RESTON, Va.— The National Wildlife Federation has committed in the organization’s new vision statement to “ensure that all wildlife, people, and ecosystems thrive” and to embrace environmental justice as a core part of its wildlife work. The vision statement, unanimously adopted by the organization’s Board of Directors, sets the stage for the National Wildlife Federation strategic planning process, which will lay out its plans to address the interconnected and existential wildlife, climate, and environmental injustice crises by 2030.

“Overcoming the existential wildlife and climate crises of this determinative decade requires building an inclusive conservation movement that ensures our efforts to save wildlife, conserve lands, and restore waters no longer overlook people and overburdened communities,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “The National Wildlife Federation will redouble our work with our state and territorial affiliates and partners to recover America’s imperiled wildlife species and confront the escalating climate crisis, while we simultaneously elevate our essential work to authentically partner with communities to address generational and ongoing environmental injustices affecting people and wildlife alike. This vision provides an opportunity to examine how we can do our conservation work more inclusively and effectively as we strive to build a more equitable and just future — and we look forward to it guiding our work.”

“The National Wildlife Federation is at the start of its strategic planning process for arguably the most consequential time for people, wildlife, and the planet,” said Miguel Ordeñana, a member of the National Wildlife Federation’s Board of Directors and co-chair of its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Committee. “This vision will help ensure that the National Wildlife Federation, its Board of Directors, and affiliates are all focused on recovering wildlife and addressing the persistent challenges facing historically and currently marginalized and excluded groups of people that we want to serve better. We don’t have to choose between wildlife and environmental justice, and, in fact, they are interconnected and integral to helping people and wildlife or ecosystems thrive for generations to come.”

“Thanks to the incredible work of the Board, staff, and affiliates of the National Wildlife Federation, we are entering a new phase of our shared work — where we focus on people and wildlife alike. This vision is the result of immense self-reflection, dialogue, and collaboration, and we are better off for it,” said Koa Kaulukukui-Barbee, a member of the National Wildlife Federation’s Board of Directors and co-chair of its DEIJ Committee. “This exciting vision will inform and influence how we work with communities and tribes and ensure our strategic plan focuses on the three most pressing crises for the conservation movement: the wildlife crisis, the climate crisis, and enduring environmental injustices.”

The National Wildlife Federation’s full vision statement, approved by its Board of Directors, is:
In a critical time of accelerating climate and biodiversity crises, we envision improved ecological balance and safe, equitable access to clean water, air and land to ensure that all wildlife, people, and ecosystems thrive.
The National Wildlife Federation commits to achieve this by:
     1. Upholding the We Envision, We Believe, We Commit statements adopted by NWF Affiliates.
     2. Working across the Federation to implement effective and innovative practices, policies, and programs that benefit wildlife, people, and our planet.
     3. Expanding our impact, built through authentic relationships with existing affiliates and with partners and communities that have been traditionally excluded.
     4. Moving with integrity and courage to affect transformational change at the intersection between wildlife conservation and environmental justice.