OUR STORY
FORMING WILD ARIZONA
Wild Arizona is Arizona Wilderness Coalition joining forces with the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council. We blend two long-standing conservation organizations with strong roots in Arizona’s rich conservation history, the wilderness movement, the Colorado River and Grand Canyon, deep ecology/rewilding, outdoor adventure, field-based research, hands-on habitat restoration, and working for and with community partners including Tribes.
OUR HISTORY
WILDERNESS, WILD RIVERS, & MONUMENTS
Arizona Wilderness Coalition (AWC) formed in 1979 as an all-volunteer organization instrumental in the passage of two landmark bills, establishing the 90 designated Wilderness Areas and the Verde River's wild & scenic segment, which Arizona boasts today. As AWC, Wild Arizona helped lead the campaign that gained Wild & Scenic designation for Fossil Creek. Grand Canyon Wildlands Council (GCWC) was founded in 1996 to implement a conservation area network for the Grand Canyon Ecoregion. GCWC conducted assessments that were the basis of the Grand Canyon-Parashant and Vermilion Cliffs National Monuments on the north rim of Grand Canyon. In 2023, Wild Arizona helped add Baaj Nwaavjo, I'tah Kukveni, Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon to Arizona's list of protected landscapes. Together, we are expanding our resources, broadening our constituencies and geographical focus, and recrafting the story of conserving Arizona for a thriving healthy future.
OUR MISSION
PROTECT, LINK & RESTORE
Wild Arizona’s mission is to protect, unite, and restore wild lands and waters across Arizona and beyond, for the enrichment and health of all generations, and to ensure Arizona's native plants and animals a lasting home in wild nature. We organize and amplify multi-community voices of support for legislation and special designations; advocate for conservation policy and planning based in science; and cultivate stewardship, conservation awareness, and well-being through outdoor volunteerism, science, and education.
OUR APPROACH
REWILDING CONSERVATION
Wild Arizona was born concurrently with rising interest, concern and care for Arizona's public lands as connected habitats sustaining the treasured webs of life in the wild, including especially its springs and rivers, and the broad pathways that people and wildlife can travel freely. We are learning that all of the Grand Canyon State’s inhabitants, human and wild, thrive when we save and heal our wild lands and waters.
CONSERVATION IS LOVE IN ACTION
By analyzing the interconnectedness of social justice and environmental issues through a critical lens, we aim to find solutions that best serve humans and nature in a reciprocal way. Throughout our work, we strive to unite people across culture circles with the common goal of protecting and restoring wild places—for the longevity and resiliency of species, for the enjoyment and vibrant health of future generations, and for the love of wildness itself.
We find ourselves returning to this idea: Know it. Love it. Protect it.
CONNECTION IS KEY
Ask yourself, can you really love what you don’t know? Are you willing to protect what you love? We believe that you need to know—to experience, to make memories and learn about—something in order to love it. And that when a person loves something, they will take action to protect it. Therefore, we recognize how vital it is to connect people with wild places and one another. We do this through fostering meaningful relationships with partners and constituents, grassroots organizing, educational outreach, engaging in mentorship opportunities, empowering advocacy, and leading place-based volunteer excursions.
WILD CONNECTIONS
REGIONAL-SCALE WILDLIFE PATHWAYS
Wild Arizona’s programs have been re-envisioned within a new strategy we call Wild Connections. These are regional-scale terrestrial and riparian wildlife corridors within which we seek protections such as Wilderness, Wildlife Conservation Areas, National Monuments, administrative wildlife corridor protections, and more.
WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP
We cultivate stewardship through volunteerism & provide the public with opportunities to enjoy public lands while making a difference.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROTECTIONS
We work to advocate for preservation of wilderness-worthy areas & to better protect sensitive natural resources on public lands.
LEGISLATION
For those outstanding trails, lands, and waters that deserve the certainty of permanent protection, we organize support for legislation and special designations.
Officers and Directors
Board President, Michael C. Quinlan, Ph.D., Tempe, Department of Physiology, Midwestern University
Vice President, Kurt Mënke, Denmark, Founder and GIS Specialist, Bird’s Eye View, GIS-consultant, Septima P/S
Secretary, Brandon Arents, Phoenix, Associate, Squire Patton Boggs, LLP
Acting Treasurer, Kim Vacariu, Portal, Former Western Director, Wildlands Network, Media specialist, editor, and writer
Winnie Liang, Phoenix, Senior Scientist, Banner Alzheimer's Institute, Administrative Director, Arizona Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
Alexis Finley, Costa Rica, Rock climbing guide and wood craftsman, Alexis Finley Mountain & Wood Craft
Bart Koehler, Juneau, AK/Tucson, AZ, Independent campaign consultant, former Senior Wilderness Campaigns Director of the Wilderness Support Center, The Wilderness Society
Past President, Don Hoffman, Alpine, Former Wilderness Program Manager, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest Past Executive Director, Arizona Wilderness Coalition
Past Vice-President, Doug Hulmes, Prescott, Professor of Environmental Studies, Prescott College
CEO (Ex Officio), Kelly Burke, Rimrock, Executive Director, Wild Arizona, cofounder Grand Canyon Wildlands Council
In Memoriam
Kim Crumbo, Ogden, UT Founding Board Member, former Conservation Director and Cofounder, Grand Canyon Wildlands Council
Advisors
Joel Barnes, Prescott, Riparia, LLC Former board member, Arizona Wilderness Coalition
Danny Giovale, Prescott, Founder and Owner, Kahtoola
