From all of us at the Arizona Wilderness Coalition, we wish you, your family and your friends a happy holiday season! We also ask that as you near the end of 2003 you keep the Arizona Wilderness Coalition in mind. Support from generous friends like you has enabled the Coalition to work hard to protect Arizona’s remaining wild public lands and waters. Unfortunately, there is always more work to be done. We need your help to provide lasting protection for Arizona's existing and vulnerable wilderness areas.

Click here to find out how to donate to AWC. 

We hope your homes are filled with the warmth of family and friends...and thank you for your continuing support of Arizona's wilderness.

Issue 4, Winter 2003-04

OUT OF THE BLUE…


A Season for Hope

Despite setbacks in a bleak Administration, wilderness protection is alive and well in Arizona. AWC Director Don Hoffman shares some end-of-the-year wilderness wisdom. Read more…


IN DEPTH

Saving the Best for Last...In the Nick of Time

Few places remain in Arizona that are free of roads, teem with wildlife, and overflow with opportunities for remote solitude. Except for one.

Read how the Tumacacori Highlands are Arizona's chance to protect its last, truly wild natural heritage in a creative partnership with locals, ranchers, hunters, and conservationists.


Wilderness 101: The Nuts and Bolts of Conservation

Wilderness...oh yeah. That's that place where I'll get eaten by a bear, where I'm locked out of doing anything fun, and where that big geyser blows every 10 minutes, right? WRONG. Confused about what's wilderness and what's not? Read more…

Where the Deer and Antelope Roam     by Kim Vicariu, The Wildlands Project

Wild lands connect mammals, birds, and other critical species to their homes, feeding and mating grounds, and more diverse gene pools, but a web of roads and development is splintering these vital sanctuaries. Read more…

WILDERNESS TO WATCH

A Haven for Wildlife...and Trash

The Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge contains the largest refuge wilderness area in the lower 48. But its close proximity to the border has left it a dumping ground for illegal immigrants and drug runners. Read more...

 

SPECIAL FEATURE: The Wild Colorado River

Wild Land or Disneyland? With politicians manhandling the public process to satisfy private interests at the Grand Canyon, wilderness protection at the Colorado River is running out of time. Is the canyon's wild river heart hurtling toward theme park status? Read more…

 


BOOK OF THE SEASON

For years the Mexican gray wolf has been hunted to the brink of extinction, until one woman took on the challenge of restoring the animal to its natural habitat. In 1987, Bobbie Holaday formed the citizens’ advocacy group "Preserve Arizona’s Wolves" (PAWS) and advocated nationally for protection of the wild lands in Arizona wolves call home.

Her book, The Return of the Mexican Gray Wolf, is a first-hand account of her crusade and is now available in bookstores. A wonderful gift for wolf enthusiasts!

 

SUPPORT THE ARIZONA WILDERNESS COALITION

 

With Your Help, We CAN Protect Our Wildlands for the Future. Fossil Creek Springs. Photo by Jason Williams.

The AWC appreciates the very generous financial support that we receive from private foundations and individuals. With your generous support, we are poised to do some very significant and exciting work on behalf of wilderness protection. However, fundraising remains an immediate priority.

Private foundations, large donors, and individuals may make tax-deductible donations through our fiscal sponsor, The Wilderness Society. Please make your checks payable to "The Wilderness Society" and send them to:

Don Hoffman, Executive Director, AWC
P.O. Box 529
Alpine, AZ 85920

**Please make note on the memo line of your check "For Arizona Wilderness Coalition."

Or contact our director's office directly at: Don Hoffman, AWC Executive Director, dhoffman@azwild.org
Or telephone: (928) 339-4426.

THANK YOU.

 

 

 

 
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SHORT TAKES


Wild land or Disneyland?

WINTER OF CONTENT
binoculars graphicIn Arizona, winter is the time to get outside, take the dog or kids, and explore some of our glorious natural areas! Find your favorite wilderness area. Trek an untrekked trail. And share with others what you find. Take a look at our upcoming list of inventory trips, meetings, workshops, and other wildly fun events. Read more…

DID YOU KNOW…?

Arizona Game and Fish Department personnel captured and treated 22 desert bighorn sheep in the Ironwood Forest National Monument in mid-December to protect the animals from a disease outbreak--pink eye--that can cause blindness if not treated. Biologists say 13 of the captured bighorn sheep had the bacterial infection. Sheep don’t necessarily die directly from the disease, but they inhabit areas with steep cliffs, where blind animals can easily die falling. Blind bighorns are also easy prey for mountain lions.
Game and Fish Department wildlife experts say that, based on what they saw during the capture operation, it appears the disease outbreak is concentrated around the main portion of the Silver Bell Mountains, which are located in the Ironwood Forest National Monument.

The bighorn sheep population in the Silver Bell Mountains is biologically and historically significant because it is the last naturally occurring bighorn population in the central part of Arizona and dates back to the Pleistocene era. The Silver Bell Mountains are located approximately 30 miles northwest of Tucson.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE…


Watching wildlife is becoming a major economic pulse in Arizona and around the nation. Nearly 1.5 million people set off to watch wildlife in Arizona in 2001, spending more than $830 million dollars while they were at it. State income and sales tax as a result of the wildlife watching industry--from tourist purchases and siphoned from wildlife-related jobs--totaled more than $46 million in 2001.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service