So far, all the sites in Trip 12 have been administered by government agencies, from the federal level down to the local level. There are many other places worth experiencing that are run by non-profit and private organizations.

The Nature Conservancy is a non-profit organization with a worldwide scope. It's mission is "conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends." They conserve the lands and waters by buying land and water areas that they feel need to be preserved with the money they get from charitable donations. Some areas, for various reasons, are not open to the public or are restricted as far as how they can be used by the public. For instance, at the Waikamoi Preserve, on the island of Maui, you can only visit on the second Saturday of the month on a guided hike. But usually, these areas are available to the public all the time to explore on your own, so they feel much like a park would.

According to their web site, here is what they do:

• We've protected more than 119 million acres of land and thousands of miles of rivers worldwide — and we operate more than 100 marine conservation projects globally.
• We are impacting conservation in more than 70 countries — protecting habitats from grasslands to coral reefs, from Australia to Alaska to Zambia.
• We address threats to conservation involving climate change, fresh water, oceans, and conservation lands.