As you may know, CEDO is in the middle of a fundraising effort to raise $250,000 to secure the property they’ve been sitting on for 27 years. If you don’t know the backstory on this one, here are a few points of reference.
I’m now going to do my damndest to get you to donate to CEDO, and here’s why:
In 1994, when I was a clueless new freshman at the University of Arizona, friends brought me to Puerto Peñasco for my very first visit. As a native Ohioan, I had already fallen, hard, for Arizona and the Southwest, and the same thing happened the moment we drove into Puerto Peñasco. From then on, it was all about Mexico.
My friends learned about Peñasco through CEDO, via a biology class at the U of A. They, like me, were introduced to the Sonoran region and the Sea Of Cortez and all the beautiful squishy aquatic lifeforms it had to offer from this class, which culminated in a weekend trip to CEDO.
Needless to say, I fell in love with the place, and CEDO became a bit of a touchstone over the years. On every trip down to Peñasco we’d swing by CEDO and check things out, say hello, check up on how much Las Conchas was growing, and hit the beach. Amidst all the construction and growth and craziness we watched over the years, CEDO was still there. And it always should be.
When CEDO hit their legal troubles with the encroachment upon their facility, it seemed to me like ‘Step 1’ from a manual titled “How to ruin Puerto Peñasco in 3 easy steps”. If you’ve read my site for any amount of time, you’ll know the issue hit close to home.
Now that CEDO has a negotiated agreement over their land, they need some financial help to lock in the deal. Right now they’re trying to raise $100k by the end of October.
CEDO does valuable work, work nobody else can do, and it serves an increasingly important role in keeping Puerto Peñasco the kind of place you want to keep visiting.
To understand why this is, just check the newest issue of De Frente, in “Warning Signs In Our Local Ecosystem“. Or read Mitra Taj’s excellent article “Environmentalists vs. Luxury Developers“. Or read about CEDO’s work protecting Penasco’s precious estuaries. The list goes on and on and on and on…
This is, of course, to say nothing of the introduction and education CEDO has given to countless students, visitors, and Puerto Peñasco lovers over their long 27 year stint.
So I’m sitting down to write them a check, and it would be awesome if you could do the same. Donations are tax deductible – so why not whack a nice fat chunk off of your 2007 tax liability and help CEDO – and Puerto Peñasco – at the same time?
The easiest way to donate is online, by going to: http://www.cedointercultural.org/aboutcedo.htm. Checks can also be dropped off at the CEDO field station from 9-5, Monday through Saturday – or mailed to:
CEDO
PO Box 44208
Tucson AZ 85733
You can also contact CEDO directly at (520) 320-5473 or info@cedointercultural.org for more information.
Thanks for reading. I hope you’ll join me in donating to CEDO.
–bhance, Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007
