The Farallon Islands Foundation

The Farallon Islands Foundation enhances island habitats through projects focused on island conservation, restoration and acquisition, as well as supporting research and public education which further these efforts.

Three quarters of all recorded animal extinctions since 1600 are of island species, even though island species make up only a small fraction of all species. One of the goals of the Foundation is to prevent these extinctions.

To this end, we support:

• Restoration of original island flora and fauna through identification and removal of non-native species, and conservation of imperiled native species
• Construction, maintenance and renovation of facilities that improve island habitat
• Acquisition of equipment to facilitate management of island habitats and wildlife
• Educational programs aimed at improving awareness of unique island flora and fauna and funding of interns and other personnel involved in island research and education
• Purchase of islands supporting unique or threatened populations of flora and fauna, to assure their protection and conservation

Although the Farallon Islands Foundation is based in California, our interests extend worldwide. Our primary interest and emphasis is on salt water islands. We are a 501(c)3 foundation, registered in the state of California, governed by an unpaid Board of Directors.

The Farallon Islands Foundation was incorporated as a 501(c)3 in 1999.

The founder, Richard Spight, a Berkeley native, has a long history of interest and involvement with California Islands. He raised money for the acquisition of the Marin Islands which is now the newest National Wildlife Refuge in San Francisco Bay. He is also a long-standing member of the Farallon Islands Boat Patrol, whose members donate their time and the use of their boats for the benefit of Point Reyes Bird Observatory scientists traveling with their supplies to the hard-to-reach Farallon Islands, 27 miles off the coast of San Francisco in the Pacific Ocean.

In 1998, following a trip to New Zealand, Dick expanded his interests and energies to islands in general and to their management for the benefit of native flora and fauna. And so the Farallon Islands Foundation was born.

Since the Foundation began, our earliest grants—true to name—were made to the Point Reyes Bird Observatory (Petaluma, CA) and the US Fish & Wildlife Service for the benefit of the Farallon Islands. The interests of the founder and the Board of Directors soon expanded and grants have been given to a growing list of organizations for islands in California, Mexico and the world at large.