By Lara Kraft | VP, Co-Executive Director, Chairwoman
This year, we mark 31 years as a nonprofit: 31 years of saying yes when others couldn’t, 31 years of rewriting stories that once held different endings...
There are moments in our canyon when everything feels still—when spring light stretches across the stone, and the air carries birdsong through newly green branches.
But here at Keepers of the Wild, stillness is an illusion.
Because behind every quiet moment…there is constant care, constant rescue, constant fight.
And because of you, that work continues.
What You’ve Made Possible This Quarter
Your support hasn’t just helped. It has actively shaped lives.
Four Bear Cubs Given a Future
This season alone, we said yes to four orphaned black bear cubs—each one displaced by drought and human encroachment.
In Arizona, when cubs are left behind, there are very few places equipped to take them in.
We are one of them.
And right now, we are caring for 13 bears total—one of the largest bear populations in any sanctuary in the United States.
Because of you:
You’ll often hear me share that it costs about $45 per day to feed a bear.
But here’s what that really means:
That’s $585 per day to feed our bears alone.
Over $4,000 per week—just for food.
And when you zoom out—
We are caring for approximately 150 rescued animals across 49 species.
This is the scale of what you are sustaining.
Enrichment That Restores Instinct and Dignity
This quarter, we invested over $6,000 in specialized enrichment and an additional $3,300 in hoofstock enrichment.
These are not toys; they are tools of healing.
For animals who came from:
Enrichment is how we help them:
Because of you, our animals aren’t just existing.
They are engaging. Exploring. Becoming.
A New Chapter for Our Wolves
This quarter, we completed a major transition for our grey wolves, Skyca and Blueca.
They have been moved into a habitat nearly three times the size of their previous space.
This wasn’t a simple move—it required careful planning, veterinary oversight, and full team coordination.
But today?
They roam more.
They rest deeper.
They live more fully as wolves.
This is what sanctuary should look like.
Where the Mission Moves
Each day, our guided tours wind through the canyon along one of Route 66’s most striking stretches—where Northern Arizona’s high desert rises into stone cliffs, and spring returns in quiet, powerful ways.
Green pushes through the earth. Birds call from the trees. Bears climb, play, and stretch into the season.
And beneath the first full moon of spring, the wolves lift their voices—echoing through the canyon like something ancient remembering itself.
This is where our work lives.
Not as a roadside stop.
Not as entertainment.
But as education—felt, seen, and carried home.
Because what happens here changes people.
It’s the moment someone understands the difference between exploitation and sanctuary.
The moment a child sees a bear not as something to look at, but as someone to respect.
The moment a visitor leaves not just moved, but awakened.
This is how the mission moves.
And it moves on wheels.
Our tram—weathered, steadfast, and now decades old—has carried this work forward for over ten years in this canyon. It has climbed every turn in the road, held tens of thousands of conversations, and witnessed countless shifts in perspective.
It has done more than transport people.
It has carried understanding.
But time moves, even here.
And now, we are at a threshold.
We are working to raise $180,000 to replace it—not as an upgrade, but as a continuation of everything this mission depends on.
Because without it, the ripple quiets.
Fewer tours mean fewer minds changed.
Fewer visitors mean fewer resources for the animals who depend on us.
Fewer moments where someone truly understands why this work matters.
And right now, that understanding is needed more than ever.
Why This Moment Matters
We are approaching one of the most important days of our year:
Arizona Gives Day 2026
Spring is when the canyon comes alive, but it is also when giving slows. Donations dip. The calls for help do not.
More orphaned wildlife.
More emergency placements.
More animals with nowhere else to go.
Arizona Gives Day is the bridge between what is needed and what is possible.
It allows us to:
What Comes Next
Every rescue we take on…
every habitat we build…
every animal we say yes to…
Is a direct reflection of whether the support is there.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, there is no government funding behind our work. No safety net beneath it.
Only this:
A community that chooses, again and again, to stand in the gap.
From All of Us—Thank You
Because of you:
You are not just supporting a sanctuary.
You are fueling a mission that reaches far beyond this canyon.
You are part of every second chance that begins here.
Join Us on April 7
If you’ve ever wondered when your gift matters most—this is that moment.
Please stand with us on Arizona Gives Day and help us continue saying yes when it matters most.
With much gratitude and a wild heart,
Links:
By Lara Kraft | VP, Co-Executive Director, Chairwoman
By Lara Kraft | VP, Co-Executive Director, Chairwoman
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