Protecting the Mojave Preserve
I’ve joined the Board of Directors of the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy, a “friends of” group whose mission is to “preserve, protect, and promote the unique natural beauty, ecological integrity, and rich cultural history” of the Preserve.
It’s a new organization — founded this year — and as such is running on a very lean budget. No paid staff, all labor volunteered. Membership donations received this far have covered the costs of printing promotional material and a few other ancillaries.
We need to grow. We have a lot of work to do.
The Mojave National Preserve, at 1,534,819 acres, is the third-largest unit of the National Park Service outside Alaska. In the lower 48, only Yellowstone and the Preserve’s neighbor Death Valley National Park. The Mojave National Preserve covers very nearly as much land as Yosemite and Joshua Tree national parks put together. And yet the Preserve’s budget, in FY 2007, was less than $6 million. That comes out to a little less than four bucks to manage each acre for a year.
That land is not exactly easy to manage. It includes 695,000 acres of designated wilderness, 783,000 acres of designated desert tortoise critical habitat, a threatened species (the tortoise) and an endangered species (The Mojave tui chub), 1,300 archaeological sites, 3,500 open mine shafts, and all of it seen by between five and six hundred thousand visitors a year. The Preserve’s staff has performed admirably given the magnitude of their tasks, but as hard and efficiently as they work, they can’t get everything done without help. Across the country, National Parks have long relied on non-profit partners to help them get their work done, expand their reach, educate visitors and potential visitors, and preserve the land. But though it has been around for 15 years, the Mojave National Preserve hasn’t had a non-profit partner to help it out, until now.
I’ll be putting together a newsletter for the Conservancy, and welcome your submissions of artwork, photos, essays and poetry, and anything else you may have been inspired to create by your visits to the Mojave National Preserve. We’ll also be looking for volunteers to help in various ways.
And of course, we need your membership! Joining costs a mere $25, and brings privileges such as
- an opportunity to participate in a hands-on mule deer study at Mojave National Preserve
- an exclusive spring wildflower walk with Preserve Superintendent Dennis Schramm, a botanist by training
- an invitation to a very special “star party” in April 2010, hosted by astronomers from NASA
- an opportunity to participate in “Photograph Mojave Day,” a community arts event hosted in the Mojave National Preserve
A life membership is $500.
As you tally your tax-deductible contributions for 2009, please consider making a generous donation to the Conservancy. It’d be great to meet Coyote Crossing readers at the Conservancy’s get-togethers. When you do join or donate, drop me a line to let me know.
Comments
Congrats on the appointment, Chris! An important charge for an beautiful place. I’ve spent quite a bit of quality time myself hanging out and exploring the MNP area, and this sounds like a great opportunity to help out and give something back. I’m in.
Spectacular news, Chris! Congratulations on taking up this challenge. What an opportunity… (The most important acts are those which come with little fanfare and even less pay.)
Thanks for volunteering your time to protect the preserve, Chris. I tried out the donation button again. It’s a bit wonky, but I was able to get to the donation form (once I figured out I needed to “check out”, not “continue donating”) and make a donation.
Let me know how it comes out on the organization’s end. Does the Community Foundation take a cut, or is that a free service?
-Larry
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