The Arizona Site Stewards Program was honored at the 4th Tri-National Sonoran Desert Symposium held in Ajo, Arizona on March 7-10.

The International Sonoran Desert Alliance (ISDA) presented the honor, which commemorates 30 years of volunteerism to preserve Arizona archaeological resources, and ongoing participation with the agencies and entities of the Sonoran Desert. Among those present included the Tohono O'odham Nation, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Arizona Site Stewards Program, led by Arizona State Parks and established in 1986, is a statewide group of volunteer citizen scientists, who provide monitoring and protection of traditional cultural archaeological and historic properties for various partnering land managing agencies.

The chief objective of the Stewards Program is to report to the land managers destruction or vandalism of prehistoric and historic archaeological and paleontological sites in Arizona. Stewards are also active in public education and outreach activities.

Arizona Site Stewards will hold their 30th annual conference June 7-8, highlighting the site steward's contribution to Arizona's cultural preservation and protection. The conference will be held at the Crown Plaza Airport Hotel, Phoenix, and is the precursor to the annual Arizona Historic Preservation Conference.

The 4th Tri-National Symposium was organized by representatives from the Tohono O'odham Nation, Mexico, and the United States to address successes and continued challenges of conserving the magnificent Sonoran Desert. The symposium focused on cultural and natural resource issues, and Native American tribal perspectives, with a new theme: “Converging Trails: Past, Present, and Future of the Sonoran Desert”.

The Symposium was sponsored by ISDA, a non-profit corporation founded in 1993 representing the indigenous and non-indigenous populations of the U.S. and Mexico to: promote the concept and practice of conservation throughout the region; provide education in ways of protecting and respecting valuable biological and cultural resources and traditions; develop creative and sustainable solutions to critical local issues such as housing and economic development; and provide practical opportunities for individual and community action.

ISDA designs and implements environmental, cultural, real estate and business development projects intended to preserve and enrich the environment, culture and economy of the Sonoran Desert. For more information about the Arizona Site Steward Program call (602) 542-4174 or visit AZStateParks.com.