With the fate of the Territorial Prison hanging in the balance, the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area is doing everything in its power to raise money. Executive Director Charles Flynn is helping to lead the effort and believes the park can be locally run with the aid of 50,000 community dollars.

"A lot of people called in last week, especially business owners and restauranters, worried about losing the tourism draw," Flynn said.

Flynn plans to get the money he needs through a coalition of civic groups and ordinary people. Next week, he will release a more specific plan outlining community involvement ideas. Until then, other agencies are also worried about fallout from the prison closure, especially in the realm of marketing.

"We advertise internationally," said Bob Ingram, the Executive Director for the Yuma Visitors Bureau. "We advertise throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and other international locations as well."

Now, the race against time begins. The next 60 days will be the most important in determining the prison's fate.