Press

November 14, 2000

Ann Arbor, MI - EcologyFund.com (www.EcologyFund.com) today announced their partnership with the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust in an effort to save Blanton Forest, the largest contiguous unprotected old-growth hardwood forest in the Eastern United States. The 6,000+ acre design for the future Blanton Forest Nature Preserve includes 2,350 acres of pristine old-growth wilderness including 200+ year-old trees and Watts Creek, a sanctuary for the endangered Blackside dace fish. It belongs to a type of diverse temperate forest class called "mixed mesophytic" that is considered called both "globally significant" and "critically endangered" by the World Wildlife Fund.

EcologyFund.com is a "click-to-donate" site that protects wilderness land. Over 80,000 visitors per month view Internet ad banners in exchange for donations to create nature reserves. Since it's launch in February, users of EcologyFund have enabled the purchase of over 3,000 acres (4.8 sq. miles) of threatened wilderness in the US, Canada, Mexico, Amazon Basin, and Patagonia.

"By partnering with EcologyFund.com, we are able to bring the Blanton Forest project to the attention of people all over the world. It is an effective, cost-free way for us to spread the word about our project goals, and to gain additional funds," says Jeneene Spencer of the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust.

The "Protect Blanton Forest in Kentucky's Appalachian Mountains" project is located on the EcologyFund homepage. Each time a user clicks on the donate button next to the project, they will help preserve 1.8 square feet of this ancient wilderness. WebReleaf.com has generously agreed to be the exclusive sponsor of the Blanton project through late November.

The Kentucky Natural Lands Trust (KNLT) secured the property options and is spearheading the preservation efforts. KNLT is a nonprofit organization committed to protecting and raising public awareness of our diminishing natural lands. KNLT is primarily a volunteer nonprofit organization working with statewide environmental and community groups to guarantee this forest can be enjoyed and appreciated for all times. Once purchased, Blanton Forest will receive permanent protection as the state's largest nature preserve. The proposed Blanton Forest preserve design will total 6,700 acres and provide recreation, research and environmental education opportunities.

EcologyFund.com has already saved over 3,000 acres of threatened wilderness land.
EcologyFund offers non-profit land preservation partners the opportunity to post their most urgent projects on EcologyFund. Currently, the Rainforest Trust based in the U.K., the Wilderness Land Trust, The Wildlands Project, The Cascades Conservation Partnership and Kentucky Natural Lands Trust based in the U.S., Pronatura of Mexico, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada are official partners of EcologyFund and have projects benefiting from the site.

EcologyFund is the only click-to-donate wilderness Web site that offers projects in the United States, Canada and South America. Visitors to EcologyFund primarily raise funds by clicking on the "donate" button for each of the seven available projects. The visitor then views a page of sponsor banner ads. Site sponsors pay a per-view fee each month to the individual non-profit land preservation groups. One hundred percent of the sponsors' payments go to EcologyFund's non-profit partners. Each visitor currently can save 240 square feet of rainforest and wild lands a day at no cost to them by clicking the donate buttons.

With the recent additions of the Rainforest Rewards and Special Donations pages on the site, EcologyFund has increased the overall giving opportunities to unprecedented levels. Now site visitors can use Rainforest Rewards and the Special Donations pages to save an additional 1,384 square feet of wild land per day. Users who visit the site daily and use all the features make the most dramatic impact. Their donations add up to over an acre (more than 43,560 square feet) of wilderness land saved each month.

The greater number of sponsors, the more land saved. EcologyFund is proud to currently have thirteen site sponsors: Novica, CharityMall, L.L. Bean, WebReleaf.com, EnviroNetwork.com, iPrint.com, FinePrint.com, Caf� Canopy, MountainZone.com, Flower.com, Botany in a Day, Etera, and Wine Accents. The Environment News Service is an official partner of EcologyFund.com. Links to sponsor Web sites can be accessed from the sponsor banner page on EcologyFund.com.

EcologyFund.com founder Tim Kunin is available for interviews: [email protected] or 781-461-6161.

PRESS CONTACT:
Jessica Frost, Publicity Director
CharityMall.com/EcologyFund.com
216 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
ph: 734-213.7777
fx: 734-913-5555
[email protected]