Over the last 14 years, the Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge and other Joint Venture partners have made a commitment to cooperative conservation and have capitalized on opportunities to form partnerships. To date almost 35,000 acres have been acquired and protected and the Joint Venture has implemented a significant amount of restoration work in the Cache River basin on both public and private land. As of 2004, this restoration effort has received over $30 million in public and private funding for land acquisition and $9 million for habitat restoration, research projects, and environmental education in the watershed. A large portion of those funds have been matched by additional funds and in-kind contributions, boosting the total investment in restoration to over $48 million. This level of investment would not have been possible without the Joint Venture Partnership and community support of the restoration effort.