As an area extension agent, Mark Apel works with community organizations, elected officials, ranchers, planners, and land owners in Cochise, Graham, Santa Cruz, and Pima counties, along with other faculty at the UA in the fields of land use planning, sustainable development and design, climate change, natural resources, and economic impacts. He employs a number of delivery methods to raise awareness and knowledge around these issues, including workshops, fact-sheets, web presence, and GIS modeling. This position focuses on public and environmental policy and education for decision makers and rural residents, most notably targeting rural areas impacted by exurbanism.