02.25.09 RIESTER, a full service marketing firm, specializing in creating Brand Activism^tm through advertising, public relations, public affairs and internet strategy, today announces the launch of the RIESTER Conservation Foundation. A public non-profit organization, RIESTER Conservation Foundation is intended to support and cultivate projects that protect and preserve the environment on both a local and global scale. The Foundation also serves as a platform for which the company can further its goals as brand activists^tm.

"Brand activism is at the core of RIESTER's value system. We believe that our responsibility to our clients is to bring sustainability to their brand, not just a one-time transaction with consumers," said Tim Riester, president and CEO of RIESTER. "It is with this same approach that we have created RIESTER Conservation Foundation. With the Foundation we can embark on a series of long-term projects that have a lasting environmental impact."

RIESTER Conservation Foundation is already involved in several projects in the United States and abroad. For instance, the Foundation has entered into a Conservation Easement agreement with Islita Reserve, a Costa Rica development, to protect and conserve rainforest located on the property. It also has granted funding to PRETOMA, a Costa Rican conservation organization. Funding to the organization went to a pilot study of Playla Crozalito in Northwest Costa Rica to study how best to protect sea turtles nesting on its beaches.

In the U.S., RIESTER Conservation Foundation is providing funding to Southern California Star Ranch, Audubon Society for restoration and research. The grant funded by RIESTER Conservation Foundation was used to restore six acres of coastal sage scrub and to survey the nesting of indigenous California Gnatcatcher and the Coastal Cactus Wren. While locally, RIESTER Conservation Foundation has established funding for the Audubon Research Ranch in Southern Arizona. Instituted as a wildlife sanctuary and research facility in 1968, one of the ranch's goals is to re-introduce Big Sacaton, a native, warm-season grass, to floodplains to improve habitat for wildlife. To date, RIESTER Conservation Foundation has contributed funds for an irrigation system and for a number of plants.

"In selecting projects, RIESTER Conservation Foundation chooses those which best adhere to the organization's mission of protecting and preserving the environment," said Gary Kaasa, president of RIESTER Conservation Foundation. "However, we also are looking to acquire property which supports critical habitats to maintain bio-diversity in plants and animals, while at the same time making it available for scientific and educational purposes. Many of our current projects including PRETOMA and California Star Ranch do just that."

The timing of RIESTER Conservation Foundation's launch comes just as RIESTER prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary, a rare feat for a marketing firm. "I can't think of a better way for RIESTER to celebrate this milestone than with the launch of RIESTER Conservation Foundation", said Riester. "We are a company of passionate people who appreciate the opportunities clients have given us during the past two decades. Trying to make a positive difference in the world is our way of expressing gratitude."