SUMMERLEE FOUNDATION AND SHARED EARTH FOUNDATION SUPPORT COUGAR HABITAT MODELING PROJECT

Cougar Network News, 10/03/05

The Summerlee Foundation and Shared Earth Foundation have both contributed funding towards the cougar habitat modeling project being undertaken by Dr. Clay Nielsen of the Cougar Network and Southern Illinois University Carbondale.  These grants will supplement the initial seed money provided internally to Dr. Nielsen by the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory at SIUC.

The Summerlee Foundation (www.summerlee.org) is funding the cougar habitat modeling project through its Animal Protection program.  This programs goal is to promote a new ethic towards animals. Via its international grant making, Summerlee provides support of rescue, research, advocacy, and education.  The Shared Earth Foundation (www.sharedearth.org) is committed to the tenet that all creatures have an enduring claim to sustainable space on this planet. It believes that today’s human beings have the responsibility to share Earth’s resources with other creatures and future generations by limiting their adverse impact on the planet, and by enriching and protecting Earth’s wild life and the places they inhabit.

This project will represent the first large-scale habitat modeling effort for cougars in the Midwest, a region wherein the Cougar Network has documented more than two-dozen cougar confirmations during the past two years. The habitat model will identify landscape factors affecting cougar habitat potential in the Midwest, and serve as a useful planning tool for wildlife conservation agencies and non-government organizations.