The Conservation Alliance, a partnership of conservation organizations, parks departments, and Arizona State University researchers, has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust to further work on studying, restoring, and promoting Phoenix’s mountain park reserves.

Launched in late 2011, the Alliance brings together CAP and Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences’ Ecosystem Conservation and Resilience Initiative (ECRI) with the Desert Botanical Garden, Audubon Arizona, the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department, Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department, and the Phoenix Mountains Preservation Council.

The Desert Botanical Garden leads the initiative and was the main recipient of the three-year grant from the Pulliam Trust, which will enable the Alliance to begin work on several projects this winter.

"This grant will allow the Alliance to realize many of its ambitious goals to further the preservation and conservation of the metro area’s open spaces, supporting both recreational enjoyment and ecosystem health now and into the future," says Nancy B. Grimm, director of CAP LTER and professor in the School of Life Sciences.

The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust awards grants to nonprofit groups focusing on job creation, land preservation, and local cultural enrichment. The Conservation Alliance’s awarded portion is part of the $2.2 million the Trust granted to 24 nonprofit organizations in Arizona in 2012.