Valer Austin
Valer Clark Austin is a permaculturalist involved with desert greening. Based in southern Arizona, she is known for promoting ecological restoration through water conservation and holistic land management.
Valer is a graduate of Hollins University, from which she received the Hollins Distinguished Alumnae Award in June 2012.
Valer later married to Josiah Austin. The Austin’s have invested time and resources into the restoration of the watersheds in the Sonoran Desert region for the purposes of maintaining free open spaces and promotion of biodiversity. Their restoration efforts began with a 40-mile stretch which encompassed the El Coronado and Bar Boot Ranches. Acknowledging their important efforts, they began to grow their operation for the restoration of wetlands on a broader scale, such as, the borderland regions between the United States and Mexico.
In the 1990s, the couple founded the Cuenca Los Ojos Foundation, which translates to "Watershed of the Springs", based at their El Coronado Ranch. The foundation encompassed various educators, scientists, ranchers in the area, and government agencies to restore and maintain the grasslands in the area, as well as, restore the habitats and biodiversity
Notable Achievements include:
- Protection of over 130,000 acres in Mexico
- Construction of 50 large gabions, 40,000 loose rock dams and 1000+ berms in Mexico and the United States
- Restoration of the Coues Deer and Gould’s turkey in the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona
- Restoration of 5,000 acres of grasslands in Mexico with native vegetation