2008 has seen so much positive transpire it is difficult to highlight just a few items:
· The donation to Fossil Rim of the ~1,700 acres we operate on. This huge gift early in the year transitioned Fossil Rim from a lessee to being the owner of the land it occupies. Subtle as this might seem on the surface, it opens up an all new era for Fossil Rim. For one thing, it provides donors with confidence and assurance that Fossil Rim is here to stay over the long term. For another, it means caring for the land and habitats are a good investment in Fossil Rim's own future.
· Through the generosity of one of our board members, we have been able to pay off all Fossil Rim's old financial debts, do a whole lot of infrastructure renovation though a lot more remains to be done, complete a master plan for each of the front gate admissions area and the entire Overlook area where our Wolf Ridge Conservation Camp, gift store, children's zoo and café are located, and initiate the construction of a new website.
· Through the generosity of a deceased estate, we recently began constructing a specialized incubation center for the Attwater's prairie chicken breeding program. We expect to open this facility in February, just in time for the breeding season starting March 2009.
· With a generous matching grant from the Rudolf Steiner Foundation's Social Finance program, we have been able to replace a lot of our ancient hay-making equipment and our ageing vehicle fleet, making our daily operations a lot more efficient and our hay-making for winter animal feeding a lot more cost-effective.
· With a wonderful grant from the Sportsman's Club of Fort Worth, we were able this past summer to initiate a few 3-day summer camps at our Wolf Ridge Conservation Camp, as an in-house learning experience for a much larger summer camp program from next year.
