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conserving landscapes through science, partnerships, and volunteer stewardship
Kane & Two Mile Ranches
In 2005, the Grand Canyon Trust and The Conservation Fund jointly purchased the Kane and Two Mile ranches, located north of the Grand Canyon at the eastern end of an area known as the Arizona Strip. These remote ranches cover 850,000 acres and have tremendous ecological importance, social value, and beauty. Our goals are to partner with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to maintain and restore the ecological, cultural, and scenic values of this vast landscape.
The ranches are currently the focus of our science-based restoration and conservation projects. We are building a strong science foundation, which will help us identify the best management practices and assist us in our collaboration with federal agencies.
Volunteer projects include building wildlife-friendly fences, protecting sensitive riparian areas from livestock, and surveying and eradicating invasive non-native plants. Volunteers also help restore riparian areas, survey forest conditions, and collect data on the effects of fire and grazing on various ecosystems.
Visit the Kane and Two Mile Ranches webpage for more information about ongoing science and restoration activities and sign up as a volunteer to make a difference.
Paria River
Riparian habitats are the most productive, biologically diverse, valuable habitats in the Southwest ? and they are also the most threatened. Riparian areas here account for less than 2 percent of the land, yet over 65 percent of the Southwest?s wildlife depends on these areas. As little as 100 years ago, Arizona?s riparian areas covered 10 percent of the state; today that number is less than 1 percent. Tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima) and Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) were introduced into the Southwest in the late nineteenth century to help control streambank erosion. Since then, these highly invasive species have spread throughout the West, changing rivers and streams dramatically. We initiated a 5-year cooperative project with the BLM, funded by the Arizona Water Protection Fund to restore and preserve natural stream conditions ? including proper channel function and wildlife habitat ? in the Paria Canyon and Buckskin Gulch. Post-treatment monitoring will determine the program's success.
Paria Canyon is wedged between Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Staircase National Monument, and Grand Canyon National Park. The terrain is relatively flat inside the canyon but conditions can be wet and mucky, which makes for slow walking. The riparian corridor is lush with native vegetation, songbirds and sweeping vistas. Visit the Kane and Two Mile Ranches webpage for more information about Paria River restoration activities and sign up as a volunteer to make a difference.
