years, Campion Foundation has supported many Braided River campaigns—from Washington State’sneeds— over finding new ways to address our growing energy Columbia Highlands, to the Tongass rainforest of Alaska. The Campions’ support for Braided River over the our planet and the last remaining wild places on past decade has turned an entrepreneurial dream into a distinctive and reliable business model for change. Their sacrificed foreverhelping in thetoprocess. support goes well beyond financial resources—they provide strategicmay visionbe and broker partnerships, leverage resources for the highest impact.

2013 Financial Statement

Thank You to Our Donors

Revenue

Foundations

Individual Contributions 45%

stnarG noitadnuoF %25

tiforP-noN stnarG noitazinagOther rO 1% %2

For our 2013 Fiscal Year

laFoundation udividnI Grants snoitubirtnoC 52% %54

Non-Profit Organization Grants rehtO 2% %1

Campion Foundation The George L. Shields Foundation The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation Margot McDougall Foundation Weeden Foundation Wilburforce Foundation

Non-Profit Partners

Vital Gound Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative

Individuals

$10,000+ Tom and Sonya Campion Jacob Englestein Ann Holz Margot McDougall

Expenses Publication and Exhibit Development 18%

Adminstration 11% Outreach and Communications 11%

Fieldwork 60%

Statement of Activities FY2013-14 Revenue Foundation Grants

$159,689

Individual Contributions

$135,473

Non-Profit Organization Grants Other Total Revenue

$5,000 $4,283 $304,443

Expenses Program Expenses Outreach and Communications Fieldwork Publication and Exhibit Development

$40,469 $214,587 $66,243

Supporting Expenses* Administration

$40,447

Total Expenses

$361,773

Change in Net Assets

$(57,329)

Net Assets, Beginning of Year

$112,405

Net Assets, End of Year

$55,076

*Braided River receives in-kind fundraising support from Mountaineers Books.

Unaudited financial statement for April 1, 2013–March 31, 2014. Please contact us for additional details and audited statements.

$1,000–9,999 Paul Balle Don and Marci Heck Kate Roosevelt and Caroline Maillard $500–999 Lisa Berntsen Dan and Nadine Lauren Tab Wilkins $100–499 Eric Linxweiler Tina Bullitt Elizabeth Lunney Colleen Campbell Martin and Lissa Helen Cherullo Mahalchin Tom Clark and Kate William Maxwell Rogers Richard and Martha W. K. Nelson Mindy Roberts Draves Karen Robins Joel and Karen Ken and Pat Small Eikenhorst Lace Thornberg Art Freeman Martinique and Eliot Chris Troth Grigg Dana Visser Pamela Waltner Amy Gulick Mona West Jeffrey Hancock Suzie White Molly Hashimoto Jim and Mary Lou Gary Hawkey Wickwire Karsten Heuer Bret Wirta Tom Hornbein Gavin Woody Geoff Lawrence $1–99 Allan Baker Jenn Hoffman and Leigh Ann Betts Stephen Legault Jennifer Bigus Ellen McKay Brenda Davison A.W.K. Metzner Kristy Davison Peter Poole Jill Eikenhorst V. Sidney Raines Carolyn Graham Michael Schaum Renée Krysko Elizabeth Watson

1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201 Seattle, Washington 98134 206-223-6303, info@braidedriver.org www.braidedriver.org Cover Photo: Spring creek bed in Glacier National Park, MT Steven Gnam, Crown of the Continent:The Wildest Rockies This Page: Sitka Black-tailed Deer Fawn on Prince of Wales Island, AK. Amy Gulick, Salmon in the Trees: Life in Alaska’s Tongass Rain Forest