World Wildlife Fund

Join WWF’s Cathy Plume for an insider account of how WWF is conserving this place. Meet local people whose eco-businesses are the hope of this desert. Experience nighttime border crossings, a day on horseback and the culture of the Southwest. Learn what WWF and partners are doing to keep water flowing through the Rio Grande – while also meeting the needs of the five million people who call this desert home. 

Part 1: Arrival in Chihuahua | Part 2: Goals and Ghouls | Part 3: Thirsty Rivers | Part 4: Hermelinda's Story | Part 5: Señor Vallina's Vision | Part 6: Bighorn Sightings | Part 7: Starry Night | Part 8: Coffee and Congress | Part 9: Re-thinking Water | Part 10: Conserving Together

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Part 8: Coffee and Congress
We’re back stateside and I’m mentally preparing for a long day of meetings. Even though I’m tired from last night’s late arrival I still get up early for a run.  I can feel my “horse legs” and know that a stretch will do me good.

 

Since no one in our group slept too well, when I get back I go to pick up a big vat of coffee for the crew.  When I get to the counter, the woman asks me “were you out running this morning?” I was a bit surprised and asked if she’d seen me.  She said she had, and that I stood out because “people don’t run in Las Cruces.” It was pure southwest matter-of-fact-ness, and it made me smile.

 

Just like last week in the Chihuahua City, Mexico office – today we reviewed the program with the U.S. Las Cruces team – setting the stage for our trip to the field tomorrow. One of the biggest challenges we face in the U.S. part of the Chihuahuan Desert is raising money. 

On the U.S. side, WWF is primarily focused on policy work to ensure that some water flows into the environment and that not all of it is allocated to agriculture or municipal uses.  I know from my years of experience working in conservation that fundraising for such work is difficult – but it’s also necessary for the overall success of the program.  WWF’s partnership with the Coca-Cola Company is important to the overall Chihuahuan Desert program, especially on the U.S. side.

 

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Part 1: Arrival in Chihuahua | Part 2: Goals and Ghouls | Part 3: Thirsty Rivers | Part 4: Hermelinda's Story | Part 5: Señor Vallina's Vision | Part 6: Bighorn Sightings | Part 7: Starry Night | Part 8: Coffee and Congress | Part 9: Re-thinking Water | Part 10: Conserving Together