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ISLAND CONSERVATION IMPACT REPORT 2014/2015 Why Islands? From fearing extinction to cheering existence Few places on Earth rival the incredible diversity of species found on islands. Islands make up less than 5 percent of the world’s land mass, yet are home to 20 percent of all bird, reptile, and plant species. Some islands host hundreds—or even thousands—of plant and animal species found nowhere else in the world. But these rare species are going extinct. Islands contain almost half of all Critically Endangered plants and animals. Extinction rates are disproportionately greater on islands—they are the site of 80% of all known extinctions, with invasive species as the primary cause. JUST AS THE THREAT OF EXTINCTION IS HIGHEST ON ISLANDS, SO ARE OUR OPPORTUNITIES TO SAVE SPECIES AT RISK. With your support, we are saving island plants and animals from extinction and ensuring that healthy island ecosystems continue to exist on our big blue planet. SAVING A SPECIES IS NOT EASY. FOR MOST ORGANIZATIONS, IT’S RARE TO HAVE THAT LEVEL OF SUCCESS. BUT NOT US. WE’RE CHANGING THE WAY CONSERVATION IS DONE. SO, OUR PROJECTS RESULT IN REAL, MEASURABLE IMPACT AND THE LONG-LASTING PROTECTION OF THREATENED ISLAND SPECIES. Photo: Endangered Tuamotu Sandpiper, known as the “Titi” in French Polynesia FEATURED PROJECTS Meet the First Pinzón Giant Tortoises Born in the Wild in 100 Years More than 100 years ago, rats invaded Pinzón Island and began feeding on the eggs and hatchlings of the Pinzón Giant Tortoise (pictured), a species found only on that island. Invasive rats consume not only tortoise eggs but tortoise hatchlings as well. So, in 1965, conservationists initiated a captive-rearing program aimed at getting tortoises past this critical life stage. In December 2012, the Galápagos National Park, assisted by Island Conservation, The Raptor Center of the University of Minnesota, and Bell Laboratories, Inc., completed a bold project to remove invasive rodents from Pinzón and Plaza Sur Islands, eliminating the primary invasive species threat to the tortoise. In early 2015, after extensive monitoring, partners confirmed that Pinzón and Plaza Sur Islands are both rodent free. Scientists also returned to the island and observed many wild-born hatchling tortoises thriving, indicating that tortoises are successfully hatching new generations. How One Tough Team Is Saving Two Threatened Species Over the past two years, Island Conservation has been supporting a local field team (pictured) in the Dominican Republic to protect two threatened iguana species on Cabritos Island: the Critically Endangered Ricord’s Iguana and the Vulnerable Rhinoceros Iguana. Invasive species on the island jeopardize iguana populations by eating their eggs and young, destroying nests, and damaging critical habitat. Removal of these invasive species will protect the iguanas from the threat of extinction and provide the opportunity for the island’s natural ecosystems to recover. Island Conservation and SOH Conservation are supporting the Dominican Republic Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in this international effort to restore Cabritos Island. In 2014–2015, we trained and supported local field teams who continued removal of feral cats and invasive burros from the island. We are striving to finish the project in early 2016, and monitoring efforts will continue for at least another year. Vulnerable Humboldt Penguin Protected in Chile Two globally threatened seabird species nest on Choros Island, Chile: the Vulnerable Humboldt Penguin (pictured) and the Endangered Peruvian Diving-petrel. Invasive rabbits on Choros Island were destroying the ecosystem by occupying seabird burrows, increasing erosion, and browsing on vegetation. Humboldt Penguins depend on intact burrows for nesting, while smaller seabirds use vegetation and burrows for hiding and avoiding native predators. Beginning in July 2013, Island Conservation and local partners assisted the Chilean Forestry Corporation (CONAF) in removing invasive rabbits from Choros Island. After extensive monitoring efforts, including the use of a detection dog to verify the presence or absence of invasive rabbits, the partners declared the island rabbit-free in January 2015. Early observations on the island, including the sprouting of healthy native plant seedlings, suggest positive ecosystem responses may already be taking place. To read about these projects, visit our online Impact Report at www.islandconservation.org/report/2015/ WELCOME FRIENDS! Welcome to our new impact report! This booklet replaces our former impact report and is complemented by an enhanced online report, which can be found at www.islandconservation.org/report/2015/. There you’ll find stories about all the projects identified in this booklet, our 2014 donor list (found here as well) and partner list, fun and interesting statistics, an interactive map of all the places where we’re working, financials (also below), and photo galleries from the field. We hope you will take a few minutes to visit the site and let us know what you think! With support from our donors, partners, and friends like you, we’ve had another amazing run this year. We’re excited to share with you our incredible conservation impacts, from Extinct-in-the-Wild tortoise hatchlings surviving for the first time in more than 100 years on Pinzón Island, Galápagos, to restoring six islands in French Polynesia to protect one of our world’s rarest bird species, to native seedlings returning on Choros Island, Chile, thanks to a dedicated team and a furry, four-legged friend. Thank you for being amazing partners and friends of Island Conservation. It is because of your action and dedication to preventing extinctions that we are able to save species across the globe. Sincerely, P.S. If you’d like to make a gift to Island Conservation, please feel free to use the enclosed envelope or visit us online at our newly improved website, www.islandconservation.org. Making an online donation is now easier than ever and always taxdeductible.* Thank you for your support! *In the United States 2014 FINANCIAL INFORMATION Other Income Contracts Foundations and Organizations Individuals 2014 DONORS Stephen Aronson Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM) Bahamas National Trust Bailey Smith Fund Craig and Barbara Barrett Austin Bates Jackie Bates Jill Bates Bell Laboratories, Inc. BOARDnetWORK Bobolink Foundation William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation Anthony Brake Eliza Brown and Hal Candee H. Buster Brown Todd Bryan Kathleen Buchli Patricia Callahan The Campbell Foundation Isabel Castro Yvon Chouinard Art Cooley Corporación Nacional Forestal, Chile (CONAF) Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund Dawson Family Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation Irving Decatur & Cecile Derouin Alondra Diaz Donors through the Island Conservation Amazon Smile Program Kirk Elwell Environment Canada Janet Eyre Cielo Figuerola David Finkelstein Solon and Diane Finkelstein Matthew Fraker Lesley Franz Galápagos Conservancy Lydia M. Garvey Global Environment Facility Global Wildlife Conservation Ana Gonzalez and Julian Sevillano Government of Australia Government of Tonga Richard Griffiths Hawai‘i Community Foundation The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust Jon Hoekstra and Jennifer Steele Jose Luis Herrera-Giraldo International Union for the Conservation of Nature Pat Jackson Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission Alan and Ruth Keitt Janning and Scott Kennedy The Kingfisher Foundation Mary Kleinschmidt Jennifer Lape Jen Lape and Mark Readdie Jim Lightner Llagas Foundation Finn T. Longinotto Andrew Luk MacKinnon Family Charitable Foundation Don Macnaughtan March Conservation Fund March Foundation Kristen and Baldo Marinovic Stephanie McAulifee and Sheree Rife Richard McCombs and Claire Cummings Susan McGreevy Clark and Carol Mitchel Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas The Leo Model Foundation The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund Gail Monreal Morrison Foerster Will Murray National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Laura Naughton Susan Newman Newman’s Own Foundation Sally and Jimmy O’Donnell Julie and Trevor O’Grady ONF Conosur Open Door Foundation Kevin Osborne Christopher Overall The David and Lucile Packard Foundation Heath Packard Panama Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente Ingrid Parker and Greg Gilbert Patagonia, Inc. Bruce Posthumus Puerto Rico Department of Environment and Natural Resources John and Evelyn Readdie Liam Revell RJM Foundation Christine Russell and Mark Schlesinger Jennifer Rycenga Salesforce Foundation Sandler Foundation Schmitz-Fromherz Family Fund Peter Schuyler Susan Scott and Craig Thomas Walter Sedgwick Wayne Sentman Shanbrom Family Foundation M. Gretchen Shea Teri Sigler Dan Simberloff Peter Steinberg The Steinberg Family Steinberg, Nutter & Brent in honor of Juanicio Steinberg Evelyn and Thomas Steiner Larisa Stephan Roger Still Mark and Leila Sutherland Mike Sweeney Jack and Rikki Swenson Bill Taylor Glen Tepke Steve and Brit Thal Kathryn Tosney Tuscan Archipelago National Park United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity United Nations Development Programme United Technologies University of Auckland U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bill Waldman and Olivia Millard Kathryn Waldman Alex Wegmann Karl Wegmann Mary and John Wegmann Devrin Weiss David Weissman Judy and Marlin Whitney Margaret Willits Willow Grove Foundation Michael Owen Willson Wolf Creek Charitable Foundation Brenda Worden Susan Young Shawn Zach Lynn Zhang Thank you! 2161 Delaware Ave, Suite A Santa Cruz, CA 95060 www.islandconservation.org Photo: Sooty Tern on Palmyra Atoll. Cover Photo: Pinzón Giant Tortoise on Pinzón Island, Galápagos. All photos copyright Island Conservation except Acteon & Gambier Archipelagos photo by Marie-Helene Burle and Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos photo by Rebecca Ross