When I lived Eureka, California I helped with Friends of the Dunes. We worked to restore the local dunes to their natural ecosystem. From Eureka we moved to Salt Lake City and I met a group of people working with the Friends of the Great Salt Lake. They had a huge task- to restore, protect and defend the ecosystems of the Great Salt Lake. From Salt Lake City we moved to Flagstaff.
Here in Flagstaff, I have heard of many “Friends of…” organizations. Because I am a walker I hear mostly of Friends of the Rio de Flag. Rio de Flag is an intermittent stream that runs through Flagstaff. We have a nice trail system (Flagstaff Urban Trail System) that runs next to it for a large part of its course.
These “Friends of …” groups are advocates for places (sometimes it’s a building) and habitats. They listen for legislation that might impact the area, brainstorm on ways to protect the place and get the word out about why the site is important to protect. As a group they can clean up an area, raise funds and develop coalitions with other groups. Without these groups special areas might be lost.
So here’s a toast and a big thumb’s up to “Friends of…” groups.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment