About Us

History

A pictorial glance at the AVCA history from 1995 to present
About Us

History

A pictorial glance at the AVCA history from 1995 to present
1995
2000
2001-2005
2005
2007
2009
2010
2010
2012
2012
2014
2014
2015
2018
2018
2019
2019
2019
2020

1995

Ranchers motivated by the desire to return fire to the landscape and keep the valley open as a working landscape convene as an alliance, with an eye toward the Malpai Borderlands Group as a model.

1995

2000

The Alliance becomes a formal 501(c)3 organization. In the same year, the Altar Valley Watershed Resource Management Plan is completed.  This project is funded by a grant from the Arizona Water Protection Fund.

2000

2001-2005

Alliance members serve on the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan Steering Committee.

2001-2005

2005

The Alliance hosts the first of many arroyo restoration and road maintenance workshops with Bill Zeedyk and Steve Carson.

2005

2007

The Alliance develops staff!

2007

2009

The Altar Valley Fire Management Plan is completed via a collaborative partner effort. Additionally, the Alliance receives a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to prepare burn plans for five sites throughout the Altar Valley.

2009

2010

The Alliance receives the Quivira Coalition’s Clarence Burch award for collaborative conservation.

2010

2010

The Altar Valley Science Advisory Board is formed, and shortly after, the first Altar Valley Research Fellowship is awarded.

2010

2012

The Elkhorn/Las Delicias Watershed Restoration Demonstration project is installed with support from the Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Foundation and many partners. The Alliance initiates a 10-year monitoring and community outreach program using the project as an outdoor classroom.

2012

2012

The Alliance receives a second grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to conduct prescribed fires and erosion control methods at each of the original sites.

2012

2014

The first prescribed burn is completed on the Las Delicias Ranch and the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge via cross-boundary efforts by the Alliance and the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge staff.

2014

2014

The Alliance reaches a settlement agreement with Kinder-Morgan regarding the Sierrita Pipeline, which creates an endowment that the Alliance uses to fund work in the valley.

2014

2015

The Altar Valley Watershed Retreat is held to talk about the Altar Wash. This lays the groundwork for what will become the Altar Valley Watershed Working Group.

2015

2018

The Alliance holds three brush management workshops with the University of Arizona to facilitate the sharing of lessons learned about brush management.

2018

2018

The Alliance’s first Executive Director, Mary Miller, wins 2018 Non-Profit Champion at the Inside Tucson Business Women of Influence awards.

2018

2019

The Alliance launches a collaborative, valley-wide planning process funded by the Bureau of Reclamation that will result in the Altar Valley Watershed Plan. This plan continues the planning started by the Altar Valley Watershed Framework in 2014.

2019

2019

The Alliance completes a 2000-acre grassland enhancement project involving mesquite treatment, funded by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and establishes a monitoring program to track progress.

2019

2019

The Alliance and the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge sign a cooperative agreement to facilitate watershed work throughout the Altar Valley.

2019

2020

The twenty-fifth year of collaborative conservation led by ranchers in the Altar Valley.

2020