What Your Support Made Possible in 2025

Dear Friends,

If anyone thinks conservation slows down when things get complicated - 2025 proved otherwise.

This year, Second Century Habitat Fund kept habitat moving forward across South Dakota’s working lands, pairing strong partnerships with real, measurable impact.

Here’s what 2025 looked like on the ground:

• 162 landowners served through SCHF programs.
• 2,190 acres enrolled in 2025 alone, adding to
• 14,448 total acres funded since program launch.
• 111 active contracts currently delivering habitat benefits.
• Nearly $4.5 million invested directly into habitat projects.

And alongside that on-the-ground work, SCHF hit several major milestones:

• SCHF secured a new National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Northern Great Plains grant and moved those dollars to work almost immediately — contracting the available funds within just a couple of weeks of the grant opening. That $815,315 investment has already supported 1,384.4 acres in western South Dakota, a pace that speaks directly to strong landowner demand and a clear need for habitat investment across South Dakota’s working lands.
• At the same time, SCHF successfully closed out the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s ConocoPhillips Spirit of Conservation Grant, completing 1,100 acres of cropland-to-grassland conversion through a $300,000 program. These projects delivered durable wildlife habitat while maintaining long-term agricultural viability for participating producers and adding value to their operations by allowing grazing or haying through our Working Lands Program.
• We also closed the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Conservation Partnership Program Grant, implementing high diversity interseeding and managed grazing practices on 2,854.8 acres, with $773,656 invested directly into habitat improvements on working lands. These projects strengthened pollinator habitat, forage resilience, and overall ecosystem health.

Together, these grants demonstrate more than funding success. They show that SCHF can secure, deploy, and close national-scale conservation investments — and do it in a way that works for landowners and delivers real results on the ground.

2025 also marked my first year as Executive Director of SCHF.

I stepped into this role with a clear focus on continuity, accountability, and strengthening partnerships — ensuring landowners, agencies, conservation organizations, and funders were aligned around shared goals. That focus paid off. Together, we delivered one of the strongest years in the organization’s history - both financially and on the ground.

That progress was supported by a healthy and diversified financial foundation. In 2025 alone, SCHF generated more than $1 million in total revenue and finished the year with a positive net income of $465,000, while continuing to reinvest dollars directly into habitat. Since our inception, SCHF has invested more than $4.47 million directly into on-the-ground conservation.

Diversified fundraising played a key role in that stability. In 2025, SCHF’s auction and raffle efforts generated more than $220,000 in unrestricted support, providing the flexible dollars needed to match grants, respond quickly to landowner demand, and keep habitat projects moving without delay.

But 2025 wasn’t just about acres, grant totals or financials.

It was about trust — landowners choosing conservation because it works for their operation. It was about credibility — proving SCHF can manage complex funding responsibly and at scale. And it was about momentum — showing that habitat conservation in South Dakota isn’t slowing down.

As we head into year-end, we’re asking you to help keep that momentum going.

A year-end gift to SCHF allows us to respond quickly when landowners are ready, provide match for competitive grants, and keep habitat projects moving at the pace the landscape demands.

Whether you give $50 or $5,000, your support turns opportunity into action — real acres, real projects, and real results.

Looking ahead to 2026, our focus is clear:

Build on what worked, strengthen the partnerships that made this year possible, and turn strong demand into even more acres on the ground. With projects already lining up and landowners ready to participate, we’re committed to making 2026 even more impactful than 2025 — for habitat, for working lands, and for South Dakota’s outdoor heritage.

Thank you for being part of a year where habitat didn’t just get talked about — it got done.

See you in the field!

Elysabeth ‘Liz’ Kierl
Executive Director