Dear Grand Staircase,
Today, I want to remind you about an event that took place in 2019 and invite you to take action on behalf of Grand Staircase-Escalante. On March 15, 2019, the Global Climate Strike for Future took place with a series of school strikes imploring adults to take responsibility and stop climate change. More than a million people demonstrated in 2,200 events across 125 countries.
Today we have an opportunity to consider this call to action to address climate change in our individual lives through all of our daily behaviors — and by supporting Grand Staircase-Escalante. 
As you reflect on what the anniversary of the 2019 Climate Strike may mean for you personally, I want to bring you up to speed on our work, and invite you to support Partners today to help the Monument in the short term, and for years to come. 
  
Last week, we filled two critical positions for our organization: Associate Director and Conservation Programs Manager. We will be unveiling the bios of these individuals soon, along with the objectives of their positions; however, we are sharing this news now because filling these positions with qualified individuals is a critical investment in the future of our organization and our ability to execute our mission to honor the past and safeguard the future of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  
We have essential strategies to carry out to achieve our mission, and we need strong leadership to make this happen. 
With the addition of new staff and board members, we are diversifying our leadership, expanding our expertise, and increasing our ability to take Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, and the important work we are doing for the Monument, into the future. From understanding the land’s understory plants to projecting the impacts of drought and diverse species’ ability to adapt to climate change, we are building a team capable of leading our efforts to address the needs of the land, across a span of 1.9 million acres, and beyond.
As you may know, the Partners’ Board of Directors and Staff are conducting revisions to our long-range strategic plan while assessing our mission statement and its ability to propel our work forward. At the same time, we are in the midst of carrying out the following essential strategies to benefit Grand Staircase. 
  • Implementing a conservation program at Grand Staircase that is focused on supporting the function of ecological systems and the protection of resources of value.
  • Meeting with the Tribes of the Grand Staircase region to help ensure that Indigenous perspectives are heard and knowledge is applied, as directed by Tribal leaders, to the protection of resources and land management policies.
  • Advancing knowledge about the natural and cultural resources that exist in the Grand Staircase Escalante region through assessment, inventory, monitoring, evaluation, scientific study, and consultation with Tribal representatives. 
  • Building an understanding of recreation thresholds and minimizing negative impacts through volunteer stewardship and citizen science programming.
  • Providing expertise, diverse ways of understanding ecological systems, and funding to support the completion of the Monument science and climate change adaptation plans.
  • Advocating for a conservation priority for Grand Staircase through representation on the Monument Advisory Committee and growing relationships with the Bureau of Land Management, Indigenous communities, scientists, and key stakeholders. 

Every one of these strategies aimed at Monument conservation requires many resources.
These resources include funding, solid board leadership, highly qualified staff, trained volunteers, community outreach, healthy partner relationships, scientific expertise, project and financial management, technology, communications, an established headquarters, engagement events, transportation, and more. 
We often ask for support from individuals at the end of the year, but the importance of our work — and the Monument as a whole  continues to expand, and with that expansion comes a requirement that we raise more funds throughout the year to carry out our work. 
This is why we are asking today, on March 15, 2022, for you to Take Action and Support our WorkWith your help, we will do all of this, and so much more. Thank you for your confidence in our commitment and capacity to do the job.  And thank you most of all for investing in the future of Grand Staircase.
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