Our Story

The Patagonia Area Resource Alliance (PARA) began with a simple idea. A small group of neighbors looked at the mountains and the Sonoita Creek Watershed and knew they were worth protecting. In 2011, as new mining interests started moving into the region, local residents came together to learn, share information, and ask a basic question: who is making sure our water, wildlife, and community are protected?

That question became the seed for PARA.

In the early years, PARA was nothing more than a handful of committed volunteers meeting around kitchen tables. They sifted through permits, talked with scientists, and worked to understand how modern mining could affect the watershed. By 2012, the group became a nonprofit so they could better serve as a watchdog and a voice for the community.

As interest in mining grew, so did PARA’s work. The group began hosting community meetings, nature walks, and educational events to help residents understand the risks and long term impacts of industrial mining. These weren’t abstract concerns. Patagonia had already lived through the legacy of past mining, and many of those lessons shaped PARA’s purpose.

Over the years, PARA built strong partnerships with conservation organizations, scientists, and legal experts. With their help, PARA began challenging weak permits, filing detailed comments on environmental reviews, and making sure federal and state agencies followed the law. The goal was always the same. Protect the water. Protect the land. Protect the people who call this place home.

Today, PARA continues to serve as a community guardian for the Patagonia Mountains and the Sonoita Creek Watershed. The work has grown, but the heart of the organization has stayed the same. Local volunteers, backed by science and a deep love for this region, standing up for a future built on clean water, healthy ecosystems, and a sustainable, nature based economy.

PARA’s story is proof of what a small community can accomplish when it chooses to protect the place it loves. The work continues, and so does the commitment to a healthier, more resilient Patagonia for generations to come.

Milestones

This is the path that led PARA from its beginnings to the work we do today.

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2011 - PARA is founded

Six Patagonia residents form the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance as a grassroots, community driven watchdog. The group comes together in response to renewed industrial mining interest in the Patagonia Mountains and the Harshaw and Sonoita Creek watershed, with the goal of protecting local water, wildlife, and community health.

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2012 – 2013 - Early watchdog work in the Patagonia Mountains

PARA begins monitoring new exploration and mining activity in the Patagonia Mountains, raising concerns about repeating the region’s history of polluted water and abandoned mine sites. The group quickly becomes known as a local watchdog that scrutinizes mining projects and their potential impacts on public lands and nearby communities.

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2014 - Sharing the story of mining in Patagonia

PARA helps produce and promote the film “Mining Patagonia,” which highlights the region’s fragile watersheds and the legacy of historic mining. The film is shown at community events and conservation gatherings and becomes one of the first public facing tools to explain why renewed mining pressure matters for Patagonia.

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2015 – 2017 - Watershed planning and regional recognition

PARA is recognized in regional watershed planning documents as a citizen watchdog dedicated to preserving the Patagonia area. The group participates in discussions around the Sonoita Creek Watershed Management Plan and keeps attention on how legacy and new mining activity affect local streams and aquifers.

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2018 - Community water monitoring expands

Volunteers begin regular water sampling along Harshaw and Sonoita Creeks, as well as at dozens of local wells. By 2018 this work grows into a weekly effort that tracks water quality and levels across the watershed, providing valuable data for residents, partners, and agencies.

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2019 – 2021 - Deepening science and permit review

PARA hires hydrologists and other experts to model proposed mine discharges into Harshaw Creek and to evaluate state and federal water quality permits. The group submits detailed technical comments into public records, pressing agencies to consider aquifer drawdown, contamination risks, and incomplete data in their assessments.

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2022 - National foundation support for watchdog work

PARA receives a grant from the Biophilia Foundation that recognizes the group as a grassroots, community driven nonprofit monitoring wildlife and water in the Patagonia Mountains. The support helps strengthen PARA’s role in protecting the region’s biodiversity from the environmental damage associated with modern industrial mining.

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2023 - Legal challenges to exploratory drilling

Working with conservation partners and public interest attorneys, PARA becomes a plaintiff in litigation that targets mineral exploration projects threatening the Patagonia Mountains and nearby creeks. The group also files appeals and extensive comments on state water discharge permits, arguing that agencies must fully account for new sources of pollution and the cumulative impacts of mining activity.

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2023 – 2024 - Eyes on the ground for water and wildlife

PARA is described by partners and state presentations as “eyes on the ground” in the Patagonia area, watching for changes in water, springs, and mining activity. The group helps lead watershed tours for university and agency visitors, showing firsthand how Harshaw Creek and Sonoita Creek connect to the town’s water, wildlife corridors, and residents.

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2025 and beyond - Standing with a community that refuses to be a sacrifice zone

Media stories describe Patagonia residents’ fear of becoming a sacrifice zone for modern mining and highlight PARA’s years of watchdog work and water monitoring. As mining pressure and clean energy demand grow, PARA continues to educate, monitor, and advocate so that decisions about the Patagonia Mountains and the Sonoita Creek watershed put long term community and ecological health first.

PARA’s story is still unfolding, and our work continues as long as the Patagonia Mountains and watershed need defending. We remain committed to watching, educating, and standing with a community that cares deeply about this place.