Plan Ahead! Out and About in Arizona

Hikes, Day Trips, Classes, Wildife Watching, and More…

Sky Island Region

Please contact the Sky Island Alliance office at (520) 624-7080 or trevor@skyislandalliance.org if you are interested in volunteering for any of the following events.

April 11 - 13. Sky Island Trophy Stage Race. The Sky Island Trophy is a unique opportunity to showcase the Sky Islands as a ecological treasure and bicycle race venue. Come challenge yourself on 'A' mountain, Mt. Graham, and Mt. Lemmon. For more information please contact Bradley Saul at bradley@peoplecycle.org or the Sky Island Office.

May 3 - 4. Frog Training Weekend. We are looking for volunteers that have experience or would like to gain experience in surveying for native fish, frogs, and other riparian dependent species and can commit themselves to the program. We will be hiking and bushwhacking in remote areas throughout the summer months, so ability to deal with extreme conditions and temperatures is of paramount importance. Location is yet to be determined. For more information, please contact Trevor Hare, trevor@skyislandalliance.org.

May 10. Sonoita Creek Clean-Up. Please join us as we help the Nature Conservancy clean up the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve. We will be promoting the Sky Island Alliance to TNC's volunteers and promoting collaboration between the organizations. 1.5 hours from Tucson

May 16 - 18. Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness Inventory. Join the Sky Island Alliance in one of the most gorgeous areas of central Arizona. Birds galore! Flowing Water! Non-use grazing allotments! Need we say more? 2.5 hours from Tucson.

May 23 - 26. Joint New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and Sky Island Alliance Trip. Get your hands dirty and play a direct role in improving the ecological health of your public lands! Contact Matt at matt@skyislandalliance.org for more info.

May 30 - June 1. Annual Fort Huachuca Lion Track Count. This national, one of a kind event attracts some of the premier wildlife biologists from around the country. We will be tracking mountain lion and black bear on the Fort Huachuca Military Reservation on the northern slopes of the Huachuca Mtns. No experience necessary! This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about tracking techniques, lion and bear natural histories, and using track counts on your own to monitor wildlife movement. Don't miss out! Contact Matt at matt@skyislandalliance.org for more information.

June 20 - 23. Riparian Inventory and Monitoring Weekend. San Rafael Valley. Join the Sky Island Alliance's Riparian Inventory/Monitoring Program in a project to assess the San Rafael Valley as a site for the conservation and management of our sensitive riparian fauna. 2.0 hours from Tucson.

June 27 - July 2. Campbell Blue Roads Re-Inventory. Beat the heat and head north into cool conifer forests with us to monitor and inventory areas that had a high proliferation of roads when inventoried in years past. If you can't make the whole trip, come when you can. 4.0 hours from Tucson.

July 11 - 13. Riparian Inventory and Monitoring Weekend. San Rafael Valley. Join the Sky Island Alliance's Riparian Inventory/Monitoring Program in a project to assess the San Rafael Valley as a site for the conservation and management of our sensitive riparian fauna. 2.0 hours from Tucson.

Western Deserts Region

Please contact the Western Desert Regional Office for more information about the following events and volunteer opportunities. Jay Krienitz, 928-717-6076, or jkrienitz@msn.com.

Coming Soon! Stay tuned for the next round of scheduled meetings for the Resource Management Plan emerging from the BLM’s Lake Havasu Field Office. Visit http://www.az.blm.gov/fr_lup.htm for regular updates on the agency’s schedule. The AWC has prepared a comprehensive wilderness proposal for the Lake Havasu Planning Area and it will soon be available for public review on our website—we’ll let you know when it’s ready!

Grand Canyon Region

Please contact the Grand Canyon Regional Office for more information about the events listed below. Kim Crumbo, kcrumbo@grand.canyon.az.us, or (928) 638-2304.

April 15. Concert to Celebrate Citizen Initiative. To mark the first comprehensive Citizens’ Wilderness Proposal for one of Arizona’s last wild places, Walkin’ Jim Stoltz, a unique folksinger and backcountry traveler, will bring his multimedia show, Forever Wild , to Flagstaff’s Orpheum Theater on Tuesday, April 15, at 7pm . The event will celebrate the initiative to set aside approximately 950,000 acres of additional wilderness along the Arizona Strip north of Grand Canyon National Park, including Vermilion Cliffs and Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monuments. Tickets will be available at the Flagstaff Activists Network office before the concert or at the Orpheum Theater the day of the show. Tickets are $7 or $10 for guests wishing to contribute $3 to wilderness organizations. A pre-concert reception will get started at 5:30 pm in the Orpheum Theater’s lounge, including free munchies and a cash bar. All proceeds will benefit Arizona conservation organizations, including AWC.

June 2-6. We Need Your Attendance. The AWC has introduced an initiative to set aside approximately 950,000 acres of additional wilderness along the Arizona Strip north of Grand Canyon National Park, including Vermilion Cliffs and Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monuments.

As a result of citizen volunteer inventory efforts, the Arizona Wilderness Coalition (AWC) is presenting this wilderness proposal to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as part of the agency’s public process for how to manage the Arizona Strip and its distinct units. AWC’s Citizens’ Wilderness Proposal provides thorough documentation on the Strip’s requisite wilderness characteristics, including species diversity, remoteness, access issues, watershed features, and geological characteristics. Dates, times, and locations are as follows:

All meetings will be from 4-6 pm, Mountain Standard Time, except where noted.

Mesquite, Nevada: Monday, June 2, 2003, Pacific Daylight Time, Mesquite Town Hall, Training Room, 10 East Mesquite Boulevard.

St. George, Utah: Tuesday, June 3, 2003, Mountain Daylight Time, Dixie Convention Center, Entrada Rooms (2), 1835 Convention Center Drive.

Fredonia, Arizona: Wednesday, June 4, 2003, Fredonia Town Hall, City Council Chamber, 25 North Main.

Kingman, Arizona:Thursday, June 5, 2003, Mohave Community College, Student Union, Room 106, 1971 Jagerson Ave.

Flagstaff, Arizona: Friday, June 6, 2003, DuBois Center, Building 64, Fremont Room, Pine Knoll Drive, NAU Campus.

South Central Region

Please contact the South Central Regional Office for more information about the events listed below. Jason Williams, jwilliams@prescott.edu, or (928) 717-6076.

April 12. Wild-Minded Folks Needed!   Please attend the Agua Fria National Monument and Bradshaw-Harquahala Planning Area alternative development workshop. Come help advocate for wilderness in a BLM workshop designed to gather public feedback on alternatives for managing one of Arizona’s newest monuments and the Bradshaw-Harquahala Planning Area. Prescott, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; contact Jason Williams for more details, jwilliams@prescott.edu , or 928-717-6076.

April 19. Join the Desert Botanical Garden for “Spring Wildflowers of the Desert ” Saturday, 8-10 am; Member: $9 / Non-Member: $12
Join Angelica Elliott, Wildflower horticulturist, on a springtime walk through garden trails, highlighting The Harriet K. Maxwell Desert Wildflower Trail. This walk features the beauty, color, and diversity of wildflowers in North American deserts. Come experience the garden in bloom on this interactive, guided tour through our desert backyard. Limit: 20 people.

April 26. Trash Pickers and Road Rippers Wanted! Don’t let trash blow around our national treasures. 8 a.m., Ironwood Forest National Monument, music and camping the night before! Call or e-mail Jason Williams for more information on this fun, helpful activity. This activity will shed light on adopting wilderness in the Central Mountains-Sonoran Region, including Ironwood Forest—be a wilderness adopter!

May 14. The Middle Gila Conservation Partnership (MGCP) meets once a month in Florence. Our next meeting is on Wednesday, May 14, at 9 a.m. We are a partnership that reviews land matters, wilderness matters, wildlife matters, and sends comments to the relevant land management agencies.  The Middle Gila Area starts at Florence Jct. follows HWY 60 to Globe, down from Globe to Oracle following the Apache Reservation boundary, and from Oracle to Oracle Jct. on to Florence & back up to Florence Jct. We will be discussing a "route inventory,” which will be a series of maps that depict what is believed to be all the routes within this area. In time, all the interested participants will recommend if these roads should be saved, closed, seasonally closed, etc.  We hope to recommend that these routes be restored to their natural state and considered for wilderness designation, but we need the support and participation of residents who favor this alternative. The off-road vehicle contingent seriously outnumbers the wilderness/wildlife habitat supporters. Please come to our meeting and participate! For more information, please contact Tom Taylor at 480-964-6482.

June 6-8. AWC Pine Mountain Getaway! Come camp, hike, star gaze, and escape from the heat of the Phoenix Valley. Get to know your AWC regional coordinators on a weekend of wilderness exploring in the Prescott National Forest and Pine Mountain Wilderness. Details in the weeks to come. Contact Jason Williams at jwilliams@prescott.edu , or 928-717-6076.