The Kendall Foundation began an emphasis on environmental concerns in the early 1970s by supporting land, water and wildlife conservation. Today an extraordinary amount of America's land, mostly in the West and in Alaska, is under federal management by four agencies: Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish & Wildlife Service, and National Park Service. In Canada, most public land, Crown land, is managed by provincial agencies. Landscape conservation agendas cannot be advanced significantly without recognizing and addressing the improved performance of these agencies. The Foundation's Public Lands interests encourage improvements in the performance of Canadian and American land management agencies emphasizing scientific, financial, and personnel leadership strategies.