After Congress established the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in 1984, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) became our first federal partner.  Today, FWS continues to be our flagship partner. Together, we are forging several new initiatives that bring together conservation organizations, governments, businesses and individuals to generate new resources for conservation.  From 1986 to 2011, NFWF leveraged $183 million in FWS-appropriated funds to support more than 4,314 grants to 1,800 conservation partners, resulting in more than $713 million for projects that benefit conservation in all 50 states, the U.S. Territories and around the globe.

In FY2011, NFWF leveraged $7.7 million in FWS funds into approximately $31 million for on-the-ground conservation.  The FWS funds supported targeted conservation efforts focusing on at-risk species, habitat enhancement and community-based stewardship.  The partnership seeks to increase populations of targeted species by supporting the restoration of landscape level habitats.  Several areas of focus include sea birds, migratory corridors, longleaf pine, early successional forest, Great Lakes and Pacific salmon ecosystems.