A crowd of well over 100 people braved the cold and rain to witness history in the making as the Desert Foothills Land Trust opened its 27-acre Jewel of the Creek Preserve to the public on Saturday, January 24th. It was an emotional day filled with remembrance and celebration. Maria Baier of the Trust for Public Lands and Lori Faeth of the Governor's Office gave moving accounts of their involvement with former Executive Director P.A. Seitts and the central role she played in the establishment of the Arizona Preserve Initiative. Sue Hilderbrand spoke to the group about Arizona State Parks Department's continuing interest in land protection.

The Land Trust also dedicated the newly established nature trail through the Preserve to honor the efforts of Board member Harry I Dalton. Harry and his team of dedicated fund-raisers exceeded their goal by such a wide margin that we were able to fund a portion of Go John Canyon's acquisition costs as well. Thanks Harry and team members!

As a tribute to P.A. Seitts' efforts to protect fragile Sonoran Desert habitat, P.A.'s daughter Stephanie and husband George released a rehabilitated Harris Hawk back into the wild. The hawk rose majestically into the air after its release and was seen throughout the day posing on the top of a lone saguaro overlooking the Jewel.

DFLT produced a limited number of commemorative T-shirts to mark the dedication of the Jewel of the Creek preserve. The front of the T-shirt sports a picture of the Jewel within the letters of "Jewel of the Creek". The back contains our motto and logo. This shirt can be ordered for a limited time from DFLT for a cost of $24 that includes shipping. To order a T-shirt, please send a check or money order to the office (be sure to include size and allow for shrinkage). You can also call the office to order by credit card.