Letter from the President

Lovely little girl riding joyfully on her young daddy?s shoulder while they are hiking in forest. Both of them looking up at the tall trees & appreciating the scenic green landscape that surrounds them.
Credit: Getty Images

Individual Actions, Shared Impact

Working to Save People, Wildlife, and the Planet

The biggest wins for wildlife are only possible because of individual actions. Whether it’s an individual milkweed plug in your backyard or a single call to an elected leader’s office, these small actions collectively add up to big impacts as drops in the bucket.

Whether it is the passage of the most significant climate change legislation ever, the Inflation Reduction Act; the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge surpassing 1,000 pledges; the restoration of lands and transfer of buffalo to the Wind River Reservation; or the groundbreaking for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over the 101 highway in Los Angeles, each of these impacts started with individual action. 

2022 also was a watershed year for our transition toward embedding equity and environmental justice in our work. From the creation of environmental justice action plans to the launch of our “Seeds of Culture Change” podcast, the impacts of this shift are more apparent than ever. But this shift toward justice is also about ensuring we are centering people in everything we do.

Since the advent of the modern conservation movement, conservationists, including the founders of the National Wildlife Federation, focused on wildlife, landscapes, and resources alone. We know now that when our focus is on distant mountain peaks, pristine coasts and waterways, and majestic wildlife, we are looking past people. We still have an immense amount of work to do, but the stories, wins, and achievements profiled in our 2022 Impact Report are those that center people, equity, and justice.

These wins for people and wildlife happened thanks to your generosity, involvement, and trust — and our enduring partnership with the National Wildlife Federation’s 52 state and territorial affiliates. 

Your individual support and actions added up to everything you see here in the 2022 Impact Report. Please join me in celebrating our shared victories for people and wildlife alike. Thank you.

Collin O’Mara
President and CEO
National Wildlife Federation