My Nonprofit Reviews

I remember as a kid backpacking Europe, I went to a beach full of syringes and litter and a local said, "no worries, it's an American tourist beach -we clean it up right before they arrive for the season". I realized how deep our problems are, and that America is even worse, but we have the money to hide it better than any. Then I saw one of the Greenpeace ships and asked to sail with them. They didn't take me seriously, but when I got back to the states I immediately joined their ranks. I've committed my life to environmental education ever since - now going on three decades.
Having worked for Greenpeace for nearly 5 years (a long time ago), I can share that they are all hard working, dedicated, passionate people who put in 24 hour days, 7 days a week to protect the little left of our clean, wild planet. Not only are they pioneers, but they are state of the art. Through direct action they attract and thus use media, which is free, to advertise the issues the public should know about so that the public can then get involved (see, those actions aren't silly, they're good business!). They educate on issues to help the public learn the topics - the cause and effect. If negotiations fail, they fund raise to pay for materials, lawyers and other essentials needed to win campaigns. Mostly, they are fearless. Holding a Quaker philosophy of "bearing witness", they believe that if you see harm, you are responsible to get involved/act. And they are peaceful. While they will trespass they will not harm people. All this is why they live on as one of the greatest environmental organizations: they inspire. Thanks, Greenpeace!

AHR rescues adoptable dogs from the south that otherwise likely won't make it, and moves them up to the northeast for adoption. This all volunteer group has amazing organization, efficiency, passion, and coordination to save as many dogs as possible. Their knowledge base is extraordinary! Each dog is loved and tracked, from the south, while in transport, through adoption, and beyond so that no dog in their care is ever abandoned again. My Loki is an AHR dog, as are so many in Maine, and I have loved volunteering as a dog transporter. We need volunteers, fosters and adopters!

I joined the Center for Biological Diversity years ago, and while my membership has expanded to many other environmental groups as well, my contributions to this group have increased! They are unique in that they battle the issues legally, lawsuit after lawsuit, to protect land, water, air, climate, species and ecosystems. Their financial record is impeccable, so giving to them is giving to the causes, effectively. They are smart folks, choosing issues that matter to the sustainability of our planet, based in hard science. I am so proud of the Center. Their website is excellent, educating me on issues and their actions. When I vacationed in New Mexico last winter, I was appalled at the effort to eradicate the few remaining wolves, vowing never to return to that state, and saw first hand what the Center is up against when they fight to protect a rare and endangered species. I love so many environmental groups t is hard to choose only one, but if one deserves an A+, is the the Center for Biological Diversity. Tia, a member from Maine.

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There is a very special place here in Southern Maine, the Center for Wildlife. With a humble existence, they take in and treat hundreds of animals that literally have no where else to go, as no other rehabilitation facility exists for our special wildlife. And somehow, as our local human population has expanded, so has the Center's work. There is a small committed team who run this place, but they also rely greatly on rotating volunteers. As the Internship Director and adjunct faculty for a local university, I have sent many students to the Center to complete their internship, and every one of them has had an extraordinary experience. Not only does the Center help imperiled wildlife, they serve the educational community, and the public at large. They teach interns and volunteers who then become wildlife stewards and educators themselves. Further, the Center for Wildlife reaches into the community to teach. Many times they have come to my environmental studies classrooms as guest speakers, and have provided thoughtful, and thought provoking lessons on co-existing with wildlife. I have come to rely on the Center for Wildlife, they are a unique place for the rehabilitation of diverse animals from owls and hawks to snakes and turtles, and a center for the education of our academic and at-large community.

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BFC has single-handedly brought one of the most important species-related issues to the public's attention - the annual hazing and slaughter of the last genetically pure, free roaming American buffalo herd. Not only is the federal and state governments stressing, maiming, killing, and moving these animals, but they are doing it with tax payer dollars. All the while many Americans may think that the government is protecting these species, when in fact they are not. They are also lying, saying that bison will transmit disease, yet this has never happened, but all the while, every year, they kill our wild bison. Yellowstone National Park is a refuge for the bison, but migrating animals such as the bison follow natural patterns of food supply and birthing areas, not political boundaries. YNP is too high in elevation to supply bison with enough food year-round, and has boundaries that do not take into consideration wildlife migration patterns, and so the bison migrate out of the park. During these times the government stampedes in with helicopters, horses and ATV's, forcing the bison to run for many, many miles. Calves die, legs break, animals drown, exhaustion sets in, laws are broken... Why? To invest in the cattle industry so that private cattle can graze on public land - our land - wildlife's land. Why, still today, are we "paying" private companies by giving them our public lands and our tax subsidies, to have their cattle overgraze and ruin these lands? The land gets tramped and this kills native grasses; without the grasses many species die out (snakes, rabbits, birds of prey, etc). Without the diversity of wildlife, plant species suffer, further reducing biodiversity of our public lands. Overgrazing causes erosion and topsoil depletion and pollutes waterways. Need I go on? Other wildlife are poisoned and killed, gophers, coyotes, wolves, and others are killed. PROTECT bison, protect OUR land, or corporations will simply take it over, overuse and deplete the natural resources and wildlife, keep the profits, and let us flip the bills, leaving us with barren lands. We all must invest in our private lands, no one will do this for us. There are only a handful of wild bison left; an American icon - a species that helps restore native prairies and meadows, a graceful animal you should see free roaming on our public lands. Help BFC help the bison - they are the only organization committed to this effort!

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