Spirit of Conservation

For well over a decade, ConocoPhillips Alaska has invested more than $6 million in the Spirit of Conservation initiative, a program designed to restore, enhance and provide access to Alaska’s key fish and wildlife habitats and populations.

The program achieves this through support of direct habitat improvement programs, public education, outreach programs and employee engagement. In 2023, ConocoPhillips Alaska awarded a total of $282,500.00, between 16 different projects. Here are some highlights:

  • $50,000 to Ducks Unlimited - TN to support its study: "The Impact of Growing Goose Numbers in Alaska."
  • $40,000 to Alaska Trails to support the Alaska Long Trail (ALT) Project Workbook, a multi-page information repository for the ALT, resulting in a package of trail maps, segment costs, and priorities for initial investment. The ALT is a multi-braid, multi-use 500-mile trail system project connecting Fairbanks and Seward. 
  • $25,000 to The Conservation Fund for the Saddle Trail Property Acquisition, a 5-acre parcel within Kachemak Bay State Park. This parcel is in Halibut Cove and will protect beach-front public access to the Saddle Trail, one of the most popular hiking trails in Alaska. 
  • $20,000 to Alaska Geographic for the 2023 A PLACE (Alaska Place-Based Learning Action Connection Engagement) After School program, an outdoor experiential learning program designed to support young people (aged 10-18) in their emotional, academic, social, and personal wellbeing. The program is designed to directly target those students severely impacted by Covid-19 and the compounding effects of historical poverty, violence, and low academic achievement and to support them to achieve academic success.
  • $17,500 to the National Forest Foundation for Improvements to Iditarod National Historic Trail (INHT), as part of a multi-year phased effort by the NFF, the US Forest Service, and local partners, to reconstruct more than 180 miles of the INHT in southcentral Alaska, on the Chugach National Forest. 
  • $15,500 to Anchorage Park Foundation for the 2023 Outdoor School: Learning by Experience and Exploration.
  • $15,000 to the Alaska Association of Conservation Districts for the Mat-Su Salmon Habitat Conservation Efforts and 12th Annual Weed Smackdown Event.
  • $15,000 to Alaska Songbird Institute for the 2023 Community Science for a Changing World program. 
  • Additional Spirit of Conservation Grant recipients include:
    • Prince William Sound Science and Technology Institute: Headwaters to Ocean Education Programs
    • Anchorage Waterways Council: Annual Creek Clean-up and Creeks as Classrooms
    • Friends of Eagle River Nature Center: 2023 Public Use Cabin Interior Renovation
    • Student Conservation Association: National Park Service Academy Alaska