The Pegasus Foundation 2000 Annual Report
SUMMARY
The Pegasus Foundation, established in 1997, is a private independent foundation committed to protection of the earth and all living creatures. The foundation believes that all forms of life warrant compassion and respect and that human beings must strive to make the world a more humane place for all living things.
The Pegasus Foundation provides grants in three major areas: wildlife protection, companion animal programs, and land conservation. In 2000, the Pegasus Foundation issued $226,600 in grants to 21 organizations. The foundation leveraged another $624,000 in grants and federal funds. Pegasus also provided more than $15,000 through in-kind services and donated office space, equipment, and technical services to non-profits.
HIGHLIGHTS IN WILDLIFE PROTECTION
More than half -- $126,600 -- of all Pegasus Foundation grants funded wildlife protection programs in 2000.
Manatee Protection
One year after filing lawsuits against various federal and Florida state government agencies for failing to fully protect manatees under the Endangered Species Act, the Pegasus Foundation and 18 other environmental and animal welfare organizations celebrated major legal victories in January 2001. On January 4th, a settlement was reached between the manatee coalition member groups and federal agencies and officials. The settlement commits the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designating a network of new manatee refuges and sanctuaries throughout Florida and to evaluating the impacts of all Army Corps of Engineering permit activities in manatee habitat. Extensive progress was also made towards a settlement in a companion lawsuit against the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. More details on both lawsuits can be found at: www.savethemanatee.org and www.earthjustice.org
In addition to working on the lawsuits throughout 2000 and coordinating related manatee
coalition activities, other manatee protection initiatives included:
Buffalo Field Campaign
The Buffalo Field Campaign continued its direct action to protect the Yellowstone National Park herd of wild buffalo (also known as bison). The buffalo, protected within Yellowstone, are at risk of being hazed or shot by the Montana Department of Livestock once they leave park borders. Montana officials defend the policy by claiming buffalo spread brucellosis, a disease harmful to cattle; however, there is no known case of a cow contracting brucellosis from a buffalo.
Last year, Pegasus provided funds to help cover the direct expenses of more than 300 volunteers who come from all over United States and the world to patrol the land outside the park and attempt to return buffalo that stray beyond park borders. Volunteers also videotaped interactions between the buffalo and Montana officials to document buffalo hazing and killings. The campaign’s efforts led to significant national media coverage this past year.
In addition to supporting the Buffalo Field Campaign, the Pegasus Foundation provided a second-year grant to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition for its ongoing efforts to create a buffer zone of land around Yellowstone National Park that will be buffalo-safe and cattle-free. The coalition also worked through the courts and the press to change the policies that allow buffalo to be killed.
Cape Cod Stranding Network
In its second year of operation, the Cape Cod Stranding Network built on its mission to assist marine mammals that become stranded on the beaches of Cape Cod. The network responded to 138 strandings of dolphins, whales, seals, and porpoises. Staff also conducted scientific studies of mammals that did not survive to learn more about the reasons for stranding. In addition, the network underwent a strategic planning process and continued the public education aspect of its mission through lectures, media interviews, and the training of hundreds of volunteers in stranding response techniques.
In addition to granting funds for general support, the Pegasus Foundation also provided the network with Web design and Web hosting services. As a result, the network was able to launch its Web site in 2000 at: www.capecodstranding.net
Cape Wildlife Center
The Pegasus Foundation continued to support the work of the Cape Wildlife Center in providing veterinary care to injured and orphaned wildlife on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. As human population increases and wildlife habitat diminishes in vacation areas such as Cape Cod, wild animals are increasingly the victims of car collisions, leghold traps, fishing hook entanglements, and accidental or deliberate poisonings. The wildlife center also offered training in wildlife rehabilitation and veterinary medicine to college students, veterinary students, and local volunteers.
HIGHLIGHTS IN COMPANION ANIMAL PROGRAMS
Companion animal programs received $58,500 in grants, representing 26 percent of all Pegasus Foundation grants.
Companion Animal Spay-Neuter Program on the Navajo Nation
In continuing efforts to establish an effective, long-term response to the plight of the estimated 160,000 stray dogs and cats on the Navajo Nation in the western United States, the Pegasus Foundation helped fund a series of mobile veterinary clinics held at various locations throughout the Nation between March and November.
The foundation also hired wildlife veterinarian Mark Johnson to facilitate development of a multi-year, comprehensive spay-neuter service plan that will control the Nation’s companion animal population and end the unnecessary suffering and deaths of stray animals. Under the leadership of the Navajo Nation, Dr. Johnson is working with five service providers and two funders to put together a coordinated schedule of spay-neuter clinics throughout the Nation’s 26,000 square miles.
Companion Animal Spay-Neuter Program in the Bahamas
Spay-neuter clinics held throughout 2000 on Great Abaco in the Bahamas resulted in a significant reduction of stray dogs and cats on the island. With funding from the Pegasus Foundation, Humane Society International, and others, the clinics were organized by the Spay-Neuter Incentive Program (SNIP) and Bahamas-based AARF (Abaco Animals Require Friends). More than 450 companion animals were spayed or neutered during the four one-week clinics. In 2001, the final spay-neuter clinics will be completed so that only minimal follow-up will be needed to maintain a healthy companion animal population on the island. The project has been important not only for its success in Great Abaco but also as a potential model for other island nations.
Planning began in 2000 for a proposed conference to help develop spay-neuter efforts in other island nations. The conference is to be held in Miami in April 2002 in conjunction with the annual Humane Society of the United States Animal Care Expo. It will provide a forum for these islands to address the issue of companion animal overpopulation and offer training to animal welfare organizations for establishing spay-neuter programs.
Feral Cat Population Control in Florida
Many people who visit Florida each winter abandon their pet cats when they return to their permanent homes in the north each spring. The cats form colonies, breed unchecked, forage for food in garbage dumps, and kill wild rodents and birds. With assistance from the Pegasus Foundation, the Hobe Sound Animal Protection League formed in 2000 to humanely address the feral cat problem on Jupiter Island by establishing a trap-neuter-release program. The league also worked with the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast to ensure that Martin County officials and wildlife activists develop humane alternatives to addressing feral cat colonies countywide.
HIGHLIGHTS IN LAND CONSERVATION
The Pegasus Foundation invested $18,000 in land conservation grants in 2000.
Florida Land Trust Development
The Pegasus Foundation joined other organizations in funding the third annual Florida Land Trust Conference, which drew 155 participants. The conference also included a strategy session for the year-old Florida Land Trust Network. Throughout the year, the network held quarterly meetings at various locations across the state to provide additional information sharing and training opportunities for the state’s 32 land trusts.
Martin County Regional Land Trust
In 1998, the Pegasus Foundation initiated the establishment of the Martin County Regional Land Trust (MCRLT) to preserve land on Florida’s highly developed east coast. In its first few years of operation, the MCRLT has grown into a very effective and influential organization within the county and across the state. Parcels of land that are (or soon will be) protected as a result of the MCRLT include:
In addition to protecting land, MCRLT coordinates the Florida Land Trust Network, conducts training events and workshops to educate landowners about options for land preservation, runs a campaign to encourage other landowners to preserve environmentally and culturally significant parcels of land, and serves as technical advisor to Martin County Master Greenways Plan.
Cape Cod
The Pegasus Foundation provided funds to the Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts to support land preservation on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The compact assisted local land trusts on Cape Cod in acquiring land by providing professional and technical services such as deed research, document preparation, land management planning, and public education.
HIGHLIGHTS IN OTHER PROGRAMS
Compassionate Traveler
2000 marked the launch of the Compassionate Traveler Web site, a project of the International Wildlife Coalition that is funded primarily by the Pegasus Foundation. As it continues to develop in the coming year, Compassionate Traveler will inform both tourists and the travel industry of animal welfare problems and wildlife habitat destruction in countries and regions of the world with a strong tourism industry. It also will provide a mechanism for tourists to share stories of animal abuse and neglect that they have witnessed while traveling. Compassionate Traveler can be viewed at: www.compassionatetraveler.org
Pegasus Awards Program
In November, more than a hundred people gathered at the Woman’s National Democratic Club in Washington, DC for the first Pegasus Foundation Awards Dinner Celebration. The event gave the Foundation an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of organizations and individuals who exemplify the Pegasus mission of showing compassion and respect for all forms of life and making the world a more humane place for all living things. Honors went to the following outstanding individuals and organizations:
PARTNERS AND MEMBERSHIPS
Partnerships are integral to how the Pegasus Foundation operates. The Foundation builds networks and joins forces with other organizations to achieve common goals of animal and environmental protection. In addition to working with the long list of partners that can be found on the Pegasus Web site, the Foundation participated as an active member in the following organizations in 2000:
Complete List of 2000 Grantees
PLANS FOR 2001
As the Foundation enters a fourth year of grant making, more funds will be invested in fewer programs in 2001. Each area will focus on two or three major issues.
Wildlife: The Foundation will continue to concentrate resources on protecting buffalo in Montana and manatees in Florida. Manatee efforts will include an initiative to engage communities and individuals in promoting manatee-safe boating. More resources also will be focused on Cape Cod wildlife through three programs: the Cape Cod Stranding Network, a wildlife advocacy position at the Cape Wildlife Center, and a Massachusetts Audubon Society position to monitor shore bird protection on Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge.
Companion Animals: Resources again will be committed to spay-neuter programs on the Navajo Nation and in the Bahamas, as well as to development of spay-neuter efforts in other Caribbean nations. The Foundation will continue to support the feral cat program on Jupiter Island in Florida and assist in disaster planning for companion animals on Cape Cod.
Land Preservation: Land preservation grants will concentrate on Florida, including the newly launched Florida Conservation Project, which focuses on manatee habitat preservation.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Pegasus Foundation Program Offices:
27 Merrimack Street
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603-225-3918
Fax: 603-225-4624
1000 Main Street
P.O. Box 79
West Barnstable, MA 02668
Phone: 508-375-6355
Fax: 603-225-4624
167 Third Avenue North
Naples, FL 34102
Phone: 941-403-7979
Fax: 941-436-1023
Peter A. Bender, Executive Director, pbender@pegasusfoundation.org
Cynthia Frisch, Florida Representative, cfrisch@pegasusfoundation.org
Anne Ostberg, Communications Director/Program Officer, aostberg@pegasusfoundation.org
Pegasus Foundation Trustees:
Peter A. Bender
The Pegasus Foundation
Concord, New Hampshire
David Fitts, Esq.
Peabody and Arnold
Counsellors at Law
Boston, Massachusetts
Steve Ziobrowski, Esq.
Peabody and Arnold
Counsellors at Law
Boston, Massachusetts
George Malloy
C.P.A., P.C.
Wellfleet, Massachusetts
The Pegasus Foundation
March 14, 2001