The fabric of nature woven from life’s immense journey of nearly 4 billion years, is unraveling.

Loss of life’s diversity is not just another abstract theory. Its wounds surround us. 

Here in the Grand Canyon region, loss of biodiversity means no wolves, jaguars or river otters. It means old growth forests diminished and replaced by degraded dog hair thickets and little understory vegetation. It means damaged grasslands lacking their original abundant native plants and animals, or a shackled Colorado River missing its native migratory fish.

As we continue degrading our land and water daily, nature’s decline continues. We lose some forms of life before we even know they exist. This is what biologists call the biodiversity crisis...

Why should we all be concerned about the biodiversity crisis?

Some people have an innate respect for the well-being of other life forms. Others recognize that the earth is human habitat too. As species are lost, waters polluted and landscapes degraded, our health and comfort along with the human spirit diminishes alongside our wild cousins. To protect and restore our natural heritage is to protect and restore ourselves, the life that shares the earth with us, and to care for those who walk after us.

Grand Canyon Wildlands Council is responding…

The mission of the Wildlands Council is to create and apply a dynamic conservation area network that ensures the existence, health, and sustainability of all native species and natural ecosystems in the Grand Canyon ecoregion. This mission is both visionary and scientific. We accomplish our mission through effective and efficient conduct and assessment of scientific research and by offering creative, science-based solutions to land stewards, public citizens, and other conservation groups, through respectful communication in a spirit of good will.

• Design and implement a conservation area network

• Protect areas within this network

• Protect key species, trophic linkages (The Seven E’s)

• Restore extirpated species

• Restore natural processes

• Address key information needs with research

• Expand understanding of and support for ecosystem and biodiversity conservation

• Build a thriving and renewing organization that fosters personal growth, creativity, and freedom in support of its vision, without taking itself too seriously

• Use stepwise GIS analyses to identify core areas, linkages, and zones for conservation-compatible activities to buffer them

• Help with proposed designations and subsequent land planning through our scientific and land stewardship expertise

• Identify species needs and present them to key decision-makers, other conservation groups, and supporters; help meet these needs

• Work on reintroduction suitability analyses and help fundraise for these projects

• Restore natural processes

• Develop a scientific and legal conservation advisory council to help key players implement effective conservation approaches

• Develop technical and professional partnerships to accomplish specific research projects, emphasizing high quality, peer-reviewed scientific approaches

• Survey springs and other rare/critical habitats such as the San Francisco Peaks and the elevational gradients from desert to alpine areas

• Reach supporters through outreach including membership program, public presentations, coalitions with conservation groups, and publications

• Look for and use innovative approaches to organizational capacity building including trainings, contacting experts, research, and executive coaching