Celebrating Partnerships!
In 2011, the Foundation brought together a partnership of federal agencies, corporate supporters and private funders, to fully fund the final two years of the Restoration of Wet Meadows Project which will eradicate invasive reed canarygrass from the Parks, restore the important biodiversity of rare wet meadows, and prevent the spread of this highly invasive plant down the watershed into private and Forest Service lands. (Photo: SCE Jack Sahl, SPF Tya Ward, NFWF Mike Chrisman, SPF Sally Bolger.)
Capacity Grant
We are excited to announce that Southern California Edison (SCE) has awarded the Foundation the third grant of a multi-year capacity building grant. We received $100,000 this winter, in addition to the initial $170,000 capacity grants in the Fall of 2009 and Spring of 2010 and a challenge to match their gift. Help us meet this challenge!
Even as the Sequoia Parks Foundation (SPF) is realizing success, we are positioning ourselves for the growth required to help the Parks meet the needs of this new century. To this end, we are developing partnerships, broadening our funding base, and working with the Parks to identify new projects. (Photo courtesy of Armando Quintero: left to right, SCE Bill DeLain, SPF Sally Bolger, Tya Ward & Bill Tweed, SCE Michael Montoya.)
Board Member News
Book Release
We are pleased to announce Foundation Board Vice-Chair and Secretary, Laurie Hoyle and Artist in the Back Country, Jeff Jones have published a book: Arctic Sanctuary: Images of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, with photography by Jeff Jones, essays by Laurie Hoyle, and an introduction by Michael Engelhard, published by University of Alaska Press.
The book is available for purchase at: http://www.lumnos.com./
“Guided by photographer Jeff Jones’s sure and well-developed vision, Arctic Sanctuary leads the reader on a remarkable journey that few of us will ever take in real life: a trek deep into Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. By turns celebratory and contemplative, emotionally evocative and beautifully fierce, this collection of lyrical essays and stunning panoramic photographs pays homage to a vast and remote land that remains untamed by technology and relatively undisturbed by human development. A rare window into a world that is whole, ecologically intact, and still driven by ancient evolutionary energies, Arctic Sanctuary invites us to examine our own ideas of the wilderness ethic in the modern world.” – University of Alaska Press
Reviews
Most of us will never be fortunate enough to visit the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an expanse of federally protected area the size of South Carolina that represents one of the last remaining wilderness areas. Fortunately, there are photographers like Jeff Jones, whose expert eye captures the beauty and majesty of this magnificent landscape through stunning, panoramic images of rocks suspended in river ice, mountains lining the horizon, majestic rivers, close-ups of frosted purple and dark pink flowers and wolverine tracks through willows. By the end of his book, fit for the coffee table of any wilderness warrior, one thing’s for sure — the Arctic refuge is an irreplaceable landscape that’s well worth protecting.–Mother Nature Network, AS one of “10 Must-Read Environmental Books of 2010″
“…a project of monumental scope…” - AZ Green Magazine
“…an absolute treasure.”- The Tucson Citizen
Book Release
We are pleased to announce the formal publication of Uncertain Path: A Search for the Future of National Parks, by William Tweed, current Foundation Board Chair.
The book published by University of California Press is now available in both hardcover and ebook formats, at UC Press website: http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520265578, as well as through SNHA bookstores, and Amazon.
In this provocative walking meditation, forest ranger and writer William Tweed takes us to California’s spectacular High Sierra to discover a new vision for our national parks as they approach their 100th anniversary facing dramatic changes. Tweed, who worked among the Sierra Nevada’s big peaks and big trees for more than thirty years, has now hiked more than 200 miles along California’s John Muir Trail in a personal search for answers: How do we address the climate change we are seeing even now—in melting glaciers in Glacier National Park, changing rainy seasons on Mt Rainer, and more fire in the West’s iconic parks. Should we intervene where we can to preserve biodiversity? Should the parks merely become ecosystem museums that exhibit famous landscapes and species? Tweed weaves his experiences along this high-altitude trail together with reflections on the people and ideas that created the parks and on their status and meaning today. Asking how we can make these magnificent parks relevant for the next generation, Tweed’s journey ultimately shows why we must do just that.
Reviews
“Uncertain Path is a must read for wilderness and parks lovers who also know that climate “change must be addressed if we are to be good stewards of our natural heritage. Bill Tweed is leading us down the right trail just in time.” —Carl Pope, Chairman, Sierra Club
“Bill Tweed has that rare combination of deep historical knowledge and even deeper passion for the national parks. He displays them both in Uncertain Path, a journey through the High Sierra that looks at the past and potential future of these American treasures. I can’t think of a better trail guide.”—Dayton Duncan, author of The National Parks: America’s Best Idea
“Bill Tweed’s Uncertain Path is an invitation to the high country of the Sierra Nevada and also public land issues and philosophy. It’s a wise and challenging exercise with a grand broad view.”—Gary Snyder, author of The Practice of the Wild: Essays
More Board Member News
Armando Quintero, Sequoia Parks Foundation Board Member and Director of Development at UC Merced, was with President Jimmy Carter during his Campus visit where he addressed the attendees of the 2010 National Parks Institute and President Carter received the Spendlove Prize for his humanitarian work.
In other news, Board member Mike Chrisman, formerly the California Secretary for Natural Resources, has been named the director of the new Southwestern Partnership Office of National Fish and Wildlife Federation. Mike will oversee program development in a region that includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
Advisors Retreat-June 2010
Thank you to all our Advisors and guests who attended our Advisors Retreat held at Wuksachi Lodge, and for generously sharing time, experience and advice with the Foundation. With their help, we look forward to developing a strategy that will build the Foundation into a highly effective Park Partner.
In attendance: Bob Aldridge, Brad Anderholm, Bette Bardeen, Sally Bolger, Margie Buckingham, Cris Chater,Mike Lucchsei, Steve Christiano, Bill DeLain, Dan DeSantis, Kathleen DeSantis, Kim Hilsmann, Pat Holly, Jim Holly, Laurie Hoyle, Kevin Kelly, Jim Kennard, Gary Knoblock, Dan Mendenhall, Jan Mendenhall, Bill Mott, Zee Zee Mott, Garth Neil, Armando Quintero, Amie Rangel, Matthew Rangel, Jack Sahl, Scott Spear, Les Starck, Karen Taylor-Goodrich, Frances Tweed, Bill Tweed, Tya Ward, and Derek Zwickey.
Sequoia Grove Winery Partnership
The Foundation kicked off a renewed partnership with Napa-based Sequoia Grove Winery on National Arbor Day, April 30th, to launch its Save a Tree Campaign. While building consumer awareness nationwide, the campaign is providing financial support for the Foundation’s ongoing efforts to protect Giant Sequoias and their limited habitat by funding important education, restoration, and research projects in the Parks.
In May 2010, the Foundation accepted a generous $10,000 donation from Sequoia Grove Winery. In June, the winery shared some of its lovely wines during a Foundation Advisors’ Retreat. Throughout 2010, the winery offered friends of Sequoia Parks Foundation special opportunities through it’s Save a Tree Campaign to support the Parks while enjoying some of the finest things in life—good wine and food! (Photo: Molly Hill, Sequoia Grove Winery winemaker, and Sally Bolger, Sequoia Parks Foundation executive director)