Is there a special place that helped you develop your love for nature? Perhaps it was a creek near your home in which you played as a child? Or maybe a garden that was just right for looking for worms and ladybugs? Or even a grand trip to one of our nation's cherished National Parks?
 
Desert Foothills Land Trust is working right here in the Foothills to protect precious natural areas so that future generations of children have this same opportunity to explore nature - and we need your help!
 
We are your local land trust, working to permanently protect the most special places in your community - and people like you, who support our efforts, are truly the heroes in this story.
 

Your support will ensure that the Land Trust can expand our work to pursue new land conservation opportunities, to be good stewards of our protected lands, and to connect our community to these special places.

Please make a generous contribution to protect the land you love. Your one-time gift or monthly gift has never been more important! This is a tangible way to conserve the special natural areas you love in the Sonoran Desert. Thank you!
 
With sincere thanks,
Sonia Perillo
Executive Director
JEWEL OF THE CREEK PRESERVE VANDALISM
We used biodegradable graffiti remover, and a lot of elbow grease, to remove the spray paint at the Jewel following a Thanksgiving night vandalism incident.  
On the night of Thanksgiving, November 26 or early November 27, one of Desert Foothills Land Trust's most-loved and most-used nature preserves was damaged by vandalism. The culprits used spray paint to deface the Jewel of the Creek Preserve rock outcropping known as the amphitheater, as well as nearby cottonwood trees and trail signs.
 
The Land Trust's conservation director, Vicki Preston, filed a report with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. Vicki and Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area Ranger Kevin Smith then went to work with bottles of biodegradable graffiti remover and were able to remove most of the paint from the rocks and trail signs. The paint on the cottonwood trees proved more difficult. Ironically, Vicki's own faux finish with mottled gray paint, as well as time and weather, will help with those. 
 
We are certainly angry about the damage, and disheartened that anyone would set foot in this beautiful place and decide this was an appropriate activity.
 
However, when we shared the information about the incident on our Facebook page, we were floored by the response - although we shouldn't have been. We know how much people love this preserve and this landscape, and that was on full display on our Facebook post, as well as the many emails, phone calls and visits we have received since. We have had an incredible outpouring of support, encouragement, gratitude and offers of help!
 
So, while we continue our work to repair the damage and look for the vandals, we want to THANK the community of supporters who alerted us to the damage, offered their help with repair, shared our request for information about the vandals, and otherwise rallied to protect this special place. Thanks in particular to Ranger Kevin for going above and beyond the call of duty to scrub rocks with Vicki.

We are honored to be stewards of this land with all of you, and are truly grateful for your support! If you have any information about this vandalism incident, please report it to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office at 1-800-352-4553.
CALL FOR ENTRIES: IT'S ART FOR LAND'S SAKE SHOW AND SALE 
2015 first place winner by artist Charlotte Moore. 
Desert Foothills Land Trust preserves serve as wonderful conservation and recreational resources - as well as  inspiration for artists. Artists are invited to share their talent in celebration of local land conservation by entering the 2016 It's Art for Land's Sake exhibition and sale.
 
This juried exhibit and sale is intended to increase awareness of the Land Trust's work and to inspire land and wildlife conservation through traditional and representational art works. It is also meant to promote our incredible artists and artwork inspired by local conserved lands!
 
The 2016 show juror will be renowned artist Charles H. Pabst, who will select the artworks to be included in the exhibit and sale. All art must depict a specific Desert Foothills Land Trust conservation property, and must reflect the Land Trust's conservation mission.
 
Selected pieces will be exhibited at Desert Foothills Library beginning on March 8, 2016. The sale will open with an exclusive reception for artists and Land Trust patrons on March 11, and the sale will be open to the public on March 12. The exhibition and sale will conclude on March 12. In 2015, nearly half the exhibited artworks were sold, benefiting both the artists and the Land Trust - Desert Foothills Land Trust receives 25% of the sale price to support their land conservation mission.

The deadline for entries is 4:00 pm on February 24, 2016. The entry fee is $20 per submitted piece, which will also support the Land Trust's land conservation work. Visit our website for the complete rules and entry form. Thank you to our local artists for sharing their talent to inspire local land conservation!
PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS
Thank you to the incredibly talented photographers who entered our 2015 Mountains of the Land Trust Photo Contest! Black Mountain and Daisy Mountain are iconic landmarks in our communities, and these photographers certainly used their skill and talent to celebrate the mountains! Thanks also to everyone who voted in the online contest! The top three online vote recipients are:

Top: first place by Mike Burns (Black Mountain)
Bottom left: second place by Chad Kwiatkowski (Black Mountain)
Bottom right: third place by Tammy E. Manganelli (Daisy Mountain)

We are also grateful to the professional photographer judges - Don Asakawa, Richard Rubenstein and Jerry Sieve - for judging the 71 entries and selecting their top three picks. The top three selections from our professional photographer judges are:

Top: first place by Diane Vaszily (Black Mountain)
Bottom left: second place by Jeff Kerner (Black Mountain)
Bottom right: third place by Robert Elenbaas (Daisy Mountain)
Thank you to Dane Palermo of Overflow Pool Repair for the donation of a glider flight for our first place winner in the online voting, and to Lake Pleasant Cruises for a Lake Pleasant daily sightseeing cruise for two for our first place winner in the professional judging. 
THANKS FOR JOINING US AT
DESERT DISCOVERY DAY! 
Children panned for gold in Cave Creek with "miners" at the 2015 Desert Discovery Day! (Photo by Jeff Kerner)
Thank you to the wonderful sponsors, nonprofit partners, volunteers and guests who made our fourth annual Desert Discovery Day a success! 
  • AZ Archaeological Society, Desert Foothills Chapter
  • Cave Creek Museum
  • Desert Awareness Committee of Foothills Community Foundation
  • Desert Foothills Family YMCA
  • Rural/Metro Fire Department
  • Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center
  • Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area
  • Wild At Heart
Thank you to our sponsors:




   and David Crozier, Gutowski Cabinet Works, Inc.,
the Leazier Family, and an anonymous donor!
TRAIL WORKDAY AND
TRAINING OPPORTUNITY
Join Desert Foothills Mountain Bike Association, Okanagon Trail Construction, REI, Maricopa Trail officials and DFLT representatives for a trail maintenance training session on January 13 from 6:30-8:30 pm at REI - Paradise Valley (register here). This training session will be followed by a workday on January 16 on the section of Maricopa Trail "adopted" by Desert Foothills Land Trust. 

All this work will lead up to an exciting new mountain bike race on the Maricopa Trail, the Prickly Pedal, to be held on January 23. Don't miss the fun!
JOIN US ON A GUIDED PRESERVE TOUR!
Visitors enjoy a tour of the Preserve at the Cave. These tours often fill up well in advance - register for this and other guided hikes on our website.
The temperatures have dropped and it's a perfect time to hit the trails! Join DFLT staff and docents on guided tours to DFLT-protected properties throughout the fall and winter. We have a few more hikes scheduled through early January, but keep an eye on our website - we are adding hikes throughout the season. 
 
All guided tours are free and open to the public, but registration is required - just visit our website for complete hike descriptions and online registration. We'll see you on the trails! 
CONNECT WITH DFLT
480-488-6131
You can support us by linking your
Fry's VIP card to DFLT (ID 92412) at www.FrysCommunityAwards.com!
 Your Amazon.com shopping
can also support us if you use our

Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
View our profile on LinkedIn
Find us on Pinterest