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Protecting Our Watersheds "When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves." When the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) was formed in 1988, the founders conceived a new and innovative concept of bringing together conservation and business. Today, with our members and partners, we continue to share a vision to conserve and restore natural ecosystems. Join us in this 15th Anniversary Celebration. This milestone marks a very poignant place in the history of WHC as well as the history of conservation. It’s a proud era for WHC, as its members and partners join forces to tackle some our nation’s most challenging environmental concerns. Now, more than ever, there is a call for global cooperation in water conservation and efficiency issues. As a result, WHC members are forming partnerships to protect and restore aquatic ecosystems on and around corporate properties. Members can receive technical and financial assistance from partner programs such as the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, as well as work with experts on voluntary restoration of wetlands and other fish and wildlife habitats on their lands.
In an effort to protect natural resources, WHC has assisted more than 800 corporate sites worldwide on projects that benefit wildlife habitat. These projects extend across 2 million acres in 48 states, Puerto Rico and 15 other countries. Companies are paving the way for environmental stewardship by integrating wildlife management programs into their overall environmental strategies. They realize numerous benefits that improve environmental performance, increase employee moral, achieve visible cost-savings and increase community outreach. When wildlife teams expose the public to activities such as bird watching, nest monitoring, tree plantings, stream clean-ups and testing water quality, then the vision to further conservation awareness progresses. Throughout the year WHC organizes events, including Backyard Conservation and Corporate Lands for Learning workshops, Annual Symposium and RCRA conferences. These programs offer hands-on techniques, new trends and forums for discussing the successes and challenges of developing habitat and education programs. Distinguished scholar Dr. Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor & Honorary Curator in Entomology at Harvard University, opened the 14th Annual Symposium, Investing in Biodiversity, in Baltimore, Maryland, with ideas on the conservation movement and how to protect the treasures of our natural world. Dr. Wilson’s recommendations parallel one of WHC’s main concepts: Corporations own approximately 25% of all private land in the United States and play an essential role in protecting biodiversity and maintaining natural habitats. Symposium attendees also learned ideas on how to use habitat management projects, such as enhancing wetlands and creating a native plant demonstration garden, to teach others about the beauty of local flora and fauna. As an added bonus, members are promoting these concepts on a global scale! More and more businesses are turning to WHC in search of ways to improve land management practices in their surrounding communities as well as in communities overseas. For the past three summers, WHC has organized and hosted in Washington, D.C., a meeting of industry, government and conservation organizations to promote the inclusion of ecological enhancements as part of site restoration programs in Superfund, RCRA Corrective Action and Brownfields. This idea came naturally from WHC’s work over 15 years with its member companies and conservation groups to voluntarily enhance properties for wildlife habitat benefits. Both the environment and economy will benefit greatly if ecological enhancements are included in cleanup and restoration programs on a more systematic and efficient basis. Visit WHC's brownfields and restoration pages to learn about ongoing efforts on a regional and national scope. Innovative approaches to habitat management provide WHC members with tools to meet environmental challenges like wetland restoration and education. Core programs, such as Wildlife at Work, provide members with various methods of forming partnerships, encouraging employee involvement and conserving natural habitats. The strategic planning behind WHC programs begins at the top with the Board of Directors.
Volunteer representatives from both corporate and conservation organizations hold seats on the Board of Directors. This diverse group is directly responsible for the ongoing success of WHC programs. In February 2003, the Board convened in Houston, Texas, to tour the Houston Ship Channel and elect a new Executive Committee. Newly elected officers include Stephen A. Elbert, President of BP’s affiliate Group Environmental Management Company, as the Board Chairman and David Carroll, Vice President, Environment & Government Affairs, Lafarge North America, Inc., as the Secretary-Treasurer. With the opening of the Southwest Regional Office in 2002, WHC initiated the Houston Waterways for Wildlife Project to establish and expand partnerships with the corporate, public and regulatory communities along the Houston Ship Channel and Gulf Coast. WHC continues to work with new corporations each year to address important habitat and biodiversity issues on private lands. We cover numerous efforts – from promoting wetland education and restoration issues to increased public awareness, critical thinking and discussion. Our goal is to provide our members and the public with the most complete and up-to-date information on key environmental programs through our Web site, press releases and articles. Our Web site www.wildlifehc.org reaches across the globe, receiving over 500,000 hits a month. People visit us online to learn about habitat enhancement opportunities and new wildlife management tools. Each week, new member stories are posted about innovative land and water management practices that conserve biodiversity and about taking pride in being good stewards of the environment – expanding and growing with WHC each year to conserve our natural habitats.
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