National Wildlife Refuge Association
“Conserve America’s wildlife heritage for future generations through the National Wildlife Refuge System.”
2 live lawsuits, 2 comments to the agencies.
The work
What they do
Advocacy, stewardship, and education focused specifically on the National Wildlife Refuge System. Works on refuge funding, habitat protection, and volunteer coordination.
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Conservation Constituency- Building
$330K, 31% of spendingThe refuge assocaition plays a leadership role in bringing a spectrum of interests together to support conservation action, and specifically the success of the refuge system.
Read it as they filed it
CONSERVATION CONSTITUENCY- BUILDING- THE REFUGE ASSOCAITION PLAYS A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN BRINGING A SPECTRUM OF INTERESTS TOGETHER TO SUPPORT CONSERVATION ACTION, AND SPECIFICALLY THE SUCCESS OF THE REFUGE SYSTEM. THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION TRAINS, EDUCATES, MENTORS AND ORGANIZES REFUGE FRIENDS GROUPS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ENGAGES PRIVATE LANDOWNERS, RANCHERS AND SPORTSMEN, AND WORKS WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS SURROUNDING URBAN WILDLIFE REFUGES. TOGETHER THESE CONSTITUENT GROUPS FORM A DIVERSE CHORUS OF VOICES, WHICH THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION BRINGS TOGETHER TO TAKE ACTION IN SUPPORT OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NEEDS.
IRS Form 990 Part III for fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Conservation Programs
$220K, 21% of spendingThe refuge association supports landscape-scale conservation initiatives that secure the ecological well-being of national wildlife refuges and their surrounding natural systems.
Read it as they filed it
CONSERVATION PROGRAMS- THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS LANDSCAPE-SCALE CONSERVATION INITIATIVES THAT SECURE THE ECOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES AND THEIR SURROUNDING NATURAL SYSTEMS. THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION CONVENES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNER AGENCIES, NONPROFITS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS, IDENTIFIES KEY CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN ECOSYSTEM CONSERVATION AND HELPS SET COMMON GOALS, AND THEN WORKS WITH PARTNERS TO BUILD COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND SECURE FUNDING FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES TO ACCOMPLISH WILDLIFE CONSERVATION GOALS ON THE GROUND.
IRS Form 990 Part III for fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Communication the National Wildlife Refuge Association’s
$61K, 6% of spendingCommunication the National Wildlife Refuge Association’s communications program is focused on developing and executing branding and marketing strategies to a) communicate programs of the refuge association effectively…
Read it as they filed it
COMMUNICATION THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE ASSOCIATIONS COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING AND EXECUTING BRANDING AND MARKETING STRATEGIES TO A) COMMUNICATE PROGRAMS OF THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION EFFECTIVELY, B) GROW AND CULTIVATE THE CONSTITUENCY OF THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, AND C) ENHANCE THE REFUGE ASSOCIATIONS OFFLINE AND ONLINE PRESENCE.
IRS Form 990 Part III for fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Conservation Policy and Education
$42K, 4% of spendingThe refuge association mobilizes hundreds of local and national partners to address urgent conservation needs, including funding for the refuge system, loss of vital habitat and natural systems that sustain wildlife…
Read it as they filed it
CONSERVATION POLICY AND EDUCATION- THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION MOBILIZES HUNDREDS OF LOCAL AND NATIONAL PARTNERS TO ADDRESS URGENT CONSERVATION NEEDS, INCLUDING FUNDING FOR THE REFUGE SYSTEM, LOSS OF VITAL HABITAT AND NATURAL SYSTEMS THAT SUSTAIN WILDLIFE REFUGES, INVASIVE SPECIES, AND DAMAGING CHANGES IN LAND USE. THE REFUGE ASSOCIATION CHAIRS A COALITION OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND SPORTING GROUPS WITH A COMBINED MEMBERSHIP OF MORE THAN 15 MILLION PEOPLE, WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF RAISING AWARENESS OF THE NEEDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF OUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES.
IRS Form 990 Part III for fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
61 cents of every dollar goes to the work
Read it as a snapshot, not a scorecard. Splits move year to year with grants and campaigns, and healthy shops live all across this range.
$653,512 programs, $234,377 management, $186,329 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The backers
Backed, each with its source, by National Fish And Wildlife Foundation, John N Conyngham And Lou Cconyngham Family Charitable Foundat and New-land Foundation, latest filing FY25.
The people
Who does the work
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 NWRA? Claim this page.
Those 20 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If NWRA is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Find your way inThe record
The court record
Fights alongside Alaska Wilderness League (2 shared cases), Defenders of Wildlife (2 shared cases), Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges (2 shared cases), Sierra Club (2 shared cases) and The Wilderness Society (2 shared cases) and 6 more. 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 | $2,097,963 |
| 2012 | $1,458,827 |
| 2013 | $1,625,455 |
| 2014 | $2,089,273 |
| 2015 | $2,732,169 |
| 2016 | $3,182,199 |
| 2017 | $2,426,088 |
| 2018 | $2,300,862 |
| 2019 | $1,878,749 |
| 2020 | $1,430,784 |
| 2021 | $1,949,690 |
| 2022 | $2,363,454 |
| 2023 | $2,113,028 |
| 2025 | $1,193,106 |
From $2.1M in 2011 to $1.2M in FY25, across 14 public filings (none on record for 2024).
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.
The record
On the record with the agencies
2 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
- 1975National Wildlife Refuge Association is formed.the return, formation year
- 2020Gwich’in Steering Committee v. United States Department of the Interior: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- Friends of Alaska Nat’l v. Debra Haaland: plaintiff, closed.the docket
- 2024First appears in the grants of John N Conyngham And Lou Cconyngham Family Charitable Foundat and New-land Foundation.the funders’ returns
- 2025Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges v. Burgum: plaintiff, closed.the docket
- 2 comments, both 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
- 2026Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges v. U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
Rust, a case still in court. Green, a funder’s return. Hollow, a filing. Every row comes from a public record: 4 federal cases with the group on the docket, 2 comments filed under its own name, 3 funders whose returns name it. Nothing here is written from memory.
Their ground
The places they defend
A plaintiff in Gwich’in Steering Committee v. United States Department of the Interior, filed in 2020 in the District of Alaska. A filing in the case names Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Who’s defending it On the record · Critical threatIzembek National Wildlife RefugePlaintiff arguing the Izembek swap sets a precedent that threatens the entire refuge system
Who’s defending it On the record · On watchOkefenokee National Wildlife RefugeSued the Army Corps in November 2022 over the Twin Pines project, helped found the Okefenokee Protection Alliance in 2020, and produced the 2021 documentary Sacred Waters: The Okefenokee in Peril.
Who’s defending itMost urgent first: open comment windows, then live federal cases, then the threat level. See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
The wire
What they’ve done lately
- Wed, Oct 28 · Court filingANSWER to Complaint by King Cove Corporation City of King Cove.(Clark, James) (Entered: 10/28/2026)
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 NWRA
The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.