To prevent budget shortages and base closures from affecting military installations and training facilities in the United States, we need to be vigilant and creative in how we defend them from incompatible uses outside their boundaries.

Land preservation meets national defense meets eco-tourism in a plan that protects wildlife corridors, military flight paths and the West Valley’s access to some dynamite outdoor activities. Talk about achieving multiple goals with one great idea.

A proposal backed by environmental groups and military interests
in southern Arizona would protect hundreds of thousands of acres -- as well as
large swaths of the airspace above them.

Conservation Outreach Associate Ian Dowdy, with the Arizona Wilderness Coalition, was interviewed on August 14, 2012 regarding the Sonoran Desert Heritage conservation proposal that protects federal lands in western Maricopa County.  In this short video clip Ian outlines why the conservation of these lands is vital to the local enconomy and to the longterm viability of Arizona's military installations.

To view the video click here:

The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust last week announced nearly $1.9 million in grants going to 22 Arizona non-profit organizations. They are:

A Stepping Stone Foundation: $55,000 to support preschool classrooms for about 35 children ages 3 and 4 from low-income families at Westwood Elementary School in the Alhambra School District in Phoenix.

Arizona Wilderness Coalition: $50,000 to complete the final phase of the Sonoran Desert Heritage Campaign to protect nearly 1 million acres of wilderness-quality public lands west and southwest of Phoenix.