Conservation Northwest
“To protect, connect, and restore wildlands and wildlife in the Pacific Northwest.”
1 live lawsuit, 4 comments to the agencies, 83 cents of every dollar to the work.
The work
What they do
Protects and connects old-growth forests and other wildlands in the Pacific Northwest.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “Northwest conservation district works to conserve local natural resources by delivering technical services and educational programs.” as filed.
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Provide technical assistance to municipal land use commissions
$194K, 39% of spendingAnd implement grant projects.
Read it as they filed it
Provide technical assistance to municipal land use commissions and implement grant projects.
IRS Form 990 Part III for fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Education and Outreach
$122K, 24% of spendingNCD provides targeted environmental training for municipal land use commissions and staff as well as the general public.
Read it as they filed it
Education and Outreach. NCD provides targeted environmental training for municipal land use commissions and staff as well as the general public. Our Envirothon Program is a natural resource based curriculum for high school students culminating in a field day competition.
IRS Form 990 Part III for fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
The Earth Day Plant Program educates the public
$97K, 19% of spendingAnd promotes the value of native plants, local food production, organic land care, providing habitat for native pollinators, butterflies and other wildlife.
Read it as they filed it
The Earth Day Plant Program educates the public and promotes the value of native plants, local food production, organic land care, providing habitat for native pollinators, butterflies and other wildlife.
IRS Form 990 Part III for fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
83 cents of every dollar goes to the work
A good sign, not a scorecard: what matters is the extremes, and this is nowhere near one.
$413,493 programs, $85,237 management, $1,306 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The backers
Backed, each with its source, by Wilburforce Foundation, Community Foundation Of North Central Washington, Pew Charitable Trusts and 17 others, latest filing FY25.
The people
Who does the work
Took the helm from Cynthia Rabinowitz, who drew $42,872 in the final year on file.
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. If it’s out of date, tell us. Work at Conservation Northwest? Claim this page.
Those 60 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If Conservation Northwest is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Find your way inThe record
The court record
Fights alongside Oregon Wild (3 shared cases), Cascadia Wildlands (2 shared cases), Center for Biological Diversity (2 shared cases), Klamath Forest Alliance (2 shared cases) and Sierra Club (1 shared case). Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year as filed. Point at or tap the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $710,896 |
| 2012 | $344,634 |
| 2013 | $538,385 |
| 2014 | $541,720 |
| 2015 | $375,834 |
| 2016 | $369,002 |
| 2017 | $366,274 |
| 2018 | $377,679 |
| 2019 | $381,718 |
| 2021 | $350,672 |
| 2022 | $460,471 |
| 2023 | $505,597 |
| 2024 | $628,284 |
| 2025 | $598,298 |
From $711K in 2011 to $598K in FY25, across 14 public filings (none on record for 2020).
The returns as e-filed with the IRS, 3 years:
- FY2025Download the return
- FY2024Download the return
- FY2023Download the return
Source: IRS Form 990 e-file data, each return by its IRS object id, served by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. A year in the chart without a link here is read from a later return’s own history table; its return is on ProPublica’s page for the group.
On the Hill
Conservation Northwest has hired federal lobbyists: 1 filing in 2019. The filings at the Senate.
Most filed on real estate.
The record
On the record with the agencies
4 comments on federal decisions since 2023, each filed under the group’s own name on regulations.gov, none yet on a decision we track. Read them on regulations.gov.
Year by year
In order
- 1989Conservation Northwest is formed.the directory; the return’s own formation year is 1971
- 2007American Forest Resource Council v. Hall: intervenor, closed.the docket
- 2020Environmental Protection Information Center v. United States Fish And Wildlife Service: plaintiff, closed.the docket
- 2022First appears in Wilburforce Foundation’s grants.the funder’s return
- 20232 comments, both to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- First appears in Holocene Foundation’s grants.the funder’s return
- 20241 comment to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- First appears in the grants of Community Foundation Of North Central Washington, Pew Charitable Trusts, Wild Woods Foundation, Baird Foundation and Burning Foundation.the funders’ returns
- 2025American Forest Resource Council v. United States Fish & Wildlife Service: intervenor, still in court.the docket
- Animal Wellness Action v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service: intervenor, closed.the docket
- 1 comment to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- First appears in National Fish And Wildlife Foundation’s grants.the funder’s return
- 2026Center for Biological Diversity v. Burgum: plaintiff, closed.the docket
Rust, a case still in court. Green, a funder’s return. Hollow, a filing. Every row comes from a public record: 5 federal cases with the group on the docket, 4 comments filed under its own name, 20 funders whose returns name it. Nothing here is written from memory.
Their ground
The places they defend
See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
The Washington congressional delegation averages 78 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
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Ways in
How to help
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with Conservation Northwest
The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.