The Foundation is a not-for-profit (501(c)3) entity. It was formed in keeping with Wilderness Unlimited's long time leadership of maintaining our traditional outdoor heritage, wildlife habitat enhancement programs, and hands-on education. The Foundation is overseen by a Board of Directors separate from Wilderness Unlimited (WU).

WU leases and manages the recreational use and wildlife on hundreds of thousands of acres of ranches and private properties from southern California through northern Oregon.  Members of WU have the opportunity to enjoy broadly diverse outdoor activities on landscapes ranging from costal lowlands, streams, central valley wetlands and oak savannahs, to high elevation working ranches.  WU's leases keep these lands from being sold to developers and lost forever.

Habitat issues on private lands have always presented the greatest challenges. These properties contain thousands of acres and miles of streams that are critical to threatened wildlife and fisheries. The Foundation is in the unique position to sponsor a market-based approach that can lever WU's lessee relationship with these landowners to collaborate on improvements. This collaboration is about discovering the common ground between the goals of the landowners, and the goals of the state and federal conservation incentive programs. This model has been successfully utilized on working ranches in the Pacific Northwest. It gets projects on the ground! It's a common sense approach where the landowner, the conservation agencies, and especially the environment, fish, and wildlife become the ultimate winners.