As we step into January 2026, we’re gathering ourselves for some major developments. 2025 was a year shaped by complexity, determination, and an extraordinary level of collaboration across landscapes, institutions, and communities. While conservation rarely feels easy, and never happens quickly, the progress made this year has been deeply encouraging, and we’re feeling confident and excited for everything that this upcoming year has to bring. Following is a brief summary of our progress and projects from the last 12 months.
The Green Heart of the Everglades, Florida
The Green Heart of the Everglades moved decisively toward completion in 2025. During the year, we finalized title work, completed a full market analysis, and delivered a comprehensive income-based appraisal covering more than 450,000 acres of mineral rights beneath Big Cypress National Preserve and Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. This work culminated in securing a formal appraisal agreement with Colliers, marking a major milestone in a conservation effort first envisioned in 1974.
Navigating federal appraisal standards required sustained technical diligence and close coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior, alongside engagement with stakeholders across Florida. At its core, the project is straightforward but profound: acquiring these mineral rights permanently removes the threat of oil exploration, safeguarding water, wildlife, and public lands at landscape scale, even where surface protections already exist. Support from the Essex Foundation enabled this work to continue through a pivotal phase, bringing the project to the threshold of a transaction that could secure one of the most significant conservation outcomes in the history of the Everglades.
Bear Hill Conservancy & the Appalachian Highlands, New Hampshire
At Bear Hill, 2025 was about both deepening protection and widening the lens. In 2025, we closed Units B, A and H, securing another approximately 1,300 acres through transactions totalling roughly US$2m. Additional parcels moved closer to permanent conservation, while preparations began to appraise large areas of Green Woodlands, an Appalachian cove forest of exceptional ecological value. On the ground, habitat restoration continued, with more than 150 acres managed to support grassland birds such as bobolinks and Eastern meadowlarks - species that depend on landscapes shaped by active stewardship. At the same time, Bear Hill increasingly became part of a broader Appalachian Highlands vision: helping families keep land intact, sustain livelihoods through working forests, and avoid the fragmentation that comes with mounting development and tax pressures.
Catahoula Lake, Louisiana
Catahoula Lake reached an important moment of clarity this year. After a long period of careful evaluation, we began shaping a coordinated strategy aimed at restoring protection to one of North America’s most important wetland systems. Conversations with Ducks Unlimited and the State of Louisiana explored a pathway toward inclusion of the Ramsar Site within the National Wildlife Refuge System, while parallel work began on local organizing and federal engagement. This layered approach reflects both the ecological importance of Catahoula and the reality that durable conservation here will require alignment across communities, agencies, and political boundaries.
Tsavo Conservation Area & the Rhino Range Expansion, Kenya
In Tsavo, 2025 marked a major milestone for rhino conservation with the formal establishment of the Tsavo West Rhino Sanctuary, covering approximately 740,000 acres. Announced by President William Ruto, the sanctuary represents a decisive national commitment to landscape-scale rhino recovery, to which WildLandscapes made a meaningful contribution. Our support combined early support to the Kenya Rhino Range Expansion and direct operational backing for the Kenya Wildlife Service, delivered through Tsavo Trust. This included five Land Cruisers, two drones, helicopter support, and contributions to the Joint Operations Centre and ranger barracks, as well as emergency funding to Tsavo Trust that helped keep patrols active during a period of acute financial strain.
Separately, we conducted due diligence on Kenya Triangle Ranch, a strategically located property linking Tsavo West National Park with Mkomazi National Park, as part of broader exploration of cross-border connectivity in the Tsavo–Mkomazi landscape.
Renosterveld, South Africa
In South Africa, our work in the Renosterveld was brought into sharp focus during a spring visit by our Founder and CEO, David Houghton, to the Overberg Renosterveld Trust. Seeing the Cape Floristic Kingdom in bloom underscored both the extraordinary richness of this landscape and the fragility of what remains, with only around five percent of Renosterveld left. Time spent with partners on the ground highlighted how much of the work here depends on trust, shared values, and long-term commitment, as well as the urgent need to secure more land through agreements, easements, or purchase. The visit reinforced our determination to help strengthen partnerships and build broader support for protecting one of the world’s most important and vulnerable biodiversity hotspots.
What defined 2025 for us was the number of moments where people chose to stay engaged - to keep working through complexity rather than stepping away from it. Across every landscape, conservation moved forward because partners, communities, and supporters were willing to invest time, patience, and care in work that doesn’t always offer quick returns. That choice, repeated again and again, is what gives us confidence as we look toward 2026.
