Wild Arizona (Formerly Arizona Wilderness Coalition Et Al - See Sch O)

“Kelly Burke AWC Treasurer and Kim Crumbo AWC Director were employed by the same nonprofit organization in Flagstaff, AZ during the fiscal year. Burke was the Executive Director and Crumbo was the Conservation Director for Grand Canyon Wildlands Council GCWC via arrangment with the Wildlands Network. AWC and GCWC did not have any financial transactions or contractual arrangements with each other during FY 2017. Joel Barnes AWC Secretary and Doug Hulmes AWC Vice President are employed by Prescott College. AWC maintains an annual contract with Prescott College to provide office space for AWCs Wilderness Stewardship program.”

“- Review of Form 990 Once the draft of Form 990 is completed by an outside accountant, it is reviewed in detail by the Executive Director, staff bookkeeper and the Treasurer who is the Executive Director of another Arizona-based nonprofit organization, along with a copy of the preparers detailed workpapers. An electronic copy of the udpated draft 990 is then sent to all board members and officers for their review before it is finalized and filed.”

“- Conflict of Interest COI Policy The AWC Board of Directors adopted an updated COI policy in June 2016. Directors declared their conflicts at that time. The Directors are asked annually about their potential conflicts which are then documented in meeting minutes and with the Directors signatures on a statement confirming their receipt and understanding of the policy. Any director with a potential conflict abstains from voting on any related matters.”

“- Compensation Review The Board of Directors reviewed salary information for conservation nonprofits from consulting advisor TREC Training Resources for the Environmental Community to establish a compensation package for the current Executive Director during the hiring process in 2013 also considering the budget limitations. The Board has approved small salary increases the past three years for the Executive Director that have been at or below the national rate of inflation. All staff compensation is reviewed by the Board as part of the annual budgeting process. Officers and directors serve in those capacities as volunteers and are not compensated.”

“- Public Records The annual Form 990, conflict of interest policy and the application for tax-exempt status under IRS Section 501c3 are made available to the public upon request. The 990 is also available at www.guidestar.org. The organizations Articles of Incorporation and annual report to the Arizona Corporation Commission are available to the public at www.azcc.gov.”

“Wilderness Stewardship Program continued from 990, p2 Stewardship projects removed 3,080 lbs of trash, improved or maintained 26 miles of trail, restored surveyed 17 miles of riparian vegetation habitat, installed 3 wilderness signs, constructed, repaired improved 44 water mitigation features, removed 59 downed logs obstructing trails, and treated or removed 3,126 non-native invasive plants. In the previous fiscal year, AWC expanded the Stewardship program to encompass longer-term, more extensive restoration projects with more explicit ecological goals. Grant funding supported the initiation of two riparian restoration projects in the Hassayampa River Canyon Wilderness Arnett Creek. Both projects aim to improve habitat for threatened sensitive species including the Yellow-billed cuckoo, lowland leopard frong longfin dace. The Hassayampa project was completed in the last fiscal year, and the Arnett Creek project was completed this fiscal year. The Arnett Creek project treated removed thick growths of invasive tamarisk oleander, with volunteers hauling out over half a ton of oleander by hand. During FY 2017, AWC led a planning effort to coordinate community partners to work with the Tonto National Forest to improve conditions in existing wilderness areas, through the U.S. Forest Services Wilderness Stewardship Performance WSP Initiative. As part of the WSP Initiative, AWC also assessed existing wilderness areas in the Coronado National Forest CNF to ascertain each areas most important wilderness qualities, producing reports for the CNF known as Wilderness Charater Narratives. Also this fiscal year, for the second year in a row, the Stewardship program hosted the Veterans in Wilderness program, with a very successful Veterans crew trail restoration project completed in the Chiricahua Wilderness. AWC also expanded student involvement, bringing Native American students from Northern Arizona University to work in the Kendrick Mountain Wilderness, maintaining portions of the Pumpkin Trail. This project included education discussion regarding the value of wilderness, wildlife topics public lands issues. Finally, AWC expanded its partner relationships by working with Friends of the Verde River Greenway, Friends of the Forest and One for the Verde on a project impacting water quality in the Verde River Watershed. This project in Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness addressed a problem of significant construction materials abandoned in a remote drainage. An exceptional alliance with multiple partners such as Back Country Horsemen of Central Arizona nonprofit, facilitated removal of 1500 lbs of concrete, and 300 lbs of wire metal fencing.”

“Land of Legends continued from 990, p2 The Land of Legends Initiative increasingly focused on outreach education to build community support for conservation management of sensitive public lands. AWC used communications and outreach to highlight the unique value of wild areas, including new sightings of a jaguar in BLM wilderness in the Land of Legends region. AWC also partnered with the BLM to develop a unique outdoor environmental education event for the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area SPRNCA to raise awareness of the important values of the San Pedro River and of National Conservation Areas. By the close of the fiscal year, event partners included multiple conservation organizations, four federal agencies, local schools, state agencies and other key community interests.”

“- POLICY PLANNING PROGRAM Expenses of 7721 This program addresses diverse public lands natural resource issues facing Arizona, seeking to expand preservation of wilderness areas through revision of major U.S. Forest Service and BLM plans, and improve management of existing wilderness and other conservation lands. During the fiscal year, AWC significantly amplified its efforts to defend existing protections for public lands, as many protections of public lands and natural resources were diminished during 2017. A large part of this effort focused on facilitating public involvement, with considerable citizen response seen to preserve national monuments, and avert damage to public lands from high-impact uses such as energy extraction and recreational shooting. AWC continued strong involvement with the Tonto National Forest Plan Revision, meeting with agency staff, attending public meetings, writing comment letters, facilitiating citizen engagement, and working with partners to advocate for robust protection of wild lands and waters.”

“- OUTREACH EDUCATION Expenses of 14,133 AWC engaged in various outreach education efforts over the fiscal year to inspire, inform and activate Arizona citizens regarding wilderness and conservation issues. AWC hosted a volunteer work day in Phoenix with employees of Federal Express, and made educational presentations at community gatherings and Wild Stew work days. AWC also reached out to diverse audiences through participation in Phoenix Earth Day, the Patagonia Fall Festival and an outdoor expo in Flagstaff, and continued highlighting relevant conservation issues through our monthly Enews, website and social media platforms. See www.azwild.org for more information.”

“FEES FOR SERVICES-OTHER This line item represents the following expenses Communications consultants 8048 Fieldwork services, including wilderness inventory surveys, restoration crews, and data collection GIS analysis 46,104, of which 8149 were donated services office administrative support 966 program and office support for the Stewardship program 2950 and information technology support services 3692. Because the organization has only two full-time employees, it relies heavily on the services of outside professionals asd well as the labor, skills and talent offered by 226 volunteers totally at least 3,472 hours during FY 2017. The value of this volunteer labor is not reflected in the financial statements.”