Our History

Guy Waterman was a hiker, musician, mountaineer, prolific author, homesteader, and lover of the wild. Together with his wife, Laura, he helped pioneer the Leave No Trace ethic and started important conversations about both the physical and spiritual qualities of wildness, and the role of thoughtful human stewardship in wild places and alpine ecosystems. His death in 2000 sparked friends and admirers to create a memorial fund to further Guy's work and spirit on behalf of the wilderness values in which he believed.

Since its inception in 2000, over 500 individual donors and foundations have supported the efforts of the Waterman Fund. The Fund has awarded over $438,310 in grant monies to various organizations and initiatives in areas of research, stewardship, and conservation of highly endangered alpine ecosystems and wild spaces. In this time, the Fund has also published over thirty emerging writers through its annual Essay Contest and has awarded $30,500 in prize monies to those individuals. Finally, on an annual basis the Fund also bestows grant money and recognition to individuals who do important work to protect fragile ecosystems through the Guy Waterman Alpine Steward Award and the Emerging Alpine Steward Award.

Help us continue the legacy in the spirit of Guy and Laura Waterman's important environmental work. Contact us to donate or find out how you can get involved!