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Meet our website photographer...Mark Miller works with AWC to help inspire protection and respect for Arizona's natural and cultural heritage. Read more... |
ABOUT AWCA Conversation with AWC's Executive Director, Matt Skroch
This summer, AWC welcomed Matt Skroch as its new Executive Director. Matt spent the last two years at the University of Arizona as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow studying conservation planning at the edges of cities in the Southwest. Prior to that, he spent 10 years with AWC partner group Sky Island Alliance working in southeast Arizona and northwestern Mexico doing wildlands and wildlife conservation on public and private lands. He’s absolutely stoked to join the staff at AWC. We sat down with our new director and asked him some questions on behalf of our members. If you’d like, shoot him an email and ask him your own questions too! He can be reached at matt"at"azwild.org. AWC: So Matt, let's start off with the basics: what are the smallest and largest wilderness areas in Arizona?
Matt: Wilderness? Is that what my office looks like after a long day of pulling maps and documents off the shelf? Okay seriously, I’m going to say that Baboquivari Peak Wilderness, which is home to what Ed Abbey called a “jagged tooth in the sky,” comes in as the smallest while the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge is the largest.
AWC: Correct! Baboquivari is 2,040 acres and Cabeza Prieta is 803,418 acres, both designated in 1990 by Senator John McCain and former Congressman Morris "Mo" Udall. In 1990, we had half the people in Arizona then as we do today. So when is Arizona going to catch up and protect more public lands under the penultimate land designation?
Matt: Well, ultimately the wilderness decision lies with our Congressional representatives since only Congress can designate wilderness. In the long run, that’s good because once an area becomes part of the wilderness system, it rarely is removed As such, it’s our job – meaning AWC, our members, and partners – to cultivate the buzz, public support, and political momentum that leads to Congressional action and the President’s signature. Looking to the near future, I’m excited for AWC’s campaign foci in the Sonoran Desert and Verde Watershed, not to mention my old stomping grounds in the Sky Islands. In the lower Sonoran Desert south and west of Phoenix, we know that a number of highly qualified wildlands were dropped from the 1990 Arizona Desert Wilderness Act at the 11th hour and today are still wild, untamed desert landscapes. I’m familiar with groups such as the Tonopah Area Coalition – organized landowners living west of Phoenix – who continue to ask for wilderness designation at Saddle Mountain for example. That kind of local support and interest tells me that wilderness is an idea very much alive at the grassroots level. So let’s get busy with the task of making our vision a reality. AWC has laid a good foundation for these efforts with its inventory, volunteer, and policy programs – now I envision a one to two year horizon for reaching a number of our bigger goals. AWC: Grassroots support and political momentum--two key factors in any successful wilderness campaign. How do you envision AWC facilitating this across the state? Or perhaps posed differently, what do you think AWC will do differently from years past?
Matt: In past years, the organization has largely focused on the bread and butter work of preparing proposals, commenting on agency plans, and conducting volunteer inventories. That work paid off – in part – last year when we celebrated Fossil Creek’s Wild and Scenic River designation. The volunteer inventories and service projects are definitely a part of the bailiwick we want to retain, though I’m excited for the organization to diversify its base of support through membership and outreach to include a much larger segment of Arizonans. Ultimately, our success depends on being able to inspire and organize thousands of people across our state, so it’ll be important to focus on outreach, retention, and service to our members. The nuts and bolts of this perspective include outreach to underserved communities, more wilderness education events, door-to-door canvassing, and new technological capabilities that provide resources and information in the virtual world. I envision all of this work be directly tied into the land protection campaigns we’re running across the state at any given time.
AWC: Renewable energy generation and transmission are issues that are increasingly proposed on public lands. How does this fit with our wilderness goals?
Matt: Arizona is almost 60% public lands, owned by you and me through various state and federal agencies. Only about 5% of Arizona is designated wilderness and if all wilderness quality lands were eventually under formal classification, tens of millions of acres would still be available for other uses such as energy production and transmission. As such, let’s not buy into the false choice of having to choose between our state or nation’s energy independence and our wilderness heritage. Large scale solar installations are definitely in our future and generally that’s a good thing. Judging by the maps I’ve seen that depict our proposed wilderness areas and energy projects, the conflict is almost nill. I do believe that abandoned agricultural fields, mine tailings, and other degraded areas provide ideal places for solar installations and deserve the first-look when we’re considering those projects. They’re already graded flat and pose the least interference with ecological or recreational values. As for the trickier issue of siting new transmission corridors, we’ll have to take them on a case by case basis and ensure the permitting agencies avoid important natural areas. Many of the new solar applications are water-intensive, so finding the right place for these projects goes beyond the siting issue alone. Ultimately, I really appreciate the distributed solar incentives (think residential rooftops) currently evolving. The infrastructure is already in place and our rooftops await.
AWC: So now for the toughest question: what’s your favorite Arizona wilderness area?
Matt: Aside from all those free and wild places that have yet to be included in the National Wilderness System? Hmm, well until I visit every one of the 90 exisiting wilderness areas in Arizona, I’ll say that the Galiuro Wilderness northwest of Willcox is one absolutely stunning place, though I’ll probably say the same thing afterwards too. From the glittering aspens in Ash Creek to the mysterious sounds of Redfield Canyon, the 80,000+ acres of protected peaks and canyons there are an outdoor enthusiast’s delight. There’s good access on the east side balanced with swaths of remote county that only a pair of boots or hooves can reach. AWC: Well Matt, we’re excited to have you aboard, working toward greater wilderness good across our state. You’re no stranger to the policy, advocacy, and protection efforts we’ve engaged in, so let’s get to work building a wilderness legacy we can be proud of for future generations. To send questions to Matt, email him at matt "at" azwild.org. ************** Photo above right: Executive Director Matt Skroch talks shop with AWC's Deputy Director Kate Mackay (left) on the July staff retreat to West Clear Creek Wilderness. Courtesy Sam Frank |
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