Meet our Guests: Frazier Haney

Frazier Haney

Executive Director, The Wildlands Conservancy

Sand to Snow National Monument, CA

11/13/2021

Frazier Haney, executive director of The Wildlands Conservancy, works hard to protect wild lands. When the land outside Joshua Tree National Park was threatened with development they started “the campaign to fire people up” to fight a proposed wind energy project. Getting community members on board with preserving the local wilderness is a major part of Frazier’s advocacy. When talking about protecting wild lands, he proudly produced three thick reams of paper, bearing signatures against the wind farm on Black Lava Butte.  Frazier asserts, “you can’t stop a development based on beauty. But you can inspire people with beauty.” There is tension between preservation and developing green energy. While we need to transition away from carbon-based energy, he believes the place to build renewable energy technology is in already developed places. This could mean solar panels on top of buildings, or wind energy remade in derelict wind farm sites.

The Wildlands Conservancy acquires private land that may be developed near and between current wild areas. This is important because it allows animals to utilize larger ranges of land and migrate between different areas. Continuous undeveloped land is necessary for biodiversity and species longevity.  Frazier says of the Sand to Snow National Monument, “it’s a beautiful place. And I think that’s enough reason to save a place.”

By Reya Fore

Meet our Guests: Kerry Holcomb

Kerry Holcomb

Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Mojave Desert, CA

11/12/21

     Deep in the Mojave Desert, giant boulders are playfully stacked atop one another while Joshua trees tilt and dance in the mid-day sun. The scene fits better into a Dr. Seuss novel than a modern-day conservation story.

      Amidst the fantasia, Kerry Holcomb, a biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), proclaims, “you can’t do conservation if you ignore the human element.”

      After moving from Appalachia to the desert, Kerry turned his focus to the endangered desert tortoise. At one time, desert tortoises were the dominant herbivores on the landscape, sequestering carbon and changing the mosaic of plant communities. But now, Kerry explains, “we have functionally extinct populations [of desert tortoises] in parts of the Mojave.” And he believes ravens are to blame.

     Thanks to the advent of the air conditioner, non-native people started settling in the desert, and raven populations began to multiply rapidly. Ravens are generalists, meaning they can adapt to a wide range of ecological conditions. Ravens adapted well to their new food source at landfills and as their populations soared, they added the desert tortoise to their menu as well.

     Both ravens and tortoises are holy to the Mojave and Chemehuevi people, but Kerry explains, “the Tribes see the dichotomy of the tortoise being higher than the ravens.”

     In a desperate attempt to save the desert tortoise, the USFWS has resorted to oiling, which causes suffocation of raven eggs to diminish their population. But, with new houses popping up in the desert every day, Kerry recognizes that the desert tortoise has a human problem, not a raven problem.

By Josh Matz

Meet our Guests: Antonia Morales

Antonia Morales

Grassroots Activist

El Paso, Texas

11/3/21

Under an eminent domain claim, the city of El Paso has plans to raze a neighborhood and build a sports stadium. The neighborhood, Durangito, is the oldest in the city. The apartment of Antonia Morales, affectionately known as Toñita, is one such building.

      When 92-year-old Toñita moved into her Durangito apartment in 1967, the neighborhood was in a state of economic collapse. Prostitution, robbery, and drugs were the avenues of survival for many of its denizens, until Toñita stepped in as what historian David Romo calls “the real leader of the struggle to save Durangito.” Toñita worked tirelessly to help bring economic security to the neighborhood. Now stadium development is undoing the efforts of her struggle.

While the developers claim the stadium will bring in revenue, Toñita knows better. The same was said of the baseball stadium across town, yet hardly any of its revenue returned to serve the surrounding community.

When in 2016 developers began buying out residents of Durangito en masse, Toñita refused. They threatened to cut her water and power if she didn’t accept their offer of $14,000, she told them to go ahead, she wasn’t leaving.

Recently, Toñita’s act of resistance was documented and circulated on media outlets. With widespread support and visibility, the city cannot make her go quietly. And go she won’t. “I’ve never stopped fighting,” Toñita says. “My life has always been about struggle and fight. And that’s why I’m struggling to save this community.”

By Nicki Caddell

Meet our Guests: Lincoln Post

Lincoln Post

Carpenter, former President of the Methow Valley Citizens Council, co-founder of Cinnamon Twisp Bakery 

Twisp, WA

8/27/2021

Lincoln Post is a born storyteller and a stalwart protector of his home: north-central Washington’s Methow Valley. He believes in commitment to place. To Lincoln, “being a local means being a contributor.”

In the 1990s, a Colorado-based corporation proposed development of a ski resort complete with condo units, a couple of golf courses, and a “boutique town.” Some Methow residents were weary of the site’s impact on their small farming and ranching community, a population of around 2,000. Lincoln attended a meeting to review the corporation’s environmental impact statement. He left as the president of the Methow Valley Citizens Council, the only person willing to sign an appeal. Lincoln entered the political scene as the valley emerged into two distinct groups: those in favor and those opposed to the resort project. To many, the remote location was a tourism gold mine waiting to happen; to others it was home, and already felt too much like a vacation destination. Lincoln and other residents fought against the proposed resort. As he puts it “there’s a strong community here even if it was small.” The development operation was slowed by the resistance put forth by MVCC and was eventually halted by water rights: the corporation couldn’t purchase enough water to realize their plans. 

Lincoln’s efforts speak to the power of small, determined groups of citizens to influence the future of their home, even when faced with economic pressure to alter their way of life.

By Neave Fleming