The Patagonia community, PARA and SIA are gearing up to make a difference!
Visit the small town of Patagonia near Arizona’s southern border and the first thing you’ll notice is Red Mountain, the most prominent peak of the Patagonia Mountain range. Red Mountain and the rest of the mountain range contain an amazing array of native plant and wildlife species and even more extraordinary landscapes. There’s more biodiversity here than in Yellowstone National Park! The town of Patagonia, nestled at the base of the mountains, is the perfect launching off point for a wide variety of outdoor recreational activities including hiking the Arizona Trail, mountain biking, and world-class bird-watching. The community relies on this eco-tourism as well as the tourists that come to town just to enjoy our locally-owned restaurants, galleries and shops.
Unfortunately, our community and our mountains are immediately threatened by several hard rock mining proposals that would have severe and permanent impacts to this important Sky Island mountain range and the town of Patagonia. The mining claims encompass most of the Patagonia Mountains, including Red Mountain and the Arizona Trail. They even go right up to the southern edge of town. These mining proposals would destroy valuable wildlife habitat and would cut critical wildlife migration corridors. The mining activities would use vast quantities of water. We fear that they would lower the water table, reduce the water available to the town and even dry up private wells resulting in dire impacts to the vegetation, wildlife and townspeople.
In response to these threats, the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance and the community of Patagonia is working with Sky Island Alliance to advocate for the watersheds and natural and cultural resources of the Patagonia Mountains. Through a grant awarded from the Patagonia® Clothing Company, PARA and SIA are organizing training workshops to encourage Patagonia area residents to identify and collect information that highlights the extraordinary biological richness of our mountains. We will use that information to effectively advocate for the protection of this cherished mountain range.
SIA is lending us its expertise in many ways, including training Patagonia-area volunteers to play a key role in inventorying and documenting mammals, birds, bats, plants and more. SIA and PARA will also team with regional experts and other partners to conduct springs assessments, unobtrusive wildlife monitoring, and road inventories for a better understanding of our area’s resources. To utilize this information as effectively as possible, PARA will work closely with SIA throughout this project to launch a community-engaged and science-based advocacy campaign. This campaign will empower and build capacity within our community to promote the protection of the Patagonia area and halt current mining proposals.
These efforts will enable the community to effectively respond to the numerous exploratory drilling and mining proposals slated for this fragile area. It will also ensure that we are well-positioned to repel any future proposals by promoting the protection of this special place and the plants, animals and people who call Patagonia home.
The Patagonia community, PARA and SIA are gearing up to make a difference! With support from Patagonia® Inc, we will protect and preserve our exceptional Patagonia Mountains, the home to diverse wildlife and plant species, extraordinary landscapes and our community of amazing people.
