At the end of the 1980s I started being a supporter of Northwest Ecosystem Alliance because the fledgling organization gave me hope for the continuing health of the natural environment of my area in the face of a drastically expanding human population.
That organization is now called Conservation Northwest, and it gives me more hope than ever.
I live in Washington State (first Seattle, and now Spokane) and I am extremely fortunate to have diverse and unusual ecosystems in my backyard. There are diverse wildflowers and old-growth forests, tiny pikas and grizzly bears. There are about 44 endangered species, including iconic mammals such as the gray wolf, cougar and orca whale. One of the most critically endangered species in the U.S. is found in northeastern Washington: the woodland caribou. I have seen one of these magnificent reindeer relatives while on a hike. There was snow on the ground in the mountains on the 4th of July, and we saw nearly round hoof prints.
And then we came upon this solid and compact caribou with its snowshoe-like round hooves. It was a very rare siting of a woodland caribou for someone in the Northwestern U.S.
I am indeed fortunate.
The world is filled with deserving causes, but more and more I see the point of helping out in my own backyard. Conservation Northwest looks out for the wild Northwest and the balance between ecosystems, communities and wildlife. None of our natural treasures are a given for the future, and Conservation Northwest is watching out for the wild, present and future. Of course these are the country’s and the world’s wild treasures too...rare, wonderful, and to be preserved by and for all.
This month, for the sixth year, I am devoting a portion of my sales to CNW. Twenty-five percent of the purchase price on any of my vintage items in the denisebrain web store and the denisebrain Etsy shop will go to this great organization. If you don’t see any vintage that inspires you but would like to contribute, please go to my YouCaring.com page. YouCaring takes no money from the cause, so your donation goes entirely to CNW.
My goal is challenging: $500. We’ve done it before, you and I...let’s do it again!