Welcome to the digital home of the Agua Fria Open Space Alliance, Inc. (AFOSA). This platform serves as the primary record of our efforts to understand the delicate ecological systems of central Arizona and the broader global biosphere. The image above shows our physical home, the Agua Fria River valley.

Our Institutional Mission

Founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, AFOSA operates at the intersection of rigorous scientific inquiry and community-based conservation. We are interested in the biosphere and the human adaptations that must begin in small communities as environmental changes overwhelm the cities.

We recognize that the survival of the biosphere requires a fundamental shift in the human relationship with nature. Our work is guided by the “Manifesto of the Initiation,” which advocates for a transition from pathological industrial expansion to a mature, reciprocal existence within our planetary limits. [Download the Manifesto here.]

We invite you to visit our virtual library, follow ongoing research updates on our blog, and join us in our commitment to ensuring a permanent place for life on Earth.

Leadership and Vision

The Alliance is led by its President, Garry Rogers, Ph.D., a biogeographer whose career has transitioned from UCLA and Columbia University to the front lines of conservation. Under Dr. Rogers’ stewardship, AFOSA has evolved into a key voice for ecological resilience. Dr. Rogers synthesizes his decades of experience in physical geography and climatology into conservation insights presented in nonfiction books and essays and award-winning science-fiction novels.

Coldwater Press: Our Voice

A significant amount of AFOSA’s work is disseminated by Coldwater Press, and made freely available on this site (downloads).

Corporate Information

Established: 2007
Tax Status: 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (2008)
EIN: 26-0378948
Address: PO Box 1011, Humboldt, AZ 86329
Email: grcoldh2o@gmail.com

History

Residents of the Agua Fria River basin together with representatives of federal, state, and county government representatives conceived and organized the Agua Fria Open Space Alliance (AFOSA) to protect natural open space. The organization’s founders named AFOSA after the Agua Fria River that flows south from Glassford Hill east of Prescott, Arizona, thru Coldwater Farm in Dewey-Humboldt, and on south to the Gila River west of Phoenix.

AFOSA Founding Directors (left to right): Joanne Johnson, Michael P. Randall, Jack Hamilton, Joanne Oellers, Garry Rogers.

The organization incorporated in 2007, and in 2008 received I.R.S. recognition as a tax-exempt Arizona nonprofit charity under section 501 (c) (3) of the U. S. Tax Code. Contributions are tax deductible. The company EIN is 26-0378948 and the Arizona Corporation Commission Entity I.D. is 13379415.

Some of AFOSA’s Founders and Members

AFOSA organized many activities including cleaning up public sites, removing weeds, and organizing local events. In 2007 AFOSA organized the Centennial Agua Fria Festival which included a parade (with the Wells Fargo stagecoach and an ultralight flyover), a hayride through town, games, food, and exhibits by government agencies, conservation organizations, and businesses.

Besides many local community activities, AFOSA,

helped create the Coldwater Farm Conservation Easement,
proposed the refugia management concept for the Sonoran Desert conservation (presented in 2023 to the 10^th International Fire Ecology Congress in Monterey, CA),
published 24 books on wildlife and biosphere decline,
prepared a series of lectures on communication techniques,
made 12 invited presentations at Arizona libraries,
organized many birding/wildlife tours,
published numerous articles in local newspapers,
submitted planning recommendations to local and national governments.