WILDCOAST
A Voice For the Coast and Ocean
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
California Marine Protect Areas (MPAs)
WILDCOAST is helping to conserve and manage 545k acres of Marine Protected Areas through through public engagement, policy development, monitoring for poachers and education.
These areas represent some of Southern California's most biologically diverse and important marine ecosystems. They are home to kelp forests, lagoons and rocky reefs that provide food and shelter to an array of wildlife, from tiny invertebrates and a diversity of fish, to blue whales, white sharks, sea otters, sea lions and a variety of birds.
WILDCOAST educates and engages residents and students in San Diego County's MPAs through its floating laboratory program. For these underwater protected areas to be effective, it is critical for the public to understand locations and regulations, participate in stewardship efforts and be actively engaged in the array of recreational and educational opportunities that they provide.
Baja California Peninsula
Overfishing, mining and coastal development are continuous threats to the coastal and marine wilderness’ of the Baja California Peninsula. WILDCOAST is working diligently to stop these threats from destroying the ecological integrity of the peninsula. Through direct land purchases, conservation easement agreements and unprecedented partnerships with Mexico’s Commission for Protected Areas, WILDCOAST is working to conserve more than 12.3 million acres of critical habitat and ecosystems, maintaining coastal access and building environmental stewardship within the region's most biologically significant locations. With initiatives in the Valle de los Cirios, Laguna San Ignacio and Bahia Magdalena, WILDCOAST continues to lead efforts to protect private lands in Northwest Mexico.
Coral Reef Conservation & Management
Coral reefs tie together the ecological fabric of our oceans. They absorb tremendous amounts of atmospheric carbon, protect coastal communities against hurricanes, provide livelihood through tourism and research and serve as nurseries for commercial fisheries.
WILDCOAST is working with national park staff and local communities in Mexico (Cabo Pulmo National Park and Huatulco National Park) and Cuba to help protect 129,499 acres of coral reefs and the national parks that house them. The organization is support reef-monitoring efforts to gauge ecosystem health and helping to improve visitation best practices. Through beach and reef cleanups, media awareness efforts and education workshops, WILDCOAST is building local, national and international awareness about the importance of coral reefs as a conservation priority and the need to engage local communities in their protection.
Sea Turtle Conservation
Sea turtles are ancient marine reptiles that nest on sandy beaches and feed on seagrasses in many of the areas that WILDCOST works directly to conserve. Due to human pressures, including poaching, there has been a tremendous amount of pressure placed on the survival of these magnificent creatures.
WILDCOAST is working to protect some of the world’s most important sea turtle nesting beaches along the Oaxaca coastline. In 2016, one of these beaches, Morro Ayuta, had an estimated one million sea turtles who came to shore and laid 92 million eggs, that resulted in 32 million hatchlings. To protect these sea turtles and conserve their critical nesting beach, WILDCOAST engages hundreds of local children in sea turtle education and outreach activities and have developed a local oil spill response team. Additionally, Morro Ayuta is being promotes as a Wetland of International Importance to recognize its ecological importance on a global scale.
Mangrove Conservation & Management
Mangroves are among the world’s highest carbon sequestering plants. The desert mangroves of the Baja California Peninsula and Gulf of California sequester five times more carbon than their tropical counter parts. They provide critical habitat and food for marine and terrestrial wildlife and are nurseries for commercial fisheries, sea turtles and crustaceans. Coastal communities depend on these mangroves for protection against sea level rise, hurricanes and storm surges.
WILDCOAST is working to protect more than 60,000 acres of mangrove forests covering more than 500 miles of coastline in northwest Mexico. Through federal conservation concessions, the organization is directly conserving some of the most vulnerable mangrove forests in Bahia Magdalena and the Gulf of California. Working with local municipalities, WILDCOAST is helping to update land use plans to include stronger protections for coastal ecosystems and engaging these local communities in preservation efforts.
U.S./Mexico Border
WILDCOAST works to conserve and restore the 3,489 acres of protected ecosystems in the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Tijuana River Mouth Marine Protected Area through the following activities carried out on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border:
· Supporting and carrying out conservation and habitat restoration programs for project sites.
· Eliminating sources of sewage and trash, including waste tires, that impact coastal ecosystems and protected areas.
· Building a constituency of engaged stakeholders and decision-makers to support conservation and restoration.
· Supporting conservation policies and sustainable land use around project sites.
· Organizing and carrying out project site and beach cleanups.
Where we work
Awards
4-star Charity 2011
Charity Navigator
4-star Charity 2019
Charity Navigator
Affiliations & memberships
KEELING CURVE PRIZE AWARD WINNER 2019
External reviews
Photos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
WILDCOAST is an international group that works to conserve coastal and marine ecosystems and wildlife. Working to realize the vision of restoring and sustaining ecologically sensitive and globally significant coastal and marine ecosystems for generations to come, WILDCOAST's projects provide measurable conservation benefits with long-lasting impacts. By targeting specific ecosystems for conservation with actionable projects, WILDCOAST addresses critical issues such as climate change, threats to biodiversity and wildlife abundance, sea level rise, and long-term conservation stewardship. WILDCOAST directly engages communities in the conservation of ecosystems and wildlife through citizen science, cleanups, outreach, participatory planning, and direct engagement with policy makers.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
WILDCOAST meets its conservation mission by:
· Establishing public and private protected areas;
· Implementing stewardship and management activities;
· Building community conservation capacity;
· Developing and advocating conservation policy; and
· Carrying out communications campaigns.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
WILDCOAST
Board of directorsas of 12/01/2022
Mr. David Price
Craig Gaunce
Gaunce & Associates, CPAs APC
Josh Chatten-Brown
Chatten-Brown & Carstens
Doug Sheres
Paramo Capital Partners
Emily Welborn Guevara
Philanthropist
David Price
Philanthropist
Laura Araujo
Philanthropist
Heidi Dewar
Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Dovi Kacev
Scripps Insititution of Oceanography
Dominique Cano-Stocco
Verizon
Jill Gartman
Philanthropist
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data