7 Kind Organizations Protecting Wildlife Around The Globe

Today, plants and animals are facing unprecedented dangers throughout the world. Fortunately, there are many who devote their professional lives to preserving living things and increasing their populations, balancing the needs of nature with those of human beings. In no particular order, here are some groups that help safeguard our planet's creatures for generations to come.

In the #1 spot is the B.C. Wildlife Federation, a conservation organization in British Columbia, Canada. The nonprofit strives to ensure that the province's natural resources are protected, and advocates for responsible fishing, hunting, shooting, and other forms of outdoor recreation. BCWF works both alone and in collaboration, such as with the Wild Sheep Society to save the Chasm bighorn sheep from a respiratory pandemic.

The charity has labored on issues like defending waters around islands that are home to salmon and sturgeon, organizing campaigns to find alternatives to a highly-disruptive dam on the Chemainus River, and running an incentive program to encourage fishing for invasive species like rainbow and bull trout. BCWF also works to preserve the dwindling population of Interior Fraser steelhead, and manages campaigns on behalf of recreational shooters to prevent bans on firearms.

Coming in at #2 is the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, a nonprofit based in Madison. The organization's purpose is to engage and educate the citizenry and distribute financial resources in ways that benefit the state's environment. One of the core actions the group takes is creating endowments for a particular region or endangered species, or for general, statewide conservation needs.

One project of the Foundation is the Go Outside Fund, which provides students with outdoor learning experiences. Other examples of the organization's work include participating in the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, supporting Devil's Lake State Park, and sponsoring the Great Wisconsin Birdathon, a fundraiser in the style of a walk-a-thon, but with bird watching. The group also runs courses in naturalism, gardening, and land management, and puts out a seasonal magazine called Bridges.

Our #3 is a nonprofit headquartered in Bainbridge Island, Washington called the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network. The mission of WFEN is to safeguard and advocate for animals around the world using the power of economic incentives. The chief method the organization uses is to certify enterprises that meet the group's rigorous standards of conservation and humaneness.

Among other initiatives, the nonprofit collaborates with the Scottish beauty company Seilich, which plants native wildflowers to bolster local flora and fauna. WFEN publicizes Seilich and helps validate the brand's practices with official certification. Other projects include promoting responsibly-sourced wool, combating poaching, and protecting water monitors in the Philippines by fostering eco-tourism in mangrove forests, which raises awareness about the importance of preserving these habitats.

At #4 we have Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife, or VETPAW for short. This nonprofit has a headquarters in New York City, but performs most of its work on the ground in Africa. The group employs people who have served in the United States Military to shield cheetahs, rhinos, and elephants from poachers and other dangers.

Components of this mission include managing conservation zones, scientifically tracking the animals, advising park rangers and law enforcement on anti-poaching operations, and helping build up areas economically so that people don't need to turn to illegal hunting and smuggling to survive. It also assists veterinarians and boosts awareness among the general public. VETPAW raises some of its funds by selling apparel, participating in events like the Run for a Cause marathon, and facilitating eco-tourism, such as the Rhino Conservation Experience.

In the #5 spot is the international non-governmental organization World Wildlife Fund. The group focuses on species recovery and consults with businesses and governments on ways to balance earnings with being green, such as by protecting freshwater resources. WWF is involved in a diverse range of projects, including public policy, ensuring the availability of commodities, suppressing poaching, and lobbying.

Members of the organization can sign petitions, donate money via symbolic adoptions, and learn about the environmentalist movement by reading write-ups about WWF-related work, plus news stories aggregated from sources around the world. Investors and companies partnered with the group provide logistical support and make public stands for environmental causes, such as by joining the Business Backs Low-Carbon USA statement.

#6 on the list is Pacific Wild, a charity that protects natural spaces and native plants and animals in the Great Bear Rainforest and across Canada's west coast. The group relies on tools like news updates, vivid photography, community-led initiatives, and legal action to shape public opinion and influence policy. Supporters of the organization are encouraged to donate, sign petitions, and call their political representatives.

One of the nonprofit's flagship campaigns is to halt the killings of wolves in the Pacific Northwest, which are sometimes shot from helicopters in an attempt to save endangered caribou. The group has shared studies that concluded these culling techniques were ineffective. Pacific Wild is also involved with stopping overfishing by helping people learn to distinguish different salmon and address the intersecting challenges that threaten the fishes' existence.

Finally, our #7 is Defenders of Wildlife, a national conservation group based in Washington, DC dedicated to safeguarding animals and their threatened habitats. The strategy the organization uses is to help the diverse stakeholders in a given environment find common ground. In practice, this entails conversations between governments, scientists, Indigenous tribes, private landowners, and other conservationists.

An example of this process can be seen in the work Defenders of Wildlife has done to recover populations of gigantic salamanders called hellbenders. Biologists are deployed to provide education about the creatures' habitats to agricultural landowners, who can apply for program assistance to help them with the funds needed to accommodate the endangered amphibians.