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The mission of the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance is to develop a growing network of volunteer-based organizations to provide stewardship for America's enduring resource of wilderness.

Our vision is to see each wilderness area within the National Wilderness Preservation System adopted by a wilderness stewardship organization dedicated to protecting and nurturing the area’s wilderness. We envision effective partnerships between community-based, non-profit wilderness stewardship organizations and all government agencies charged with the management of our national wilderness areas.

NWSA 2011 Annual Report

Our goal is to improve wilderness stewardship and create an allied constituency for wilderness by connecting stewardship organizations with each other, linking our efforts and experiences, directing groups to resources, and fostering new organizations.

Our objectives:

• Identify wilderness stewardship groups nationwide, in order to determine the present level of support.
• Through our website, and other resources, share knowledge, experience and expertise among local, regional, and national steawrdship organizations.
• Provide new groups with start-up models of different structures, help them anticipate the questions that typically arise as groups form, and put them in touch with people who have built successful organizations.
• Sponsor national and regional gatherings of stewardship groups.
• Help foster a culture within managing agencies that values volunteer-based stewardship organizations and has the means to give them effective support.
• Expand organizational capacity.

The National Wilderness Preservation System consists of 757 areas, totaling 109,512,959 acres - one of our nation's greatest resources.  Only a small number of these areas have dedicated volunteer-based stewardship groups. Wilderness is a crucial source of our clean water and clean air.  It provides habitat for wildlife and places where people can find solitude and stillness in an increasingly mechanized world.  These wild places must be protected and their ecological function preserved.  Wilderness is our legacy gift to future generations.  Volunteer involvement in wilderness protection has always been vital, but with current economic conditions, it is even more critical that volunteers assist the agencies charged with caring for our wilderness.

The National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance is incorporated in Larimer County, Colorado.  We received our IRS tax exempt status on March 16, 2011. We are a grass-roots organization governed by a Board of Directors consisting of:

Dave Cantrell, Poudre Wilderness Volunteers, CO - Chair

Elaine Dermody, Friends of Wildernss, CO - Vice-Chair

Shaaron Netherton, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, NV - Treasurer

Celina Montorfano, CO - Secretary

Adam Andis, Sitka Conservation Society, AK

Bob Hazelton, San Gorgonio Wilderness Association, CA

Bill Hodge, Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards, TN

Hawk Metheny, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, VT

Margaret Shaklee, Poudre Wilderness Volunteers, CO

Jarome Wilson, San Gorgonio Wilderness Association, CA

Committees and task forces are working on website development and content, developing a “toolkit” for new and existing groups, researching wilderness stewardship organizations around the country, building agency relations, developing business and fiscal operations and planning future events.