Climate Change:  In 2008, the Harder Foundation will consider how climate change will impact public lands and waters, and what those impacts mean for conservation strategies that we support. Dramatic changes in ecosystems are already visible and affect all of the ecosystems that the Foundation has historically been concerned with: temperate federal forests; salmon-supporting rivers and estuaries; grizzly bear habitat; and nearshore marine ecosystems.  Climate change requires us to reconsider long-term strategic approaches to protect ecosystems that will likely provide the best hope for species survival over the long haul.  While the Foundation will not open a new strategic funding program around climate change, we will encourage grantees to address how public lands and waters can be best managed for biodiversity and preserving ecosystem functions in the face of global warming.

Collaborative approaches:  The Harder Foundation values collaboration, and seeks to fund well organized campaigns and coalitions that have shared goals and objectives, formal governance and decision-making structures, fiscal sponsorship and independent campaign budgets.  The Foundation also provides general support for effective state level organizations and coalitions that establish common priorities for the state’s environmental community. 

Advocacy strategies based on peer-reviewed science and law:   The Foundation supports strategies that protect public lands and waters through public policy.  We prioritize well-targeted advocacy efforts that address administrative and regulatory policies and resource management systems at state and federal agencies, and legal strategies that use peer-reviewed science to implement and enforce bedrock environmental laws.  We also look for strategies that prompt positive changes in public policies.

Communications:  Effective communication and media strategies are essential components of campaigns to influence public policy.  We will consider proposals to support communication strategies that form an integral part of broader campaign efforts within our geographic and strategic priorities.

Economics:  Threats to the health of public land and water ecosystems are largely driven by economic interests, for example expanding oil and gas development, over-allocating fishery resources, or promoting inappropriate backcountry recreation.  The Foundation is interested in supporting projects that take into account the economic factors that affect public lands and waters, both negatively and positively, and that aim for conservation solutions that are economically and ecologically sustainable.