Save the Scenic Santa Ritas is very grateful to the many people who give their time and energy by standing up for what they believe is best for Southern Arizona and have fought and continue to fight tirelessly to prevent new mining projects from ever becoming a reality. As a grassroots organization, we rely almost entirely on the efforts of our many volunteers, including our very dedicated board of directors, all of whom give countless hours each month. Thank you to all of our volunteers for the amazing work you do – together we WILL save the Santa Ritas!
Volunteering with SSSR
If you are interested in learning about our many volunteer opportunities, please fill out our contact form and let us know you would like to help and we will contact you with a list of volunteer opportunities.
Friends of SSSR
SSSR has been fighting mining projects since 1996, and in that time we have been very sad to lose some dear friends who have been instrumental in the fight. We would like to dedicate our future success to the memory of these outstanding individuals:
Bill Cook
William (Bill) Cook, who painted the watercolor of the Rosemont Valley that became our logo, died on July 24 at the age of 85. Bill was a longtime resident of Sonoita and Tucson where he designed many award-winning public buildings and private residences and taught in the U of A School of Architecture. A superb watercolorist, he expressed his deep feeling for nature in his many land and seascapes. Bill and his wife Nancy were also ardent travelers, visiting and working–often pro bono–in several countries of Central and South America, and he depicted these places and peoples with great affection and sensitivity. (Some 500 of his watercolors are in public and private collections around the world.)
Bill loved the Santa Ritas and the Rosemont Valley. The painting he made of Rosemont was a precious gift, his special contribution to our struggle to preserve it. Nothing better sums up that contribution–and Bill’s life–than this deathbed remark: when Nancy, noting that he had many visitors and well-wishers, said that the world loved him, Bill replied: “We loved the world.”
Rich Genser
On Sept. 9, 2008, the Pima County Board of Supervisors named the Starr Pass trailhead in honor of Rich.
Rich was a former Board Member of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, and a tremendous help in our efforts to protect the Santa Ritas. He was an active member of the Rincon Group of the Sierra Club, and the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection. Those of us who were lucky enough to know him will never forget his wacky sense of humor, his boundless generosity, his passion for protecting the environment, and his great love of everything out doors. He was a great inspiration to me, and I’m grateful to have known him and his wonderful wife Claire. We send our deepest sympathy to his family. We all will miss Rich greatly.
We have lost a good one, and my heart goes out to his family.”
–Carolyn Campbell, Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection
“Our dear friend Rich Genser died yesterday. He was back visiting friends and family in Tucson when he had a heart attack a couple of weeks ago. There were subsequent complications and yesterday, life support was removed. His family was with Rich when he died. Rich was a good friend to so many here in Arizona and in the Sierra Club and I can think of no one who was more full of life. He loved Arizona, he loved the Earth, and he loved the Sierra Club and all of his many friends here.
Rich also loved a good fight (for the environment) and helped us with numerous efforts — some of them successful such as fighting the first takings battle – and some of them less so such as our Growth Management Initiative in 2000. He did so much for the Sierra Club, for our chapter, and for our local group, that it is difficult to know where to start. He stepped up to chair the chapter when needed, stepped up to chair our fundraising committee when needed, and chaired our local Rincon Group. He also helped lead and support the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection. He would go to meetings when we needed a representative there. He would come help with a service project when we needed help. I could go on . . . .
Rich was a truly caring person and would worry a lot about how people were doing. If he was going to be gone and often on email after he moved to Vermont, he would ask us to look out for someone who he thought might be a little down or having a difficult time. After a tough day at the legislature a few years ago, he surprised me with a lovely Jack Dykinga photo that is hanging over my sofa. (Seeing the desert in bloom cannot help but lift your spirit.) Our deep sympathy goes to Rich’s family. Good-bye to our good friend Rich. We shall miss you and wish so much you could have stayed with us longer.”
–Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club
Mickey McArthur
Mickey McArthur, one of our very first Board members of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, passed away on April 6, 2009, in Tucson, from complications of a stroke. He was 81 years old.
Mickey was our secretary during the early years of SSSR, the land swap days. Although he had not been active with us in the last few years, we still saw him at events, and appreciated his continued support. He will be greatly missed.
From The Bulletin, April 15, 2009:
Mickey, born Marshall Earl McArthur, Jr., lived in Sonoita with his wife Karol. He was a proud graduate of Creighton Preparatory School in Omaha and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he became a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity. He had many business interests in a long career. He worked in an oil business; pioneered the use of anhydrous ammonia as the most efficient and economical source of agricultural nitrogen; sold a wide variety of farm supplies; and was in the egg production business. Eventually, those businesses were sold and replaced by his main interest – the profitable production of corn and soybeans on his farm near Eldridge, Iowa.
Mickey established lifelong friendships everywhere he lived, from Omaha, Nebraska, to Davenport and Eldridge, Iowa, to South Laguna Beach, California, to Indian Wells, California, and finally to Sonoita. He established strong ties in each community, most recently with his involvement in and service as president of the board of Sonoita-Elgin Emergency Services Incorporated, which has since become the Sonoita-Elgin Fire District.
Mickey was a lover of the outdoors – an avid hunter, hiker and body surfer. He also loved western art and collected it over many years, serving on the Western Art Council of the Palm Springs Art Museum when he lived in Indian Wells, California. He particularly enjoyed his long association with Cheley Colorado Camps. He and his sisters were campers, as have been his children and grandchildren. He was also pleased to have played a role in the formation and success of the John Austin Cheley Foundation, which provides scholarships for children to attend summer camp.
Mickey was an engaging, gregarious person who loved to talk with and keep in touch with people. He was a stalwart member of a group of men who met every Wednesday for lunch in order to discuss the important issues of the day. Mickey had few frustrations in life, but those he did have included the following, in no particular order: garlic, onions, smoking, and political liberals. Above all, he was an enthusiastic optimist who believed that anything in life is possible.
Fred Tahse
Fred Tahse, an active member of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, and our Advisory Committee, passed away on July 2, 2009, at his home in Green Valley. He will be dearly missed.
Fred was a retired exploration geologist who helped SSSR unravel the intricacies of the geologic and hydrologic reports on the Rosemont Mine. His input was invaluable in our understanding of these issues, and was the basis of many of our comments to the Forest Service on the mine.
George Trigaux
George Arille Trigaux, one of the founders of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas and a member of its original Board of Directors, died on May 29, at the age of 83 after a long struggle with cancer. George, was an avid birder, lover of nature and conservationist, passionate about protecting wildlife habitat. After he retired from business, he and his wife June traveled the world to visit the great birding sites as well as to learn about other cultures and environments. At home, in spite of declining health, he worked steadily to inform people about the devastating impacts open pit mining would have in the Santa Ritas. George tempered his ardor with a gentle, friendly, modest demeanor. His many friends in SSSR will miss his passion and his wisdom.
