The Bezos Earth Fund has granted a third donation of $30 million to the US National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), earmarked for protection of threatened longleaf pine forests and Northern Great Plains grasslands.

The award will fund around 30 groups backed by NFWF’s Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund and the Northern Great Plains Program to restore and maintain 200,000 acres of longleaf pine forest and 600,000 acres of grasslands, the fund said in a statement Thursday.

“Taken together, these activities will sequester up to 8 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2055 and support recovery of 10 at-risk species, including the red-cocked woodpecker and black-footed ferret,” it said.

“These efforts will accelerate progress towards broader landscape goals to restore 8 million acres of longleaf and 6 million acres of Northern Great Plains grasslands by 2030.”

NFWF is a Congress-chartered private conservation grant maker that has funded more than 21,000 projects over the past 40 years.

When the Bezos fund awarded a similar amount last year, that ended up supporting 51 conservation projects across 15 US states and two Canadian provinces.

The fund’s commitments to the two ecosystems is founded in part on their threatened status currently.

According to the announcement, longleaf pine forests rival tropical rainforests in biodiversity, but in the US they have lost 95% of their original range.

Meanwhile, the Northern Great Plains grasslands rank among the world’s most endangered and least protected ecosystems.

“Longleaf pine forests and the grasslands of the Northern Great Plains are a national treasures. Not only are these ecosystems vital for the economic and cultural wellbeing of local communities, but they are also places that can have globally significant impact in terms of nature protection and carbon sequestration,” Cristian Samper, the fund’s managing director and leader for nature solutions, said.

“The Bezos Earth Fund is thrilled to continue our partnership with NFWF and coalitions of local partners working to protect and restore these precious ecosystems.”

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