Mohave Ground Squirrel Conservation Council

What it reported doing in 2024

The Mohave Ground Squirrel Conservation Council received a grant from the State of CA to advance its Mohave Ground Squirrel (MGS) Conservation Program, dedicated to studying and preserving the MGS population and its habitat. The program provides comprehensive leadership to oversee all activities, ensuring effective coordination and execution. It administers the grant, managing budgeting, compliance, and detailed reporting to the funder, while also supervising contractors involved in specialized tasks. To monitor the MGS population and habitat, the program establishes spatially explicit camera-trap grids to track squirrel activity and distribution. Live-captured MGS are temporarily marked with fur-dyeing or fur-shaving for identification in photographs and permanently tagged with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags, detected passively through PIT tag reader arrays. Tissue samples are collected from captured squirrels for population genetics analyses to assess genetic diversity. The program also experiments with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to elicit and record MGS vocalizations, enhancing behavioral studies, and collects high-resolution vegetation data using both UAVs and traditional on-the-ground methods, such as quadrats and transects, to evaluate habitat conditions. To improve efficiency, Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are developed to process camera-trap photographs into analyzable data. A robust data management plan ensures the organized storage and accessibility of all data, including photographs, genetic samples, and identification records. Through these efforts, the MGS Conservation Program advances scientific understanding and supports the long-term conservation of the Mohave ground squirrel, serving over 200 acres of critical habitat in the reporting year.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 74.2%; rating input score 74
• Program expense ratio: 98%; rating input score 98
• Fundraising efficiency: $288.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Limited
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • Document-retention policy: Fail
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 24.4%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: Limited
• Revenue growth: Limited
• Asset growth: Limited