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WILSON – A billionaire philanthropist from Wyoming has made a firm commitment to land conservation.
In an article published Wednesday by the New York Times, Hansjorg Wyss, a resident of Wilson, said he would spend a billion dollars on land and ocean conservation over the next ten years.
"This money will support local conservation efforts around the world, advocate for more ambitious global land and ocean conservation goals, raise public awareness of the importance of this effort and fund research. scientists in order to identify the best strategies to achieve our goal, Wyss wrote.
The philanthropist, born in Switzerland but convinced of the power of protected natural spaces while spending a youthful stay in the Rocky Mountains, said that he and his nonprofit organization, the Wyss Foundation, had spent $ 450 million to protect about 40 Millions of acres of land worldwide over the past two decades.
But, he wrote, it is only a fraction of what needs to be saved.
"Some scientists, including Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson, have concluded that at least half of the world must be protected to save a vast majority of plant and wildlife species from extinction." he wrote.
Wyss entered local land conservation in 2013 when approximately 47,800 acres of Bridger-Teton National Forest Land in the Upper Hoback watershed were to be open for oil and gas development. Wyss has donated about half of the $ 8.75 million needed to permanently remove the land development leases.
For Wyss' new global initiative, he wrote that it would be run under the auspices of his foundation. The effort will call the Wyss campaign for nature, said in an email Greg Zimmerman, head of communication.
In filing its tax returns for 2015, the non-profit organization had assets of nearly $ 2.2 billion, but Wyss's opinion did not indicate whether the newly announced funding would come from its coffers. personal assets or assets already held by the foundation.
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