inve st in Nature The Nature Conservancy Conservation Note

Transcription

1 inve st in Nature The Nature Conservancy Conservation Note

2 Photo: 2008 Suzi Eszterhas Your investments have the power to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. You can help protect wildlife, restore drinking water supplies, and You care about our natural heritage improve people s lives in the and protecting it for future generations. U.S. and around the globe. Perhaps you support environmental causes w i t h y o u r c h a r i t a b l e c o n t r i b u t i o n s. Today you can do so much more. You can invest. When you invest in The Nature Conservancy s Conservation Note, the full value of your principal supports our conservation work. The Conservancy has financed hundreds of millions of dollars in conservation, protection and restoration; with the help of caring investors like you, we can make a greater impact and achieve lasting results around the world.

3 The Conservation Note allows you to put your By investing in the Conservation Note, you are helping to support conservation money where your projects around the globe. Each and every values are. dollar you invest in the Conservation Note will support our priority conservation projects like protecting water sources, restoring wildlife habitats, and preserving working farms and ranches. This investment-grade Note allows you to generate more than just a financial return. The full value of your capital is deployed to go to work in critically important natural areas. Photo: 2009 Tim Calver

4 Valdivian Coastal Range Mark Godfrey 2004 TNC Adirondacks Mark Godfrey 2004 TNC Support Livelihoods, Protect Wildlife and Preserve a Culture In November 2003, The Conservancy, with support from World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International s Global Conservation Fund, purchased 147,500 acres of biologically rich temperate rainforest in the Valdivian Coastal Range from a bankrupt forestry company. On March 22, 2005, this property, now the Valdivian Coastal Reserve, was officially opened to the public. The Conservancy, along with several partners, established a fund to finance conservation and sustainable development projects undertaken by neighboring communities of the Valdivian Coastal Reserve. Currently-funded projects include sustainable beekeeping operations and organic tea production. By protecting this coastal temperate rainforest and the adjacent marine areas, this project showcases a successful private reserve in close partnership with the national park service; provides employment opportunities for local communities in and around the reserve; and conserves eight major watersheds, 22 miles of highly biodiverse marine areas along a stunning Pacific coastline, and globally important habitat that harbors an amazing array of wildlife ranging from the world s smallest deer to alerce trees more than 2,000 years old. Seize Opportunity Established to protect important fresh water resources, New York State s sixmillion-acre Adirondack Park is unique among protected areas in the continental United States. Small towns, businesses, and commercial timber operations all exist within a rugged and forever wild landscape. Timber companies typically held onto their tracts for decades, some for more than a century. In recent years, though, the largest timber tracts in the Adirondacks have been sold. With each sale, much was at stake, including the park s wild character, economic underpinnings and intact forests. In 2007, 161,000 acres of timberland, prized for their bountiful forests, beautiful streams, and dazzling lakes, became available for purchase. Many feared the spread of damaging development. The Nature Conservancy s ability to act swiftly to purchase and protect those lands marked a pivotal moment in the history of the park. Examples of

5 Hawksbill Turtle Jeff Yonover Rancher 2009 Tim Calver Protect Nature, Preserve Life Catalyze Change In 1999, The Nature Conservancy In Eastern Colorado, when the 37,000- purchased 300 acres of pristine beach and acre Winship Ranch became available for upland scrub forest on the southeastern sale, the Conservancy was able to create a point of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. buyer group of five surrounding ranchers. These nearly two miles of coastline, which Each bought a segment of the ranch, had been slated for residential development, together preserving the whole property, include one of only a few intact nesting a condition of the ranch s sale. In the grounds for two sea turtle species, the Green arid east, large ranches are more viable. turtle and the Hawksbill turtle. Protected By enlarging their own properties, these from the full force of the sea by a healthy ranchers who have been on their land for and globally important coral reef, the bays three, four, and even five generations are virtually undisturbed by coastal erosion were able to bring their children back and pollution problems plaguing other to the ranch, maintaining the viability reefs on the Caribbean. Jack and Isaac of these small rugged communities that Bays Preserve adjoin a 300-acre natural would otherwise lose their schools and area owned and protected by the U.S. stores. The Conservancy enabled the Virgin Islands government. Together, these buyers to pay a price below market, by properties establish a 600-acre protected purchasing a conservation easement area that safeguards the entire eastern from both the seller and the five buyers. end of the St. Croix. TNC purchased The Conservancy used its own funds to the property in 1999 for $2.5 million, buy the easement at the time of the sale and also placed $500k into a stewardship and organize the buyer group after the endowment. By purchasing the land when sale had occurred. it was put on the market by a private owner, the Conservancy was able to move swiftly to forestall development and protect the turtles habitat. Our Work

6 Start investing in nature for Your investment will support the conservation of critically important forests, mountain ranges, rivers, and the lands that surround them. The Conservation Note helps The Nature future generations! Conservancy achieve conservation at scale by enabling us to act quickly and with maximum flexibility when an important conservation opportunity arises. When an opportunity to purchase land, protect an important marine habitat, or support the restoration of a vital water supply occurs, our state and country programs can draw on the funds provided by your investment in the Conservation Note to cover the costs of conservation action, accessing the funds with as little as a few weeks notice. Rigorous science determines where the Conservancy works. We design conservation portfolios, placing special emphasis on protecting and restoring whole natural systems like forests, watersheds, and habitats. We then work collaboratively with partners to develop a set of strategies to make conservation in these places a reality. As a result, your investments help protect natural areas that the Conservancy has designated as the highest priority and of the most conservation significance. The Nature Conservancy is a professional organization you can trust. We have the hands-on impact of a local nonprofit and the global reach of a powerful international organization. We are delivering tangible results that are rooted in science and big enough to make a lasting difference around the world. We have a 60-year track record of successful environmental stewardship and the resources and leadership to achieve big things for conservation. For fifteen years, institutional investors have been able to buy investment-grade Nature Conservancy bonds. With the Conservation Note, that opportunity is now available to individuals. Borrowed capital allows the Conservancy to protect the places and resources that people and nature need to thrive. Our work can require large amounts of capital; our debt works alongside our own capital to make these projects happen. The Nature Conservancy, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity, offers the Conservation Note. The purchase of the Conservancy s securities is subject to risks, which are described in the Prospectus. These risks include the difficulty of achieving or measuring conservation results, as described in the Prospectus. In addition, there is no assurance that the Moody s rating of the Notes will be maintained; it may be changed or downgraded. A change in rating during the term of the investment is not an event of default under the terms of the Conservation Note. The Conservancy significantly depends on donor contributions for its expenses, including the repayment of the Notes. This is not an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, these securities. The offer is made solely by the Prospectus, and only in states where authorized.

7 Photo: 2008 Ami Vitale Put your money where your values are. Invest in the Conservation Note today and generate more than just a financial return generate a return for nature and for future generations. 1 Before you invest in a Conservation Note, please read the prospectus carefully. To purchase, please complete the enclosed form. Want to Learn More? Call: invest@tnc.org Visit: 2 Choose your investment amount, term and interest rate. The minimum investment is $25,000. You select a term of 1, 3, or 5 years.

8 The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. For more information, contact us toll-free at or Or visit our website at Graphic design: Paul Gormont, Apertures Inc. Cover photo: Helmuth Humphrey, Apertures Inc.