Pace Canyon
Promoting good decisions through conservation planning, sound science, and policy reform.
Natural resource policy--whether on a regional, state, or federal level--provides the framework for the management and conservation of our region's lands and ecological values. Sky Island Alliance's Policy and Planning Program promotes the strongest conservation decisions possible within agency planning processes, while engaging our members and partners in advocating for policy reforms that complement our overarching goals. The bulk of this program operates within the realm of environmental laws, regulations, standards, and guidelines contained within Land and Resource Management Plans, as well as other oversight mechanisms that allow for public participation in land management decisions.
Conserving the Sky Islands: A Bridge for Biodiversity
In 2005 the Coronado National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management began creating new site-based plans that, when completed, will guide forest and grassland management for the next 20 years or more. This process presents a tremendous opportunity for coalitions of concerned citizens and scientists to work in partnership with federal agencies so that plans strike a balance between protection of diversity and resource use. Because the Coronado is the first National Forest in Arizona to undergo planning under new federal regulations, success in public collaboration here will become the model for the rest of the state.
To take advantage of this rare opportunity, Sky Island Alliance has designed the Conserving the Sky Islands: A Bridge for Biodiversity project. This comprehensive and inclusive approach will benefit the region for decades. Included in the project's scope are:
> The Coronado Planning Partnership, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations, private landowners, and others who hold a stake in the planning process and in the oversight of the resulting Forest Plan.
> Town hall meetings at which Forest neighbors can express their interests in and concerns for the management units closest to their lives.
> A Sky Island Action Center, a virtual location where Partnership members and the public can find and contribute to databases, maps, reports, and presentation materials.
Visit the site.
> Status Review and Management Recommendation reports for each Ecosystem Management Area on the Coronado--key vehicles for influencing Forest Service decisions.
> A framework for long-term citizen/advocate oversight of the Forest Plan.
Mount Graham
Ecosystem Defense
The Ecosystem Defense project tracks the most urgent conservation issues on public and collaborating private lands in the Sky Island region. It mobilizes the resources of Sky Island Alliance and its members and partners to protect these lands and their inhabitants from risk. Among the issues on Ecosystem Defense's current agenda are:
> Defeating the Augusta Mining Company's initial bid to develop an open-pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains.
> Addressing mining issues in the Dragoon Mountains, especially those related to Alpha-Calcite.
> Advancing Sky Island Alliance's conservation objectives in the Pinaleños Ecosystem Restoration Project (PERP).
Roadless Advocacy
Issued in January 2001 following the most extensive public rulemaking in history, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule protected 58.5 million acres of wild National Forest land from most commercial logging and road building. Unfortunately, in May 2005 the Bush Administration repealed this Rule. Under a new policy, state governors could petition the federal government to reinstate roadless protections in individual states. Both Governor Richardson (NM) and Governor Napolitano (AZ) prepared petitions calling for the protection of all the lands identified in 2001. In early 2007, a U.S. District Court overturned the Bush rule that required governors to petition the federal government. The judge reinstated the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, and applied an injunction against any project that may impact these roadless areas. The Bush administration has appealed the judge’s decision, though until further rulings at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the 2001 Rule stands.
Sky Island Alliance is a leader in Protect Arizona's Roadless Areas (PARA), a coalition that brings together diverse stakeholders and spokespersons - hunters, anglers, business owners, faith groups, teachers, hikers, wildlife watchers, outfitters and guides, and others - to safeguard our remaining remote and wild places.
Program Staff
> Jenny Neeley, Conservation Policy Director, jenny@skyislandalliance.org
> Louise Misztal, Conservation Policy Program Coordinator, louise@skyislandalliance.org