Author: George H. Harrison.

When the sun goes down and songbirds disappear into cover to roost, you might think that backyard wildlife watching is finished for the day. But the truth is that when darkness sets in, there is merely a change of characters on the backyard stage. The diurnal wildlife goes undercover and the nocturnal animals appear.

Because it’s dark, it may be more difficult to see the new cast of wild animals, but they are there and you don’t need owl vision to watch them.

How to Enjoy Wildlife at Night in Your Own Backyard:

1. Install a spotlight that shines on your bird feeders, and turn it on periodically after dark.

You may be surprised to find a number of birds and mammals carrying on at the feeders. Flying squirrels are especially common backyard residents that hang upside down on tube feeders munching on nyjer, sunflower and wild birdseed mix. Ten o’clock is a good time to look for them. Raccoons, opossums, rabbits and mice are likely nighttime visitors, too. In some regions, deer and elk also eat from bird feeders at night.

2. Keep the birdbath water flowing all-night.

It will attract a variety of wildlife that can be watched with the aid of a spotlight trained on the water source. In my yard, I remember watching an eastern screech owl having a drink at midnight on a New Year’s Eve.

3. Cover the lens of a flashlight with a piece of red plastic wrap or tissue paper (you can use a rubber band to secure the filter).

The eyes of many nocturnal creatures do not pick up the red end of the light spectrum, so you can shine this colored light on wildlife with minimal disturbance. The red light may also help your eyes adjust to the darkness.

4. Look for earthworms in damp soil.

Earthworms and other moist-skinned creatures take cover during the day to protect their bodies from the drying effects of the sun. On warm nights, they strike out in search of food. If you spot silvery trails across the ground, you can be certain slugs or snails are nearby (they produce a slimy substance to help them move about). Check low-growing plants in garden beds, woods and other moist places for these mollusks.

5. Step outside after dark and listen—the night is full of sounds.

Most of the year, owls can be heard, each calling their own distinct hoot or whine. In the spring and fall, tree frogs are also common nighttime songsters in many areas; they sound so much like birds that most listeners are fooled. Every spring in the wetlands adjacent to my home, I can hear tiny aquatic frogs sing their mating chants, producing a chorus of peeps, chirps and continuous chords. During breeding season, especially when the moon is full, northern mockingbirds may be at the top of their song, whistling and chirping dozens of different noise imitations. Black-crowned and yellow-crowned night-herons may be barking and squawking during spring and summer nights. A whip-poor-will may be calling incessantly from the nearby woodland.

6. Hang a bed sheet in your yard and shine a white light directly on it.

Insects are a big part of the nighttime backyard show. Depending on the season, the sounds of crickets, cicadas, and katydids may be so loud that they drown out other woodland sounds. Fireflies can be spotted flashing their mating lights, and moths of all sizes are attracted to patio or spotlights in the warm weather.

7. You may be able to watch spiders from the comfort of your home if you leave a porch light on overnight.

The light will draw insects that, in turn, will draw spiders looking for a feast. You can also head outdoors with flashlight in hand and embark on a spider safari. Look on the ground for trapdoor and wandering spiders; seek out web builders in bushes or on fences.

8. Just before dark during warm weather, look up in the sky for chimney swifts and common nighthawks chasing insects on the wing.

Both species range throughout much of the country. The smaller swifts make a chattering sound, while the nighthawks give a peent call. In some areas in late summer and early fall, masses of nighthawks can be seen around sunset as they migrate south.

9. If you’re a fan of high-tech gadgets, consider purchasing a night-vision viewing device such as goggles.

It will offer an entirely new dimension to wildlife watching after sunset by painting the nighttime world in a soft, greenish light.

Originally Published by the National Wildlife Federation: https://blog.nwf.org/2005/10/mother-natures-late-show-9-tips-for-watching-wildlife-at-night/

Author: Elise Lange, AWF Communications Manager

Each year, we celebrate National Public Lands Day and National Hunting and Fishing Day on the fourth Saturday in September. On this day, hunters, anglers, and wildlife watchers head outside and explore public lands familiar or new to them. Families visit their states’ national parks — free of entry, of course. New generations are introduced to the heritage of hunting, angling, and conservation. The day is rich with American’s utter appreciation for our public lands.

This year was the 51st annual celebration of National Hunting and Fishing Day and the 30th annual celebration of National Public Lands Day! 

What started in 1972 with the presidential proclamation, “I urge all citizens to join with outdoor sportsmen in the wise use of our natural resources and in ensuring their proper management for the benefit of future generations,” has grown into a movement to recruit new hunters and anglers while increasing public awareness of the connection between hunting, angling, and conservation.

Similarly, National Public Lands Day’s 1994 beginnings with one federal agency, two public land sites, and 700 volunteers has grown into a national event that brings out hundreds of thousands of volunteers at sites all over the U.S. Several states, including Arizona (more on that below) even have their own public lands days now.

But these days are not only about volunteering your time for trail maintenance or hunter recruitment. These two holidays that share their birthday each year are about reminding us how much the great outdoors is part of our identities as Americans. These holidays are about actually getting outside and enjoying our public lands! We are encouraged to get out and hunt, hike, fish, climb, explore, camp, and photograph our public lands. 

These lands belong to the American public — you!

With that “ownership” comes responsibility. We are the stewards of these lands and we are responsible for ensuring that our children, their children, and all future generations can experience and enjoy our public lands the way we do today. 

This year, the Arizona Wildlife Federation celebrated these holidays with the launch of our new monthly hikes program. For this inaugural hike on Saturday, September 23rd, we partnered with the Arizona Trails Association and the Tonto National Forest to bring over 20 hikers on an exploration of the Highline trail near Pine. We used iNaturalist to identify flora and fauna of the area and made connections with new people all the way from Tempe to Payson.

Our supporters might remember that we hosted a hike on April 1st, 2023 — which just so happens to be Arizona’s own Public Lands Day holiday! We celebrate Arizona Public Lands Day on the first Saturday of April each year. The bill creating the holiday was drafted in 2019 by a team of conservationists led by our own Brad Powell, Past President of the AWF. 

That hike on Arizona Public Lands Day last April was the inspiration for us to continue hosting monthly hikes for the public. It’s a great opportunity for folks to join us and learn about Arizona’s incredible public lands, native wildlife, and endless recreation opportunities.

These holidays serve as important reminders of all we have to be thankful and responsible for as American citizens. 

It’s also important to remember that on the days we don’t formally celebrate hunting, fishing, or our public lands, we can still get outside, enjoy, and steward our state’s natural resources. What we give any day to the great outdoors, it gives back tenfold. We hope our hikes will keep that thought fresh in our minds each month.

If you would like to join AWF on future hikes, we will be hosting a hike once a month on our state's diverse public lands. Check the events page on our website for upcoming hikes: https://azwildlife.org/events.

Author: Patrick Bauman, Owner of Colter Backcountry  and Get Outdoors Arizona Member

One morning, almost a year ago, I found myself standing on the side of Arizona’s highway 67 at 6am toting a neatly packed backcountry kit and dangling a frozen thumb in the air. To my right, my less-than-thrilled girlfriend* smiled at the infrequent passing cars. Stuck after an unfortunate shuttling glitch, we were attempting to hitch hike to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The goal: complete a rim-to-rim hike, from the north side to the south. The secondary goal: fish Bright Angel Creek at the bottom of the canyon.

*We are, I’m glad to report, still happily together, despite this cold misadventure in hitch hiking.  

Now, for those who like their fishing with a side of physical discomfort and spectacular views: boy, do I have something for you! Most things named “great” or “grand” have a difficult time living up to their name. If you haven’t been, there’s one thing you need to know about the Grand Canyon: it delivers. Running nearly 300 miles in length, 18 miles across, and averaging over a mile deep, this canyon is, in fact, grand. Prior to this adventure, I had seen what 99% of Grand Canyon visitors see – the view from the top. On this trip, we would start on the North Rim, hike the North Kaibab trail down to Bright Angel Campground, spend the night, and then hike up the Bright Angel Trail to the South Rim. This itinerary would be around 25 miles, lose almost 6,000 feet and gain almost 5,000 feet.

We had started trip planning months ago when we secured a backcountry camping permit in January. At the time, lodging was scarce, and all accommodations on the North Rim were booked. So, we elected to stay at Jacob Lake Inn, a 40-minute drive from the North Rim. On our first day, we drove up from Phoenix, parked at the South Rim, and then hopped on a 4-hour shuttle that drove us to Jacob Lake. Despite assurances over the phone that a shuttle was available from Jacob Lake to the North Rim, we found out upon arrival that we didn’t have a ride to the trailhead. After dinner, we settled on the only plan we could think of: hitching a ride.

The next morning, in the pre-dawn cold, we didn’t have to wait long. We were picked up by a friendly cardiologist and after an hour of pleasant chit-chat, we were filling our water bladders at the trailhead. At over 8,000 feet in elevation, the north rim is cool and forested compared with the rest of the park.

As you hike down beneath the rim, you’ll start to pass through various rock layers. Limestone turns to sandstone, and sandstone gives way to shale. As the geology changes, so do the people. Cross body purses are replaced by trekking poles and stylish loafers slowly turn into Altras. Keep probing the depths of this canyon and you’ll probably even come across the rarest of creatures: an ultra-runner!

Despite the menagerie of people, I was the only one carrying any kind of fishing gear. For much of its length, the North Kaibab trail runs alongside Bright Angel Creek, which eventually runs into the Colorado River. Originally home to native fish like the humpback chub, Bright Angel Creek now has populations of browns and rainbows as well. Known as a good fishery, it’s one of the more difficult trout spots to access in Arizona.

As we hiked down, the weather grew warmer and warmer. By lunch, we had descended nearly 6,000 feet and had a relatively flat hike through Bright Angel Canyon to reach our campground. Despite colder weather on the rims, the bottom of the canyon is typically as hot as Phoenix. In this case, the high temperatures were well into the 90s.

By mid-afternoon, we had reached Bright Angel campground. After setting up camp, we stopped at Phantom Ranch for a refreshing drink and afternoon snack. In between sips of lemonade, I quickly went to work rigging my rod. The campground area is pretty crowded, so I made my way upstream to some quieter water.

Like many Arizona waters, Bright Angel Creek has a sand and gravel bottom and is housed in rock ledges and sprinkled with larger boulders. Unlike most Arizona waters, it is framed by the Grand Freakin’ Canyon. The views looking up while fishing are incredible.

I fished the rest of the afternoon, catching only rainbows on a variety of flies. The fish were mostly concentrated under rock ledges and in deeper runs and plunge pools. This time of year, the water was crystal clear. Despite being near a trail, the creek feels remote, and the only visitors I had were a mule deer doe and fawn. As the light faded below the canyon walls, I headed back to camp for a hearty dinner.

The next morning, we were up in the dark to tackle the climb up the South Rim before the sun rose too high. On this section, hikers are treated to fantastic views of the Colorado River as they transfer to the Bright Angel Trail. We moved upward with the sun, past the River Rest House and Plateau Point, and ate a full breakfast at Havasupai Gardens. We pushed onward through a throng of out-of-breath day-hikers wearing jeans who seemed baffled that we had come from the other side. Eventually we made it to the top, and after a quick rest, got back in the car to Flagstaff, in search of pizza and cold beer.

For those interested: a rim-to-rim hike is well worth it. Whether you do it in one day or multiple, you’ll be amazed at just how much beauty lies within the inner folds of the canyon. And for those who like fishing, well, make sure to pencil in a free afternoon and pack along an extra rod. It’s always worth being the only weirdo carrying fishing gear.

To read more blogs like this one, check out Colter Backcountry.

Author: Elise Lange, AWF Communications Manager

Now that it’s officially summertime, Arizonans are preparing for the heat! Most people who live in this great state will tell you that we’re grateful for the weather so far — in June, the highest temperature we reached was only about 105 degrees — a far cry off from the record temperature of 122 degrees in June 1990. But the truth is that even for the most devout outdoors person, it’s challenging to find the motivation to get outdoors during the hotter months of the year. 

Depending on the activity you enjoy most outside, there’s a chance that you won’t struggle to keep cool outdoors. For one, fishing and other water recreational activities are great ways to enjoy the outdoors still and beat the heat. Bonus — if you go fishing and are successful, you’ll bring home food for your family! Hunting can be a challenge during the summer as well, but luckily like fishing, there are cooler spots in the state that you can go to during the summer, as long as you don’t mind making a trip out of it. However, depending on where you want to fish or hunt, you may still have a long, hot trek to your destination.

If you’re like me and enjoy hiking and wildlife watching, you’ll know all too well the same struggles that hunters and anglers experience during the summer. The sun beating down on you as you hike over long, burning grass, sand, or rocky soil, uphill, downhill, and the feeling of sweat on your back — this is an experience we’ve all had.

So what can we do? How can we actually beat the heat to still enjoy the great outdoors?

For one — everyone says it and I’ll say it again: water, water, water! Bring more water than you think you’ll need and you’ll be much happier. 

For two — ice! Bring ice with you wrapped in a towel and wrap it around your neck periodically when you really feel the sun.

Alright, so water and ice — these are pretty basic ways to stay cool. 

But let’s think more critically about this.

Pay closer attention to what you wear. A hat is great, but a hat that can wick sweat is even better. Pay attention to the material of the clothes you wear too. Both cotton and linen are some of the best fabrics for staying cool and most outdoor clothing companies already manufacture clothes in those materials that are also made to be durable outdoors. 

Let’s now think in terms of Arizona wildlife. They don’t need sweat-wicking hats or cotton hiking pants to stay cool. So how do they do it?

Native animals in Arizona are so well-adapted to the heat that it hardly matters when we reach those record-heat days. One of their best ways to stay cool is through evaporative cooling: when a coyote pants or a vulture urinates on their legs, that’s evaporative cooling.

Now, we don’t necessarily advocate for you to start panting or urinating on your legs, but it’s important to know that humans also use evaporative cooling! When we sweat, that liquid absorbs the heat from our bodies as it evaporates and becomes a gas. So while sweating is uncomfortable, it’s how your body works to stay cool.

The heat changes throughout the day, so it’s only natural that our behavior should also change. Try getting outdoors during the cooler parts of the day, like before sunrise and after sunset. By doing this, you’re following the schedules of some of our native animals, who definitely know how to survive and thrive in the heat. 

By fishing before sunrise, not only are you outdoors in the cooler part of the day, you’re more likely to encounter fish, who are more active in the morning. If you go for a hike at nighttime, you’ll get a better view of the stars and see some of Arizona’s nocturnal animals like bats, who enjoy the cooler night air as they hunt for insects.

In closing, there are some basic ways to stay cool that most Arizonans know already (though we’re awfully good at being tough enough to withstand little accessible water). But by looking at our native animals and recognizing the behaviors they exhibit during the summer, we can better deal with the heat and enjoy the outdoors year-round. After all, that’s what the outdoors is there for!

Pygmy blue butterfly (Brephidium exile) in Upper Vista Park (photo by Doug Danforth)

Author: Keith Ashley, AWF Development Director

In the four weeks between my April and May visits to Project Wildlife, Bisbee, something amazing happened – thousands of colorful, native blossoms unfurled their bounty of nectar and pollen in the Upper Vista Park and in a patchwork of smaller gardens all around town.  If I were an Arizona pollinator – say an owlet moth or a pygmy blue butterfly – I’m pretty sure this would be like a whole fleet of food trucks and a hundred new bar-and-grills throwing open their doors and inviting me in for a spring feast.

Even more impressive: In the eight months since the small group of volunteers behind Project Wildlife, Bisbee set their sights on certifying their town as a National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Community Wildlife Habitat, the participation and support of neighbors, local government, civic clubs, partnering nonprofits, and others has been enormous and inspiring.

Author: Elise Lange, AWF Communications Manager

Today is World Tortoise (and Turtle) Day, an annual advocacy day for these amazing animals who are so often threatened. 

In Arizona alone, there are over 500 species of conservation concern and yes, that’s undoubtedly a concerning number considering that we have 800 different wildlife species. In fact, we are actually in the top 5 states with the highest level of wildlife diversity. 

The monumental bill, Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, was just recently reintroduced to the 118th Congress and is already being backed by over 10 U.S. senators — both Democratic and Republican, showing once again that this bill has bipartisan support. RAWA, as it’s referred to, would provide states 1.4 billion in funds to take proactive steps to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered. Arizona specifically would receive an estimated $31 million to fund conservation and recovery efforts for our at-risk species. 

One of the most loved species in Arizona is the Sonoran desert tortoise. Of the U.S. species, 90% of their breeding range is in Arizona. That means that their continued survival — or surthrival (not just surviving, but thriving), as coined by our Conservation Programs Director, Trica — is largely dependent on how they do in Arizona.

The Sonoran desert tortoise is an incredible animal. Like other reptiles, they are ectothermic, meaning that they regulate their internal body temperature by using the environment around them and changing their behaviors. That’s why it’s so difficult to find this species!

During the hotter months of the year, they spend the majority of their time hanging out underground where it’s nice and cool. They’ll still be down there in the winter, insulating themselves against the cold. That isn’t to say Sonoran desert tortoises never come out of their shell and emerge from their burrows. They have to eat and reproduce after all!

Unfortunately, this species isn’t doing as well as they could here. They are threatened and protected under state law because of their population decline and the numerous threats they face. Human development and harassment, habitat loss, invasive vegetation taking over their native foods, and drought are the main threats they face here.

Another side to this story is the number of Sonoran desert tortoises in captivity. The Arizona Game and Fish Department adopts out hundreds of captive tortoises each year that have been surrendered to the department. Unfortunately, those tortoises cannot simply be released back into the wild — either because they have become used to and rely on human care or because they risk disease transmission to the already declining wild population. 

All this to say — the Sonoran desert tortoise is an amazing signature species in Arizona and it’s important to understand their threatened status. If you find a wild Sonoran desert tortoise, here’s your need to know:

-Don’t pick them up or they’ll pee on you! This is completely true: these tortoises defend themselves by emptying their bladder when they’re caught off guard by being handled or touched. This can be life-threatening for them, as they need to find water quickly after exhibiting this behavior.

-If you’re concerned they might have been someone’s pet, contact the Game and Fish Department or a wildlife rescue organization that houses reptiles.

-Respect them and keep your distance: we want wildlife to stay wild, and the best way to do that is to watch from afar to avoid interfering with their natural behaviors.

Author: Keith Ashley, AWF Development Director

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the National Wildlife Federation’s Gardening for Wildlife program and the 100th anniversary of the Arizona Wildlife Federation’s founding with guidance from Aldo Leopold, famed American conservationist. This reflection is in honor of our great fortune to be celebrating these milestones together.

May 15, 2023: The sacred datura* in my backyard unfurled its first great funnel flower of the year last night – and I missed it!

I had been checking the darned thing every evening for days, but it still seemed tightly closed enough yesterday that I assumed it needed one more night to perfect its nectar and pollen … and poison. Fortunately, I was up and out well before dawn today.

As Aldo Leopold wrote in his brief essay Too Early:

Getting up too early is a vice habitual in horned owls, stars, geese, and freight trains. Some hunters acquire it from geese, and some coffee pots from hunters. It is strange that of all the multitude of creatures who must rise in the morning at some time, only these few should have discovered the most pleasant and least useful time for doing it.

When I stepped out back to enjoy a few last moments of darkness, my eyes were drawn immediately to the bright white trumpet beacon of the datura blossom. “What the …?!” was my first thought. And then, as if by reflex, my search began … for the sphinx moths. Not too early in the morning, but perhaps too early in the season.

When I first read Leopold’s Sand County Almanac as a much younger man, I was struck by the ways in which the conservation challenges of his era mirrored our own, even if there had been many shifts for the worse in the intervening 50 years (and a very few for the better). I was also struck by the fact that absolutely nothing had changed in the magical ways wildlife touches our lives.

In the middle of last year’s monsoon season, I was out in the yard late one evening nervously holding a rattlesnake watch. Two of them (yes, two VERY BIG ones!) were threatening to take up residence under my tiny bedroom deck. I’m all about gardening for wildlife, but I’m a bit unsure about hosting a rattlesnake farm. And that’s when they appeared, all around me—whizzing, whirring, floating, diving, not two, not three, but a whole host of the largest sphinx moths I’d ever seen—like a sci-fi hybrid between hummingbirds and fruit bats (hummingbats!) – I could feel the excited breeze from their wings all around me.

By that point in the monsoon, the datura in my garden was gigantic—four feet high, six feet wide—and covered with its perfumy sweet blossoms almost every evening. But this was the first time I had encountered such an enormous species of sphinx moths descending upon it. Mottled black and white with wingspans easily five inches across, they transported me to some unimagined tropical kingdom and created a backyard experience I will never forget.

Leopold launches his collection of essays with the famous words: “There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot.”

The genius of gardening for wildlife is not just the power it gives each of us to support wildlife directly, but the way it makes your home patch—be it balcony or backyard—one of those magical places where the wild things are. Scale up that intentional living, from supporting wild things as an individual to supporting them as an organization, and you have the genius of the Arizona Wildlife Federation.

Celebrating 50 years of Gardening for Wildlife and 100 years of the Arizona Wildlife Federation (with Aldo Leopold in the mix as well) is a good place for all of us to be.

*Sacred datura (Datura wrightii/meteloides) also known as jimson weed, toloache grande, belladonna – Large fragrant blossoms of this perennial herb open at night. All parts of this member of the nightshade family are poisonous. Sphinx moths (also known as hawkmoths) pollinate the flowers and use the leaves as a larval food source, which in turn makes the caterpillars (“hornworms”) toxic to predators. Adds interest to wildlife gardens May through October; entirely dormant in winter.

Author: Elise Lange, AWF Communications Manager

This blog was inspired by our Podcast Episode: Raising Outdoor Children. Listen to the episode here: https://podcastq5.podbean.com/e/raising-outdoor-children/ 

One of my first memories of being raised as an outdoor child was shoving handfuls of dirt in my mouth while camping. Now, my mother may not have liked that or understood why I was doing it at age three, but it was an important part of my initiation into the outdoors.

I was lucky enough to have a mom who hiked with me and a dad who dragged me out outdoors every weekend growing up. Now, I say dragged, but the truth is that I was willing and happy to get out there — even if as a teenager I hated to admit it.

I grew up camping at Big Lake every school break and went hunting and fishing every weekend that we could. There’s something special about waking up early to go to the hottest parts of the Sonoran desert and walking till you hear that characteristic cooing of mourning doves or the calls of gambel’s quails. 

One morning at our camp — Billy Camp, as we called it after my dad’s first hunting dog — I woke up in the middle of the night beneath our canopy and heard scuffling outside. I turned over on my cot to see my dad quite literally holding our dog, a black Labrador Retriever, back. Coyotes were outside.

In the morning we woke up and found hundreds of feathers. From what, we weren’t positive, but our hunt that day was unsuccessful.

I was not an avid hunter growing up. However, I adored fishing — especially anywhere I could catch rainbow trout, a personal favorite of mine still to this day.

Big Lake was our favorite place to go fishing. Whether we rented a boat there or stayed on the shore, I would spend my days there exploring, watching fry in the shallow waters, and getting sunburned. Oh — and of course, I would be fishing.

The first time my dad had me fish out there, I didn’t catch a fish on my first reel-in: I caught a fishing pole.

This is absolutely true — the dark green pole rose out of the water as I reeled it in. It was dirty and had clearly been at the bottom of the lake for some time, but I had actually caught my own first fishing pole.

My dad immediately set me up on that pole which somehow worked just fine. I then caught my first 11-inch rainbow trout — not a bad size for my first fish!

It was this experience and the thousand others I had growing up as an outdoor child that made me a steward of wildlife and wild places. Growing up as an outdoor child is the reason I care so much about vulnerable places and wildlife populations in Arizona and why I want to see our public lands — the same lands I frequented often as a child — around for the future.

Author: Elise Lange, AWF Communications Manager

Happy International Women's Day! Today, we'd like to celebrate Pauline (Polly) Patraw.

With blistered feet, a pistol, a sleeping pad, and a plant press, she aimed to cover the whole Kaibab Plateau and create a full study of the plant life of the region.

She was originally from Colorado and studied botany at the University of Chicago, but decided to go to the Grand Canyon for two years of study during her master's.

“We went all the way down to the north end of the Grand Canyon, and we saw these meadows out on the Kaibab Plateau, and our professor, Dr. Cole, said this would be an interesting [thing] to study why the trees stop so abruptly towards the base of the meadow and then at the south end. It's such a beautiful place, and we were all carried away with the beauty of the country. I decided I'd found a study for my master's thesis. Then we went on, and I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time with this class. I walked out along the rim and it suddenly I felt as though I discovered it. It was so wonderful.”

While there, she studied the Kaibab Forest and collected samples, mostly on horseback! As part of her research, it was reported that she would take overnight trips exploring the canyon with nothing but her sleeping pad and  pistol.  She also hiked the canyon rim to rim, wanting to know what work had been done before her time. The culmination of her studies was a thesis summarizing the plant life of the Kaibab Plateau.

When she was unable to get a position with the Forest Service because she was a woman, she turned to her original geographical love — the Grand Canyon.

In 1930, Polly was the first woman ranger and only the second in the whole national park service. In her role, she led naturalist-guided walks, and campfire talks, planted wildlife gardens, and collected plant specimens for the Grand Canyon Park herbarium. While she preferred botany, she did briefly teach geology. 

"It was so wonderful to be able to lecture on the edge of the canyon and talk about the canyon, with the canyon in front of you. If I was feeling self-conscious all I had to do was look at the canyon.”

After her marriage to Preston P. Patraw, the park’s assistant superintendent, she retired from her position but continued studying botany. She provided much guidance on botany to several national parks from Bryce Canyon to Zion as her husband's job moved around — all unpaid. One newspaper in 1932 mentioned that she was truly  “regarded by the National Park Service as the leading authority on the flora of the southern Utah national parks and the Grand Canyon.”

While she believed that women make just as good of park rangers as men, she was a bit of a traditionalist, even in the 1970s, when she noted in an oral interview that "If they are able, women should be superintendents but personally I like to see a man as superintendent with women at the checking jobs."

In 1952, she published the book "Flowers of the Southwest Mesas", which has sold over 65,000 copies. In the decades following before her death in 2001, she gave lectures to civic organizations on the subject matter in her book.

Author: Elise Lange, AWF Communications Manager

Happy first day of Women's History Month! This month, we will highlight various female conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts — from the past to the present. 

Let's go back in time to just over a century ago. Several species of wildlife existed in the early 1900s that no longer exist today. To name a few: the passenger pigeon, Carolina parakeet, great auk, and the Merriam's Elk, the last of which was killed in Arizona. Over-harvesting of game animals was a severe problem — not just in New Mexico, but Arizona, and many other U.S. states. The main issue was that game laws were too lenient and often swayed by politicians with selfish motives.

Hunters and anglers wanted change — as the first conservationists, they knew that overharvesting could not continue. Species like the American Bison had dwindled from some 30 million prior to the western movement of European settlers to just 1,091 in 1889.

Market demand for bison, deer, pronghorn, beavers, mountain lions, bighorn sheep, and many game birds were driving those species to extinction.

However, famous conservationist Aldo Leopold, who helped organize the Arizona Wildlife Federation in 1923, also helped New Mexico's Game Protective Association (today known as the New Mexico Wildlife Federation) in 1914. New Mexico was ahead of many states for this reason. They were also ahead in another way — they hired the first female game warden in the country.

Grace Melaven was elected game warden of New Mexico in 1923 — the same year we were founded.

When the governor at the time was asked why he chose Melaven for the position, he simply stated, "Well, there were 27 men and one woman after the job. But when a woman wants a job which 27 men are after, and the women of the state are backing her 'to a man', about the only thing to do is give it to the woman."

Melaven was passionate about enforcing game laws and not allowing any wardens to give 'parties' the allowance to hunt beyond the bag limit. Conservation was her ultimate goal. She aimed "To conserve the fish and game resources of the state through a proper administration of the laws and to increase the supply to a point where New Mexico will offer sporting opportunities second to none."

Happy Women's History Month and thank you to Grace Melaven for her efforts in enforcing effective wildlife management!