Nature's Keepers: The Remarkable Story of How the Nature Conservancy Became the Largest Environmental Organization in the World

By Bill Birchard

Book Overview

With more than $3.7 billion in assets and annual revenue of $800 million, the Nature Conservancy has generated staggering growth that would be the envy of any business. Incorporated in 1951 by a small circle of concerned ecologists, the Conservancy has grown financially into the world's largest environmental organization. It has one million members--up from 500,000 in 1990--and 3,500 employees operating in 50 states and 28 countries across the world. Nature's Keepers offers readers an inspirational leadership tale and management chronicle, as it goes behind the scenes and details the inner workings of the Nature Conservancy. Highlighting the efforts of nine extraordinary leaders, Nature's Keepers examines the organization's culture and management, strategy and decisions, and courageous and ingenious individuals who have dedicated their lives to conservation. Author Bill Birchard reveals how the Conservancy's sometimes controversial business practices--entrepreneurial approaches to preserving ecosystems while meeting human needs--have earned the praise of management gurus such as Peter Drucker. The Conservancy's way of operating, though not free of failings, is both widely emulated in the nonprofit community and greatly respected by business scholars and CEOs nationwide.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787971588
• ISBN13: 9780787971588
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Nature's Keepers book

I am an employee for The Nature Conservancy and have found this book to be a "must read" for current and new employees. Very inspiring and a great overview of the work we do.

Nature's Keepers

A wonderful story of a remarkable organization and how it's various leaders at the state, national and international level dealt with the constant changes and conflicts that are inevitable in a group that has had such an impact throughout the world. What is refreshing is that the conflicts are not hidden but highlighted so that we may know how the organization dealt with them to make the Nature Conservancy stronger.

Well written, a great read

This is a well-researched, well-written book that paints a vivid picture of the politics and complexities of an organization -- even one as well-intentioned as the Nature Conservancy. This would make an excellent book for classes in management and leadership.

First clear picture of a complicated organization

He gets it. Birchard did a remarkable job distilling what and who made the Conservancy tick at every stage of its development. He captures the genius and passion of stars like Noonan and Jenkins. The dramatic struggles in the formative years were news to me, even though I worked at The Conservancy for 20 years. Others have tried before to penetrate this extremely complicated enterprise and capture the essence of the organization but nothing I have seen captures the pearls of organizational development like this book. Recommended reading for every charity's staff and board. I hoped the book had room to show how much fun we had- such as the hilarious story of the Aggassiz Glacier, a ficitious land project that staff almost got through the Board of Governors. Maybe in the next book. And I thank the author for re-inforcing my own pride in having worked so hard on the Conservancy's mission.

A great success story

You don't need to be an environmentalist to love this book. The Nature Conservancy is not only the world's largest environmental organizations but one of the most effective. Having worked at other environemtal groups, watching the Conservancy's tremendous growth over the years, I was just amazed and wondered what they were doing to achieve such success. Now Nature's Keepers explains it all. What I really liked was that it was a real honest appraisal about the organization including the mistakes it made and the troubles it faced. It is a great lesson about how to face and overcome challenges to ultimately make your organization stronger.