The AZ Native Plant Society Tonto Basin Chapter invites anyone interested in learning about native plants in Gila County to join us for chapter meetings, botany walks, and conservation activities.
Our chapter meets on the first Friday of each month, October through May, and includes guest speakers, botany walks, and field trips. Please join our email list at tontobasinnativeplants@gmail.com to receive up-to-date information and meeting reminders. You can also visit our Facebook and Instagram accounts for additional information If you don’t want to miss out on our Chapter’s activities, please email your contact info to tontobasinnativeplants@gmail.com. We would love to have you join us!
Our chapter is looking for volunteers to help with botany walks, community service events and social media. If you would like to help, please contact us at tontobasinnativeplants@gmail.com.
Volunteer Opportunities
YOU can be a citizen scientist and help monitor the health of saguaros. The Tonto Basin Chapter is monitoring saguaros in the Tonto Basin and Lake Roosevelt areas. If you would like to help collect data, please go to Saguaro Monitoring – Friends of the Tonto National Forest and submit the Interest Form. Upon completing a 1 1/2 hour YouTube training session in the comfort of your home, we will take you to the monitoring sites for in-field training. All data is collected on the ARCgis Field
Maps App and a smartphone is required. Ten acre grids are available for adoption and are easily accessible. This is a fun project for the whole family!
NEW!Beginning in March 2025, the Tonto Basin Chapter, in collaboration with the Friends of the Tonto National Forest, will be kicking off the “Tonto Basin Stinknet Patrol.” For volunteer opportunities, please visit Friends of the Tonto National Forest Volunteer on the Tonto! for more information.
Contact us at tontobasinnativeplants@gmail.com for more info!
Chapter News
Mark Your Calendar for Chapter Events
Posted on Jan 28, 2023
February 24: Chapter Meeting, 10 – 12noon, Payson Public Library
Tonto Natural Bridge Park Ranger, Micah Kipple will present “The Great Sympatry: How Similar Species May Be Related, But Different.”
March 3: First Friday Field Trip, 1:00 – 3:00 pm, Mills Ridge parking area on FS Road 429 and Highway 188 (Roosevelt Lake) “Sentinels of the Sonoran Desert.”
March 23-29 Chapter Community Service Project at Tonto National Monument: Revegetation and Nonnative Invasive Plant Removal
April 21: Chapter Meeting, 10 – 12noon, Tonto Basin Chamber of Commerce, Gila County Extension Agent, Chris Jones, will present “A Noxious Problem: Nonnative Invasive Plants of Tonto Basin.”
May 5: First Friday Field Trip: “Botany, Burgers and Brews!”
Upcoming Activities
Posted on Jan 06, 2023
During the winter months, our chapter will be assisting the Tonto National Monument by planting agave, saguaro, prickly pear, and yuccas in the area that was affected by the 2019 Woodbury Fire. Sturdy boots are required as we will be working off-trail. We will also work on removing non-native, invasive plant species during the winter. This is a great way to learn many of the plants in the Tonto National Forest. Snake gaiters, gloves, and tools are provided by the monument; in addition, participants will be required to complete a release of liability. Dates will be determined by the resource staff at Tonto National Monument
As a newly developing chapter, we are in the process of setting up our Facebook and Instagram accounts. Please contact us at tontobasinnativeplants@gmail.com for more information. First Friday field trip will begin in December from 1:00 – 3:00 PM and continue thru May 2023. Locations will be determined based on trail accessibility, plant diversity, and parking. Monthly Chapter meetings will begin in January and continue thru May 2023. We will not meet during the summer months of June, July, and August.
We are having a Chapter Meeting, Saturday, January 21 from 10:00 – 12 noon. We will be meeting at 268 E. Stephens Way, Tonto Basin, AZ. You can include our chapter email for more info about the meeting.
