Cox Enterprises is donating $100 million to help conserve North America’s prairie region from a newly-established conservation fund.
The gift is going toward Wetlands America Trust, the land trust under wetland and waterfowl conservation nonprofit Ducks Unlimited, according to a Thursday announcement.
Tracing its origins back to 1937, the nonprofit is the world’s largest dedicated to preserving wetlands, grasslands and other waterfowl habitats, which fish, wildlife and plants rely on for survival. Urban and rural development, along with agricultural practices like drainage and fill, have threatened and damaged wetlands over the last century.
Conserving these habitats not only helps animal and plant species to survive, but it improves the quality of life for humans, as wetlands help to filter sediment and pollutants from water and reduce the risk of flooding, among other benefits. Ducks Unlimited has restored or protected more than 18 million acres.
Sandy Springs-based Cox Enterprises is one of the nation’s largest privately owned companies. Its holdings include broadband giant Cox Communications, Cox Automotive and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Cox is a longtime corporate partner of Ducks Unlimited, and Cox-related entities have already donated nearly $100 million to the nonprofit to date. The company created the conservation fund in honor of Jim Kennedy, chairman of the James M. Cox Foundation and chairman emeritus of Cox Enterprises.
“With the support from this newly established fund, Ducks Unlimited and Wetlands America Trust can accelerate this significant work to conserve this essential landscape,” said Ducks Unlimited CEO Adam Putnam in the news release.
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