Ancient Forest International ($5,000)
Ancient Forest International (AFI) was formed in 1989 to protect vast tracts of threatened forests in Chile. Today, it continues to work to preserve threatened forests around the world and is serving as a fiscal agent for a grassroots organizer working on behalf of the California Wild Heritage Campaign in Humboldt County. AFI received a grant to support the grassroots organizer, the hiring of an intern to help with administration and outreach, travel expenses and a mailing.

Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation ($7,500)
Founded in 1986, the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation (CSNC) is a grassroots environmental organization dedicated to the long-term sustainability of resources in El Dorado County. A CWGF grant will enable the organization to purchase Automatic Wildlife Cameras and other equipment to monitor wildlife use of five corridors crossing Highway 50 in El Dorado County. Trained high school students will help collect the data. The findings will be documented and submitted to El Dorado County; CSNC hopes this study will result in the incorporation of wildlife protection corridors as mitigation measures in the county's final Environmental Impact Report.

Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center ($5,000)
Since 1990, the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center (CSERC) defends wildlands in the central Sierra Nevada (Toulumne, Calaveras, and parts of Alpine and Mariposa Counties) against numerous threats, including road-building, grazing, off-road vehicle use, logging, and sprawling development projects. A grant from the CWGF will enable CSERC to monitor and document the impact of poorly managed livestock grazing on meadows and riparian areas and conduct Yosemite toad surveys in the Stanislaus National Forest. CSERC will use this information to increase public awareness about this issue and to convince the U.S. Forest Service to address the problem.

Clavey River Preservation Coalition ($5,000)
Founded in 1991, the Clavey River Preservation Coalition (CRPC) is an independent citizen's group operating in Tuolumne and Stanislaus Counties dedicated to the preservation of the Clavey River. The CRPC received a CWGF grant to increase support for wild and scenic designation of the Clavey River through the passage of the California Wild Heritage Wilderness Act of 2002. The grant will pay for CRPC's trips to Washington D.C. to meet with key legislators to build support for protection of California's remaining unprotected wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers.

High Sierra Hikers Association ($5,000)
Founded in 1991, the High Sierra Hikers Association (HSHA) works to preserve, protect, and restore wilderness areas in the High Sierra. It monitors wilderness conditions and advocates for better management of wilderness areas along the 200 miles from Lake Tahoe to the Kern Plateau. In January 2002, HSHA won a lawsuit challenging the United State Forest Services' regulation of commercial packstock in fragile high-elevation meadows throughout the Muir-Adams wildernesses. HSHA received a grant from the CWGF to protect the wilderness area from further environmental damage by working with the Forest Service to ensure compliance with the court order.

Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment ($7,500)
Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment (SCOPE) is a 15-year-old volunteer organization serving the Santa Clarita Valley, a community of over 200,000 situated in northern Los Angeles County. Explosive suburban growth is rapidly converting miles of open space and threatening the ecosystem of the Santa Clara River, the region's last wild river. The CWGF grant will permit SCOPE to publicize the threat of the proposed Newhall Ranch development to the Santa Clara River through: educational tours, outreach at public events, public education through action alerts, a newsletter and a Website, water quality monitoring, and legal strategies