Do you remember 1985?

That was the year:

• Microsoft released Windows 1.0
• CDs were first sold
• Stamps cost 22 cents
• “Back to the Future” became a hit movie
• Researchers found the sunken “Titanic”

Also in 1985, a small group of determined conservationists launched The Conservation Fund. Patrick Noonan, who had just won a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant for his conservation ideas, and a few colleagues envisioned a new model of American land conservation: an organization chartered not only for environmental preservation, but also economic development. Rather than pursue a strict agenda, they wanted to partner with community, government and business to achieve land conservation on the ground, across America, moving swiftly and smartly. And so they did—and do. Today, our leadership continues combining passion and practical strategy to achieve conservation results coast to coast.