L-A-D Foundation - Grant Making of the Ozark Natural Resources Foundation

Since 1962, the Ozark Natural Resources and L-A-D Foundations have awarded over $260,000 in grants to more than 65 non-profit, research and public interest organizations. In 2008, the two Foundations will merge as the L-A-D Foundation, owner of 160,000-acre Pioneer Forest.

The foundation is interested in innovative projects that may include environmental issues and conservation education, grassroots organizing and scientific research. Grants are made for program and project-related costs, capital support, seed money, research and workshops.

The 2007 grant recipients include: Bonebrake Center of Nature & History, Missouri River Relief, Ozark Natural & Cultural Resource Center, Missouri Chapter-The Nature Conservancy, The Springfield Plateau Grotto, Tumbling Creek Cave Foundation, and the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks.

 

The 2006 grant recipients were:

 Audubon Missouri---The Ozark Rivers Audubon Chapter focuses on educating the Rolla community (and surrounding towns) about the importance of protecting ecological treasures found throughout the Ozarks.  Ozark River Chapter is using an L-A-D grant to construct Tanager Birding Trail, a 900-foot concrete accessible trail for people with limited mobility in an effort to include more people in this important endeavor.

Bonebrake logo Bonebrake Center of Nature and History, Salem---Hosts a series of education programs and public awareness strategies. The grant they received supports programs that highlight the various natural resources of the Ozarks, by bringing in experts from the field and are supported by various collections of related materials from the Bonebrake Center library. The grant is also assisting with improving the condition of the library and related resources available for loan.

OSCBanner Open Space Council, St. Louis---Planned the 2007 Meramec River Basin Summit.  The grant they received paid for the Summit planning, coordination, promotion and related expenses. The Open Space Council has joined with numerous other partnering organizations, businesses and interested individuals to form the Meramec River Tributary Alliance in order to plan and host this Summit to celebrate past successes and to collaboratively create a vision for the future of the Meramec River and its tributaries.

Ozark Regional Land Trust Ozark Regional Land Trust---Monitors and enforces conservation easement restrictions. The primary project consists of developing  procedures and a template for a monitoring workbook that is tailored to Ozark Regional Land Trust’s needs and can be used to train staff or volunteers to perform annual easement monitoring and maintain proper record keeping for all properties under conservation easement. The monitoring workbook will provide ORLT with the tools to document land use practices on each property held under conservation easement, educate landowners in relation to these practices, and enforce conservation easement restrictions. The L-A-D grant covered costs for labor, travel, supplies, printing and utility expenses related to the project.

Watershed Watershed Center/Watershed Committee of the Ozarks---Protects public water supplies and offers a water education/demonstration area at Valley Water Mill Park. The grant contributed to the development of interpretive, durable outdoor signage for the planned Watershed Center in Springfield, Missouri. The entire Watershed Center project is expected to be completed in 2008.  The signs provide eye catching, self-explanatory learning opportunities all along the trails and learning station structures.

Lakeside Learning Station   Architectural rendering of the Watershed Center      Streamside Learning Station Valley Water Mill                                   

Pictured: Lakeside Learning Station, An Architectural Rendering of the Watershed Center, and the Streamside Learning Center at Valley Water Mill

MCFTE logo  Missouri Coalition For The Environment---Focuses on improving management of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The project targets the education and outreach efforts in the Park Service’s General Management Plan revision process and on reviews of proposed NPS activities on the ONSR. The Coalition is using the grant to cover staff time, travel, printing and postage costs associated with their outreach endeavors.

Missouri Forest Alliance Missouri Forest Alliance---Lends support for the protection of private and state managed forests in Missouri. The current project focuses on the development of educational material to defend key roadless and other identified wildlands through, and beyond, the ongoing Forest Plan appeal process.  The focus of the project consists of developing educational media on these areas to be used by various organizations and others interested in protecting and recreating these areas. Current work consists of developing maps, photographic displays and narratives that are being used in a variety of media, including the Missouri Wilderness Coalition website, and printed brochures.  

Value Missouri, formed in 2000 has been building partnerships between Ozark forest landowners and  Ozark businesses including sawmills and manufacturers to bring higher-valued wood products to consumers through an  internationally-recognized certification program.



Participants at Keeping the Forest Conference, Fall 2004, sponsored by Forest Stewards Guild and The Commons Project. Nearly a standing-room only audience of landowners and others interested in how to manage private forestlands here in Missouri.

 



     

For the past several years the Eleven Point River Conservancy has been at work researching the resources of this wonderful Ozark river where they offer interested private landowners an opportunity to further protect the river through conservation easements.

                                                                  

An L-A-D Foundation grant to the University of Missouri Press helped with publication expenses for the wonderfully-written and beautifully-illustrated book on Missouri's State Park System.

For More information: The Ozark Natural Resources Foundation seeks innovative projects that may include environmental and conservation education, grassroots organizing, and research. They also are  interested in program and project-related grants, capital support, seed money, and workshops. No requests for annual or operating support or support for social events or benefits are considered.  Typically grants do not exceed $5,000 for any single year; a 12-month grant period is preferred, but multi-year projects may be considered for additional funding. Applicants should have 501 (c)(3) tax exempt status or the equivalent.Each year letters of inquiry are solicited from past recipients as well as from a large number of other organizations with a history of work in the Missouri Ozark region. We are always appreciative of requests of this nature from any organization. These letters should not exceed two pages and should contain the following information: a description of the organization's background and experience, a brief project description and goals, amount of the request and how the foundation's money will be used. Generally, the deadline for these letters is sometime during May of each year. These preliminary applications are reviewed and those organizations with project ideas of most interest are then asked to submit a more detailed proposal for funding.  Final grants are awarded towards the end of each calendar year.

For information or to apply write to the Chair of the Grants Committee, Ozark Natural Resources Foundation, 705 Olive St., Suite 724, Saint Louis, Missouri 63101.