Greetings!
Monkeyflower at New River Nature Reserve (2010) |
| Summer is here.... Just like our native desert critters, those of us living and working in the hot Sonoran Desert either seek out water, or we try to complete our hard work in the morning and evenings - hoping to rest and stay out of the sun mid-day!
It's a good time of year for your Land Trust to plan and prepare for a busy fall season. We will begin the season with a birding event in late September and our regular hikes will begin in mid-October. We'll also be training volunteers and land Stewards beginning Oct. 7.
We invite you to join us! Visit us at www.dflt.org to join or renew as a member or to sign up as a volunteer. Thank you for your support! |
| Land Stewardship in Action |
Stewardship volunteer Steve Jones removes the invasive stinknet he discovered on a recent monitoring visit to New River Nature Reserve.  |
On a recent preserve monitoring visit, volunteer Steve Jones let out a small groan when he spotted a plant he had hoped he wouldn't see - stinknet, or globe chamomile (Oncosiphon piluliferum). This plant is a recent introduction to our Sonoran Desert and is quickly proving to be an invasive plant pest. Fortunately for the Land Trust, Steve has been tracking its occurance and was on the lookout. And even more fortunately for us, the Land Trust has a whole crew of dedicated and hard-working volunteers like Steve who help us with our land stewardship activities!
The Land Trust protects more than 600 acres on 16 preserves in our communities. Some of these sites are protected by conservation easements, which requires the Land Trust to monitor and defend the restrictions on the uses of the Land. For those lands owned directly by the Land Trust - roughly half of our protected lands - we are responsible for day-to-day management activities. This includes controlling invasive species, posting boundaries, monitoring natural features, repairing fences, and maintaining amenities for preserve visitors.
The Land Trust takes its land stewardship obligations very seriously! While new land protection projects are a huge part of our mission and our current activities, the commitment we make to permanent land protection requires that we be thoughtful about the projects we undertake. We must be certain that we have the human and financial resources to deliver on our promise of land protection in perpetuity.
In order to accomplish this important objective, we rely on the assistance of our wonderful volunteers. Land Stewards go through a comprehensive training program and then "adopt" a preserve they agree to monitor on a regular basis. These folks spend countless hours in the field, helping to alert the Land Trust to changes and potential management issues and working with staff to address them. Other volunteers help with things like trail maintenance and invasive species control, often at fun workdays.
You, too, can participate in this work! Visit the volunteer section of our website to join our land stewardship volunteers. It's a tremendously fun and educational way to become personally involved with the landscape your Land Trust is working to protect! |
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| Partner Update: Desert Awareness Committee Joins Foothills Community Foundation | Desert Foothills Land Trust has long partnered with the volunteer community organization Desert Awareness Committee (DAC) on community outreach and education activities. We are pleased to report that DAC will be joining the nonprofit Foothills Community Foundation (FCF), which is dedicated to providing resources for education, community service and cultural enrichment to Desert Foothills residents of all ages.
The DAC started in 1974 with a mission of "educating residents and visitors that they might join us in understanding, conserving and preserving our fragile Sonoran desert, its plant and animals, its water and wildlife." The DAC focuses on ongoing stewardship efforts at Gateway Desert Awareness Park; the publication of The Fragile Desert; the annual adult education program, Touch of the Desert; and the youth education outreach program, Desert Reach, which targets all fourth graders in the five CCUSD elementary schools.
The DAC volunteers will join FCF and will continue to operate as they did before to ensure that all programming continues. Together, both groups will work to further strengthen and grow the programs within the Desert Foothills community. The Land Trust will continue to partner with DAC on various community events, and DAC will continue to house their natural history essays on the Land Trust website. There you will find information from DAC and Land Trust staff and supporters on a diversity of Sonoran Desert subjects - from archaeology and agaves, to wildflowers and Gambel's quail.
"The Desert Awareness Committee is thrilled to become affiliated with an organization that also holds education in such high regard," said Diane A. Vaszily, president of DAC. "Together with FCF, we hope to expand our efforts further into the community with additional exciting learning opportunities involving the Sonoran Desert, its plants and wildlife." |
| Help the White House Plan For Land Conservation | |
President Obama wants your ideas for conserving America's Great Outdoors!
The America's Great Outdoors IdeaJam is a creative social networking tool where anybody can post an idea and vote to "promote," "demote" or comment on ideas for conserving America's Great Outdoors. Ideas gathered through this process will be considered in a report delivered to the President in November and, with relatively few votes so far, Land Trust supporters can have a real impact!
Strong participation in this process will also help make the case for significant new funding and we need your help showing that the federal government can accomplish far more with its limited resources by working through organizations like Desert Foothills Land Trust and in cooperation with private landowners.
Here's how to get started:
- Register to participate -- it's free and easy
- Vote to "promote" ideas you like
- Post your own idea (but check among existing ideas first)
- Join the conversation by commenting on ideas important to you
We hope you'll vote for the following ideas, which would be particularly helpful for advancing the mission of Desert Foothills Land Trust:
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With thanks,
Desert Foothills Land Trust |
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Ongoing Fundraisers to Benefit DFLT |   |
As we wrote last month, your purchase of a giclee print of "After the Ride" by Kenneth M. Freeman (above right) or "Mother Earth's Little Protector" by Sharon Brening (above left) will generate a contribution of $100 each for the Land Trust, potentially raising as much as $125,000 for the Land Trust! You can purchase your prints at: kennethmfreeman.com and
www.sbrening.com or find more information on our website.
Additionally, Cooper's Art Gallery and Brokerage is displaying and selling a number of prints and original works of art that have been donated to the Land Trust. Stop by the gallery at 11 Sundial Circle in Carefree to view and purchase these items!
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Upcoming Events | |
Summer is a slow time for Land Trust events, but we are already gearing up for events when the weather begins to cool down. Save the dates for the following activities, and look for more information and reservation information on our website or in future e-newsletters:
Late Sept. - Birding event to celebrate the Cave Creek Important Bird Area (IBA)
Oct. 7 - Land Trust Volunteer and Steward training
Oct. 14 - Nov. 11 (Thursdays) - Land Trust Steward training
Oct. 16 - Fall hikes begin
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| Sonoran Stars Video on Website | |
Our thanks to DM Productions for filming and producing a wonderful video of Sonoran Stars 2010! You can see the video on the Land Trust's website. Enjoy!
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Board of Directors Update | |
We are pleased to welcome two new Board members! Joanne Rebollo was a Board member for Black Mountain Conservancy, with whom the Land Trust merged in 2009. She also served on the Black Mountain Photo Contest Committee this year. Trudy Rhoades most recently served on the Sonoran Stars silent auction planning committee this year. We are grateful to Joanne and Trudy for their commitment to the Land Trust!
Additionally, we want to thank outgoing Board members Nancy Crozier and Brad Kirschman. We are grateful to them for sharing their time and talent with the Land Trust. | |
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New Addition to Land Trust Family | | Congratulations to Conservation Director Stacy Fischer and her husband Aron on the arrival of their new daughter, Violet June. She was born on June 7 weighing 8 lbs 13 oz. Baby and family, including big sister Hazel, are doing well. Stacy will be out for the summer with this new little one, returning full time in September. We wish them all great joy! |
| Conservation Deserves More Than 2%* |  |
Please help us receive this significant, renewed CHALLENGE GRANT supporting the critical work of Desert Foothills Land Trust. Our goal is to raise $150,000 by September 30, 2010. Please join as a member or renew your membership today!
*Conservation only receives 2% of all charitable giving. Most people believe it deserves more. (Source: Giving USA) |
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Desert Foothills Land Trust Newsletter
