Press Release

ANZA-BORREGO FOUNDATION AND INSTITUTE
P.O. BOX 2001, BORREGO SPRINGS, CA 92004
(760) 767-4063
FAX (760) 767-0465

January 17, 2008

Contact: Sally Theriault **For Immediate Release**

The Anza-Borrego Institute Announces the Recipient of the 2008 Howie Wier Memorial Conservation Grant

Borrego Springs, CA.

The Anza-Borrego Institute, the education and research arm of the Anza- Borrego Foundation, has awarded its 2008 scholarship grant for conservation research in the Colorado Desert and Peninsular Ranges region in southern California. Jim Dice, the Senior Environmental Scientist for State Park’s Colorado Desert District, and Sally Theriault, Manager of the Anza-Borrego Institute, made the announcement on January 2, 2008.

Thomas Devitt, a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, was awarded the Howie Wier Memorial Conservation Grant of $2,000 to study the status and distribution of the Large-blotched salamander, Ensatina klauberi. He will be using a combination of fieldwork and genetic analysis to determine the size of populations, the movement and levels of connectivity between groups, and the overall status of the salamander here, which can be threatened by habitat loss, introduced species, and other changes in its environment. Read more

Harold A. “Howie” Wier (1952-2001) was a native San Diegan and a lifelong naturalist. He worked as a biological consultant and conservation biologist throughout southern California and was active in the California Native Plant Society, a past President of San Diego Audubon, and a long-time member of the Anza- Borrego Foundation. This grant program was established by Anza-Borrego Institute with the help of Mr. Wier’s family, friends, and colleagues as a tribute to his interests and passion for preserving and understanding the remaining wild places of southern California.

The Anza-Borrego Foundation & Institute is a non-profit organization supporting land acquisition, education, interpretation and scientific studies in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and surrounding region. For further information about the scholarship program or to make a donation to the scholarship fund, please contact Sally Theriault, Manager, Anza-Borrego Institute, at 760-767-4063.

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