Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. We protect and restore imperiled species throughout North America by transforming policies and institutions and by promoting innovative solutions, using scientific, legal and policy expertise, hands-on wildlife management experience and advocacy.
Defenders of Wildlife channels much of its recent grantmaking toward coexistence work where people and wildlife share the same landscapes. Among the clearest examples is a $76,500 grant to Indian Nations Conservation Alliance in Taos, New Mexico, to reduce wolf-livestock conflicts while advancing range and grassland conservation objectives. The foundation also backed tribal and regional partners on bison and carnivore work, including The Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Nation for specialized bison fencing and Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes for fencing materials and a bison quarantine program. Its grants reflect a conservation model that mixes on-the-ground support with policy and advocacy. Recent awards also support efforts to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife crossings and road safety, and marine or coastal conservation. In practice, the funder often supports staffing, field operations, infrastructure, and education alongside broader campaigns. The grant list shows repeated support for some partners across multiple years, including Alaska Wilderness League, Aris Land & Livestock LLC, Rangeland Wild, and Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes. The overall picture is of a national wildlife funder working across species protection, habitat conservation, and human-wildlife conflict reduction.
Wolf coexistence is a major theme in the recent grants. Defenders of Wildlife gave $27,200 to Rangeland Wild for two range riders in North Park, Colorado, plus Ranching with Wolves workshops and broader wolf-livestock coexistence work, and it also funded Aris Land & Livestock LLC for efforts to avoid wolf depredation in the Gila National Forest. The foundation also supports beaver and bison management. It awarded $30,653 to Clark Fork Coalition for the Montana Beaver Conflict Resolution Program and $21,000 to Montana Fresh Water Partners for a beaver conflict resolution position in Montana Region 3. For bison, grants to The Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Nation and Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes supported fencing and quarantine infrastructure tied to cultural herds. A third thread is public lands and species advocacy. Alaska Wilderness League received support for the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign, and Hispanic Access Foundation was funded for conservation projects, Latino Conservation Week activities, and work connected to the Western Riverside County National Wildlife Refuge.
$394K
$65.5M
$48.6M
$38.3M
Most grants fall between $7K and $22K, with a median of $11K.
25th Percentile
$7K
Median
$11K
75th Percentile
$22K
About 12% of grants go to recipients in MT.
Andrew Bowman
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Typical grants cluster in the low five figures: the 25th percentile is $7,000, the median is $11,000, and the 75th percentile is $21,656. Larger awards are present, but the distribution suggests many grants are designed for specific projects, staffing, or equipment rather than very large institutional commitments. The recent list shows recurrence across years for multiple recipients, including Alaska Wilderness League, Indian Nations Conservation Alliance, Aris Land & Livestock LLC, and Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, which points to ongoing partnerships rather than one-off support. Defenders of Wildlife is a regular funder, not a DAF. It does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments.
Grantmaking is national, with recipients spread across the United States only. Alaska stands out as the top state by grant count, and Washington, DC also appears repeatedly among recipient locations. The recent grants include multiple recipients in Montana, such as Missoula, Livingston, Browning, and Poplar, plus Taos, New Mexico; New River and Whiteriver, Arizona; Nokomis, Florida; and Seward, Alaska. The recipient country distribution is entirely U.S.-based, at 77 grants and 100% of the sample.
The recent grants emphasize wildlife coexistence, species protection, habitat conservation, and advocacy. Examples include support for wolf-livestock conflict reduction, beaver conflict resolution, bison herd infrastructure, Arctic Refuge defense, and conservation education tied to wildlife and landscape protection.
Yes. Several grantees appear in more than one year, including Alaska Wilderness League, Indian Nations Conservation Alliance, Aris Land & Livestock LLC, Rangeland Wild, and Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships around specific conservation work.
The grant-size distribution is centered in the low five figures: p25 is $7,000, median is $11,000, and p75 is $21,656. The recent list also includes larger awards, such as $76,500 and $55,000, for specific projects and campaigns.
By grant count, Alaska is the top state in the recent data. The awards are otherwise spread nationally, with repeated recipient locations in Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, Washington, DC, Florida, and Alaska.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| County of Dare | Manteo, NC | $120,114 | 2026 | To re-fence to Dare County Transfer Station on Cub Road in Manns Harbor, NC. |
| Aris Land & Livestock LLC | New River, AZ | $24,000 | 2026 | To assit with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on allotment(s) on the Gila National Forest during spring/summer 2025 grazing season |
| The Blackfoot Challenge Inc | Ovando, MT | $22,000 | 2026 | To assist with costs associated with the purchase of a 20ft shipping container for bear attractant containment on a location with a history of conflict with grizzly bears; To assist with costs associated with your Livestock Loss Prevention program |
| Southern Plains Land Trust | Centennial, CO | $21,186 | 2026 | Toward hiring contract labor to install wildlife-friendly, bison fencing for new acres of habitat acquired for the bison conservation herd of the Southern Plains Land Trust. |
| City of Hamilton | Hamilton, MT | $20,110 | 2026 | 14 bear-resistant trash enclosures to the city of Hamilton, Montana. |
| Tom Miner Basin Association | Emigrant, MT | $19,000 | 2026 | To assist with costs associated with Livestock Loss Prevention Program and Bear Ranger Program. |
| White Mountain Apache Tribe | Whiteriver, AZ | $18,000 | 2026 | To further the Tribe's conservation goals to coexist with the Mexican gray wolves by funding range riders who will work with the tribe's Game and Fish Department and in coordination with tribal range managers and livestock associations to reduce wolf-livestock conflict. |
| KCK Investments LLC | Mesa, AZ | $18,000 | 2026 | To assist with costs associated with efforts to prevent wildlife depredation by wolves on Centerfire allotment in Gila National Forest during the Winter/Spring 2025 grazing season |
| Beaver Institute Inc | Southampton, MA | $17,500 | 2026 | To assist with costs associated with your BeaverCorps program |
| Rocky Mountain Front Ranchlands Group | Valier, MT | $15,000 | 2026 | To assist with costs associated with efforts to facilitate the Montana state subcommmittee of the Conflict Reduction Consortium and for a range rider to reduce wolf-livestock conflict on the Rocky Mountain Front |
| Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation | Browning, MT | $13,000 | 2026 | To support the labor to host linnii Days/Blackfeet Nation - this major annual gathering of Tribal members and partners (Glacier Waterton Lakes NPs and NGOs) june 4-6, 2025.; For labor to install bison fencing for their cultural buffalo herd. |
| Wildlife Restoration Foundation | Arlington, VA | $13,000 | 2026 | Contribution to help support the costs associated with the North American Bison Summit, scheduled for 04/01-04/04/2025 in Fort Collins, Colorado. |
| LLCJBARL Ranches | Bozeman, MT | $10,000 | 2026 | "To assist with costs associated with your efforts to monitor large carnivore presence on your federal grazing lease and better track where coexistence efforts are needed in addition to range riding, electric fencing, and other nonlethal conflict |
| University of North Carolina at Asheville | Asheville, NC | $10,000 | 2026 | To support in the Hellbender research that the University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA) is completing. |
| Watershed Management Group Inc | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 2026 | To facilitate beaver coexistence work through the Arizona Statewide Beaver Working Group. |
| Alaska Wildlife Alliance | Anchorage, AK | $8,800 | 2026 | To help support the Project Manager for the Cook Inlet Beluga Advocacy Group (CIBAG) and its activities. |
| Strayhorse Ranch | Lakeside, AZ | $7,500 | 2026 | To assist with costs associated with your efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on your grazing allotment in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest during the Summer/Fall 2025 grazing season. |
| Friends of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge | Port Isabel, TX | $7,500 | 2026 | To support efforts for the ocelot conservation and recovery in the National Wildlife Refuge and nearby areas. |
| The Pisgah Conservancy | Brevard, NC | $7,500 | 2026 | In sponsorship of the River Ranger program. |
| Maryhalen & Bobby Peters DBA Slade Ranchllc | Springville, AZ | $6,000 | 2026 | To assist with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on their allotment in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest during Summer/Fall 2025 grazing season. |
| Andrus Ranch Holdings LLC | Concho, AZ | $6,000 | 2026 | To assist with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on Sponsoller allotment in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest during the Summer/Fall 2025 grazing season. |
| Univeristy of Alaska | Fairbanks, AK | $47,120 | 2025 | To support ANSEP contract |
| Indian Nations Conservation Alliance | Taos, NM | $32,333 | 2025 | To support tribal efforts to reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock and to assist with range and grassland conservation objectives. |
| Alaska Wilderness League | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 2025 | To support the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign's efforts to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. |
| Aris Land & Livestock LLC | New River, AZ | $24,000 | 2025 | To assist with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves in the Gila National Forest. |
| Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes | Poplar, MT | $22,500 | 2025 | To assist in cost associated with the bison quarantine program on Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana. |
| Legacy Philanthropy Works | Santa Barbara, CA | $21,656 | 2025 | To employ a Resilience Coordinator position to further the goals of the Northwest Florida Sentinel Landscape Partnership (NWFSL). |
| White Mountain Apache Tribe | Whiteriver, AZ | $18,000 | 2025 | To support efforts for Mexican gray wolf coexistence strategies in AZ. |
| The Blackfoot Challenge Inc | Ovando, MT | $14,000 | 2025 | To support grizzly bear coexistence projects. |
| Alaska Wildlife Alliance | Anchorage, AK | $13,000 | 2025 | To assist with costs associated with a coordinator for the Cook Inlet Beluga Advocacy Group and its activities. |
| Rangeland Wild | Dana Point, CA | $11,815 | 2025 | For Ranching with Wolves workshop in Oregon; towards continued wolf-livestock coexistence work in North Park, CO. |
| Wild Earth Society Inc | Seattle, WA | $10,000 | 2025 | To assist in survey of vehicle-wildlife collisions in North Carolina |
| Greater Yellowstone Coalition | Bozeman, MT | $9,500 | 2025 | To assist with costs associated with bear coexistence in MT and WY |
| Tom Miner Basin Association | Emigrant, MT | $9,000 | 2025 | To assist with costs associated with Livestock Loss Prevention Program and Bear Ranger Program. |
| KCK Investments Inc | Mesa, AZ | $6,000 | 2025 | To support efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on allotment or allotments in the Gila National Forest |
| Strayhorse Ranch LLC | Lakeside, AZ | $6,000 | 2025 | To support efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on grazing allotment in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest |
| Slade Ranch LLC CO Sug Peters | Springerville, AZ | $6,000 | 2025 | To support efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on grazing allotment in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest |
| Andrus Ranch Holdings LLC | Concho, AZ | $6,000 | 2025 | To support efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on grazing allotment in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. |
| The Partnership Project Inc | Washington, DC | $5,300 | 2025 | To contribute to Combined Defense Project farewell celebration for Green Leadership Trust 2024 Spring Fundraising Campaign |
| Indian Nations Conservation Alliance | Taos, NM | $76,500 | 2024 | To support tribal efforts to reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock and to assist with range and grassland conservation objectives. |
| Alaska Wilderness League | Washington, DC | $55,000 | 2024 | To support the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign's efforts to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. |
| The Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Nation | Browning, MT | $36,900 | 2024 | To install specialized bison fencing for their growing cultural herd. |
| Clark Fork Coalition | Missoula, MT | $30,653 | 2024 | To assist with costs associated with the Montana Beaver Conflict Resolution Program to promote coexistence with beaver in Western Montana. |
| Florida Conservation Group Inc | Nokomis, FL | $30,000 | 2024 | To support landscape-scale conservation in southwest Florida. |
| University of Montana | Missoula, MT | $25,000 | 2024 | To assist with costs for field technicians for the Southwest Montana DNA project. |
| Aris Land & Livestock LLC | New River, AZ | $24,000 | 2024 | To assist with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves in the Gila National Forest. |
| Montana Fresh Water Partners Inc | Livingston, MT | $21,000 | 2024 | To assist with costs associated with a beaver conflict resolution position for MT Region 3, hosted by Montana Freshwater Partners. |
| National Wildlife Federation | Missoula, MT | $20,000 | 2024 | To assist with costs associated with a beaver coexistence field technician in Northwest Wyoming. |
| KCK Investments Inc | Mesa, AZ | $18,000 | 2024 | To assist with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves in the Gila National Forest. |
| Association for the Betterment of Bucksport | Conway, SC | $18,000 | 2024 | To conduct a hydrological evaluation of Bucksport. |
County of Dare
$120,114To re-fence to Dare County Transfer Station on Cub Road in Manns Harbor, NC.
Aris Land & Livestock LLC
$24,000To assit with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on allotment(s) on the Gila National Forest during spring/summer 2025 grazing season
To assist with costs associated with the purchase of a 20ft shipping container for bear attractant containment on a location with a history of conflict with grizzly bears; To assist with costs associated with your Livestock Loss Prevention program
Toward hiring contract labor to install wildlife-friendly, bison fencing for new acres of habitat acquired for the bison conservation herd of the Southern Plains Land Trust.
City of Hamilton
$20,11014 bear-resistant trash enclosures to the city of Hamilton, Montana.
Tom Miner Basin Association
$19,000To assist with costs associated with Livestock Loss Prevention Program and Bear Ranger Program.
White Mountain Apache Tribe
$18,000To further the Tribe's conservation goals to coexist with the Mexican gray wolves by funding range riders who will work with the tribe's Game and Fish Department and in coordination with tribal range managers and livestock associations to reduce wolf-livestock conflict.
KCK Investments LLC
$18,000To assist with costs associated with efforts to prevent wildlife depredation by wolves on Centerfire allotment in Gila National Forest during the Winter/Spring 2025 grazing season
Beaver Institute Inc
$17,500To assist with costs associated with your BeaverCorps program
Rocky Mountain Front Ranchlands Group
$15,000To assist with costs associated with efforts to facilitate the Montana state subcommmittee of the Conflict Reduction Consortium and for a range rider to reduce wolf-livestock conflict on the Rocky Mountain Front
Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation
$13,000To support the labor to host linnii Days/Blackfeet Nation - this major annual gathering of Tribal members and partners (Glacier Waterton Lakes NPs and NGOs) june 4-6, 2025.; For labor to install bison fencing for their cultural buffalo herd.
Wildlife Restoration Foundation
$13,000Contribution to help support the costs associated with the North American Bison Summit, scheduled for 04/01-04/04/2025 in Fort Collins, Colorado.
LLCJBARL Ranches
$10,000"To assist with costs associated with your efforts to monitor large carnivore presence on your federal grazing lease and better track where coexistence efforts are needed in addition to range riding, electric fencing, and other nonlethal conflict
University of North Carolina at Asheville
$10,000To support in the Hellbender research that the University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA) is completing.
Watershed Management Group Inc
$10,000To facilitate beaver coexistence work through the Arizona Statewide Beaver Working Group.
Alaska Wildlife Alliance
$8,800To help support the Project Manager for the Cook Inlet Beluga Advocacy Group (CIBAG) and its activities.
Strayhorse Ranch
$7,500To assist with costs associated with your efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on your grazing allotment in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest during the Summer/Fall 2025 grazing season.
Friends of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
$7,500To support efforts for the ocelot conservation and recovery in the National Wildlife Refuge and nearby areas.
The Pisgah Conservancy
$7,500In sponsorship of the River Ranger program.
Maryhalen & Bobby Peters DBA Slade Ranchllc
$6,000To assist with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on their allotment in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest during Summer/Fall 2025 grazing season.
Andrus Ranch Holdings LLC
$6,000To assist with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on Sponsoller allotment in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest during the Summer/Fall 2025 grazing season.
Univeristy of Alaska
$47,120To support ANSEP contract
To support tribal efforts to reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock and to assist with range and grassland conservation objectives.
To support the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign's efforts to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Aris Land & Livestock LLC
$24,000To assist with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves in the Gila National Forest.
Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes
$22,500To assist in cost associated with the bison quarantine program on Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana.
To employ a Resilience Coordinator position to further the goals of the Northwest Florida Sentinel Landscape Partnership (NWFSL).
White Mountain Apache Tribe
$18,000To support efforts for Mexican gray wolf coexistence strategies in AZ.
Alaska Wildlife Alliance
$13,000To assist with costs associated with a coordinator for the Cook Inlet Beluga Advocacy Group and its activities.
Rangeland Wild
$11,815For Ranching with Wolves workshop in Oregon; towards continued wolf-livestock coexistence work in North Park, CO.
To assist in survey of vehicle-wildlife collisions in North Carolina
To assist with costs associated with bear coexistence in MT and WY
Tom Miner Basin Association
$9,000To assist with costs associated with Livestock Loss Prevention Program and Bear Ranger Program.
KCK Investments Inc
$6,000To support efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on allotment or allotments in the Gila National Forest
Strayhorse Ranch LLC
$6,000To support efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on grazing allotment in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest
Slade Ranch LLC CO Sug Peters
$6,000To support efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on grazing allotment in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest
Andrus Ranch Holdings LLC
$6,000To support efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves on grazing allotment in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
To contribute to Combined Defense Project farewell celebration for Green Leadership Trust 2024 Spring Fundraising Campaign
To support tribal efforts to reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock and to assist with range and grassland conservation objectives.
To support the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign's efforts to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Nation
$36,900To install specialized bison fencing for their growing cultural herd.
To assist with costs associated with the Montana Beaver Conflict Resolution Program to promote coexistence with beaver in Western Montana.
Florida Conservation Group Inc
$30,000To support landscape-scale conservation in southwest Florida.
University of Montana
$25,000To assist with costs for field technicians for the Southwest Montana DNA project.
Aris Land & Livestock LLC
$24,000To assist with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves in the Gila National Forest.
To assist with costs associated with a beaver conflict resolution position for MT Region 3, hosted by Montana Freshwater Partners.
To assist with costs associated with a beaver coexistence field technician in Northwest Wyoming.
KCK Investments Inc
$18,000To assist with costs associated with efforts to avoid livestock depredation by wolves in the Gila National Forest.
Association for the Betterment of Bucksport
$18,000To conduct a hydrological evaluation of Bucksport.