Contacts - Media Room
Media inquiries – please contact:
Ian G. Wilson
Director of Communications
520.290.0828, ext. 1106 (office)
603.724.0035 (cell)
Nina Trasoff
Communications Consultant to the Institute
Tucson, Arizona
520.349.0676 (cell)
Zachary Wilson
Communications Consultant to the Institute
Bozeman, Montana
603.724.0799 (cell)
What's New at the Institute
5000 Signatures Urge More Water for the Delta |
Celebrating Arizona's 100th - River of the Month Series |
Teton County, Idaho - More Vacant Lots Than People |
Watershed Press Release March 22, 2012 – On the heels of World Water Day (March 22nd), the Redford Center and Kontent Films are pleased to announce the World Premiere of WATERSHED: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West at the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital on March 24, 2012 at the National Museum of American History at 3 pm. The film will be introduced by Robert Redford and will be followed by a panel discussion on the urgency of the problem in the Colorado River Basin and what can be done. Click here to read the release. |
Home Grown: Land use planning evolves and adapts in an unlikely corner of Wyoming The Sonoran Institute’s work in Wyoming is featured in this new article, Home Grown – Land Use Planning Evolves and Adapts in an Unlikely Corner of Wyoming. By Sam Western. Read the article here. |
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Kathy Borgen champions causes that help protect, care for, and nurture a love of our planet. She is also passionate about the work of the Institute
Welcome to the Sonoran Institute Media Room
The Sonoran Institute’s media room is an online resource for journalists to learn more about our work that is shaping the future of the North American West. Since 1991, the Institute has been pioneering the use of collaborative conservation to achieve real results in community projects from Mexico to Montana.
Recent News Releases
May 4, 2012 - Arizona's Salt River Celebrated
Five conservation groups this week celebrated the Salt River as their second “River of the Month” in a year-long series honoring the Arizona Centennial. The series features fact sheets with graphics and photos profiling the geography, ecology, use, and threats to a different river every month to celebrate the Arizona’s precious water resources. Read the Celebration of Arizona's Salt River release.
April 25, 2012 - Rosemont Mine Project May Eliminate Area Water Resources
Study Indicates Previous Water Analyses May Dramatically Underestimate Impacts
A study of possible effects on ground-water resources underlying the Sonoita Plain in southeastern Arizona indicates potentially dramatic declines in ground-water levels that would result from the flow of water into the open pit copper mine proposed by Augusta Resources Corporation. The communities of Sonoita and Elgin could see water tables drop by up to 1,000 feet and 700 feet respectively. The study further indicates that water tables could drop as far away as 25 miles from the proposed mine. Rosemont Mine Press release.
April 20, 2012 - Leadership Changes Announced at the Sonoran Institute
The Sonoran Institute announced today that Luther Propst, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), has notified its Board of Directors of his intention to step down as CEO, a position he has held since founding the Institute in 1991. Propst will remain CEO of the Institute during the search process and until a new CEO is hired. Leadership Changes press release.
April 4, 2012 - Climate adaptation, scenario planning, civic engagement on agenda for Lincoln Institute at American Planning Association National Planning Conference in Los Angeles 2012
Some of the most critical issues facing planners -- adapting to the impacts of climate change, harnessing technology for scenario planning, and promoting civic engagement amid furious political and cultural crosscurrents -- are all on the agenda for the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy at the American Planning Association National Planning Conference in Los Angeles April 13-17, 2012. Lincoln Institute APANPC in Los Angelos, '12.
April 2nd, 2012 - New Web Resource Highlights Innovative Practices in Energy Transmission
The Sonoran Institute has launched a new web-based resource site to support the exchange of innovative and emerging ideas surrounding lessoning the environmental impacts associated with electric transmission projects in the United States and Canada. Innovative Practices in Energy Transmission press release.
March 24, 2012 - WATERSHED: EXPLORING A NEW WATER ETHIC FOR THE NEW WEST (USA, 2012, 50 min.)World Premiere
“Whiskey is for drinkin’. Water is for fightin’,” says Jeff Ehlert, a fly fishing guide in Rocky Mountain National Park. How can we meet the needs of a growing population in the face of rising temperatures and lower rainfall in an already arid land? How do we balance the competing interests of cities, agriculture, recreation, wildlife and indigenous communities with rights to the water? In Watershed, WATERSHED: EXPLORING A NEW WATER ETHIC FOR THE NEW WEST (USA, 2012, 50 min.) Watershed press release.
The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today released the draft plan for the Restoration Design Energy Project (RDEP). This initiative seeks to identify lands across Arizona most suitable for solar and wind development that have been previously disturbed or have low natural and cultural resource conflicts. “This is a very promising initiative – especially for solar since Arizona has some of the best solar resources in the nation that cut across land ownerships,” noted John Shepard, senior adviser for the Sonoran Institute. Renewables Advance in AZ - Feb. 16 2012 Media Release.
Bozeman, MONTANA – The Sonoran Institute announced that Jerry Grebenc has recently joined the Northern Rockies team of the Institute, filling the position of Community Program Manager for the Northern Rockies Legacy Program. Previously, Jerry was Acting Planning Bureau Chief of the Community Development Division for the Montana Department of Commerce. Jerry Grebenc Media Release. Meet Jerry on YouTube.
Bozeman, MONTANA – The Cross Charitable Foundation has awarded a grant to the Sonoran Institute to setup a demonstration project focused on reshaping development patterns in Teton County, Idaho. Teton County faces staggering bankruptcy and tax delinquency rates from a huge oversupply of vacant lots and failed subdivisions, as a result of the real estate bust and recession starting in 2008. Read the press release here.Sept.19, 2011 - Mountain States Transmission Project Review Committee Launched
Virginia City, MONTANA - Two Montana counties and five local non-governmental organizations including the Sonoran Institute today launched an independent review to better evaluate the possible effects of the Mountain States Transmission Intertie (MSTI) line on local communities in Montana and Idaho. Read the release. Check out the MSTI site.
Sept. 11, 2011 - New Web Resource for Community Planning Set to Launch
Phoenix, ARIZONA – Western Lands and Communities, a joint venture of Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Sonoran Institute is set to unveil a new web-based resource SCOTie to help guide growth for cities and towns in the West on Sept. 11, 2011 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Read the release. Check out the SCOTie site.
Sept. 9, 2011 - Arizona's Santa Cruz River Coming Back to Life
Tucson, ARIZONA – A newly released Sonoran Institute report provides evidence of positive changes along the Santa Cruz River near Rio Rico in the last three years. These improvements in water quality and fish activity are the result of collaborative efforts to reverse earlier devastation that threatened the viability of the River in the region. Read the release. Check out our work on the Santa Cruz River.
August 24, 2011 - Leadership Urged on Future of Western Power Grid
Phoenix, ARIZONA - Former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter joins energy and environmental experts in releasing “Western Grid 2050: Contrasting Futures, Contrasting Fortunes,” the first comprehensive report on the two very different energy pathways currently facing the 11 western states. The report details the resource mixes and grid operations of those contrasting cases in 2030 and 2050 -- and their resulting implications for the economy, public health, and the environment across the West. Read the report. Check out the Western Grid website.
May 25, 2011 - Major Conservation Plan Unveiled to Preserve the Essence of Arizona
Goodyear, ARIZONA - A broad coalition of communities, organizations, citizens and military interests today unveiled a proposal to conserve and protect additional public lands in Western Maricopa County in Arizona. Read the release. Check out the Sonoran Desert Heritage Proposal.
Sonoran Institute In The News
The staff and project work of the Sonoran Institute is continually in the news in outlets across the West. Click the links to view articles that highlight the work of the Institute.