If you’ve been to the Red Rock Ranger District Visitor Center located on Highway 179 just south of the Village of Oak Creek, maybe you know ANHA. No, not Anna from Frozen, ANHA, the Arizona Natural History Association. ANHA’s mission is to assist the Forest Service in promoting public awareness of the sensitive balance needed to preserve the land and its history while maintaining commercial and recreational use by the current and future generations. So why is that important? With three million visitors to this area annually, the Forest Service absolutely leans on volunteer support. Having that support also helps immensely during tough times, like when there are closures due to wildfires or government shutdowns, or to help bring back programs sidelined by the pandemic.
Volunteering with ANHA is a way to show support for educational programs; assist Arizona’s National Forests; be involved in the community; get outside and enjoy nature; and interact with visitors from all over the world. Event assistants help set up, meet and greet attendees, take photos, and get in on seeing some of the amazing presentations.
The Visitor Center is a major gateway to the Greater Sedona area; here, ANHA volunteers cashier at the gift shop and serve as visitor information clerks, with all training provided. They partner together with another cadre of volunteers from the non-profit organization Friends of the Forest, who also help staff the Visitor Center, providing relevant information such as how to avoid the most crowded trails (good luck with that).
The more the volunteers and Forest Service employees can speak with visitors, the more opportunities to disperse some of the usage on trails and roads. Volunteers discuss the importance of Leave No Trace principles and where to camp legally on the public lands within the Red Rock Ranger District. Families with children are encouraged to participate and earn their Junior Ranger badge. While hiking, you may run into a child wearing a Junior Ranger badge. Give them a thumbs up or high five on their achievement, as they are the next generation to care for the natural wonders surrounding us!
A common topic of conversation at the Visitor Center relates to having a map. Many visitors confidently say “I have an app, so I don’t need a map.” There are valid reasons to have a physical map. What happens if you drop your phone or put it down for a minute and lose it? Relying on technology is risky in the wilderness and packing with redundancy can save your life. Have an app and a map. If you have been to Dry Creek Vista parking lot recently, you might encounter some bewildered tourists looking around. They hold up their phones, pointing them this way and that; they’re trying to figure out where the GPS is pinpointing. Unfortunately for them, they are often looking for the Seven Sacred Pools there. The app they chose to use is incorrect and has directed them to Dry Creek Vista Trailhead instead of Soldier Pass.
At the Visitor Center over the winter holidays, people were coming in and asking questions of course. Then, they would wander around the building looking at all the displays and before leaving, drop by the gift shop, which does not charge tax as ANHA is a not-for-profit corporation. The cutest 12-inch plush animals seemed to be the best sellers. Probably because the stuffed ringtail cat, with a tail like a raccoon, is Arizona’s state mammal, and the plush javelina has all of the physical characteristics of the famed wild animal, without the smell!
Author, Annie Glickstein
If you are looking for volunteer opportunities that involve engaging directly with visitors, consider ANHA (find more information at their website: https://aznaturalhistory.org/) and Friends of the Forest (https://www.
Serving Sedona, written this week by Annie Glickstein, volunteer at Friends of the Forest, appears Wednesday in the Sedona Red Rock News.