Restoring Connections - Sonoran Joint Venture

In this issue:Madrean Archipelago BiodiversityAssessment: Amazing Results in itsFirst Three Years by Tom Van Devender 6

Biodiversity Assessment of the Moths of Rincón de Guadalupe, Sierra Bacadéhuachi, Sonora, Mexicoby John Palting 8

Documenting Diversity, a photo essayby Charles Hedgcock 10

The MABA Database: Shining a Lighton Sky Island Biodiversity by Nick Deyo 12

Flora of the Sonoran Sky Islands by Tom Van Devender 14

Amphibians and Reptiles of theSky Island Region by Jim Rorabaugh 16

Conserving Bird Diversity in the Madrean Archipelagoby Jennie Duberstein 18

PlusThrough the Director’s Lens by Melanie Emerson 2

Using Science for Conservation: How Sky Island Alliance Gets it Doneby Jessica Lamberton 3

Protecting our Mountain Islands & DesertSeas: Sky Island Alliance Program News 4

Sky Island Alliance and Allies ChallengeProposed Open-pit Mine in PatagoniaMountains by Jenny Neeley 15

BioBlitz: Bats, Rodents, and New Perspectives by Allie Gaither-Banchoff 17

Join the Tradition… Volunteer! 19

Restoring Connections

Vol. 15 Issue 1 Spring 2012 Newsletter of Sky Island Alliance

Sky IslandBiodiversity

Rainbow hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus rigidissimus).

Courtesy Tom Van Devender.

2 Spring 2012 Restoring Connections

Through the Director’s Lensby Melanie Emerson, Executive Director

This coming May 1-5, 2012, hundreds ofscientists and conservationists will come togetherfrom across the US, Mexico and the world toreport out on the state of Madrean Archipelagobiodiversity. During that week Tucson becomesthe hub of the most important dialogue on SkyIsland conservation in a decade. The MadreanConference will include highlights from the lastthree years of SIA’s Madrean ArchipelagoBiodiversity Assessment (MABA) effort andoutcomes, along with the exceptional work ofnumerous partners and colleagues all workingtoward the same goal: to better understand andprotect this magnificent region. I hope you canjoin us!

As the executive director of Sky Island Alliance, Iam frequently asked about what we do. CertainlyI deliver our rousing ‘elevator speech’—that 30-second spiel on our mission and approach toconservation. The 30 seconds that only whetsone’s appetite, piques one’s interest enough,hopefully, to ask more. And people almost alwaysdo. They hear “biodiversity” in our mission

statement and curiously ask, “Why is biodiversityso important?” How do we effectively answer thisquestion…as an organization, as scientists, and aconservation movement? What resonates withthe man on the plane sitting next to me? What iscompelling to the woman at the market, the gym,the coffee shop, the feed store? What isunderstandable to children at the Tucson Festivalof Books? These are all places and circumstanceswhere we interact with the broader public—howdo we answer, “Why biodiversity” in a way thatpermeates individuals’ experiences in the world?

We can talk about the known: The moth togrizzly connection at Yellowstone talus slopes orthe documentation of over 19,000 new species(from 2009 compilations)1.

We can talk about the unknown: Whatpercentage of life-saving medicines come fromnewly-discovered vascular plants, animals, fungiand bacteria?

We can talk about the ethereal: It’s important toknow that all these amazing living things are outthere and that we’re doing everything to keepthem alive and well, thriving in theirenvironments.

We can talk policy: We document because inorder to protect, we must know what species are

out there and where they are. We cannot protectcritical habitat for jaguar unless we know wherethey roam and reside.

We can talk in analogies: Components in asmartphone are (or should be!) there for aparticular purpose. To the non-technical theyinteract and create a functioning system capableof amazing things. I know what some of theparts are there for, such as the battery and thememory chip. I don’t know what most of thecomponent parts are though, and I can see thatthrough numerous interactions they comprise acomplex system with important outputs thatsupport my life (not so much in the physiologicalsense as the be-at-work-on-time sense). Theengineers and designers who develop thesedevices know why all the parts are there, how theyfit together and interact. They can diagnosewhat’s missing, wrong, firing incorrectly. Theyknow that every piece is critical to the device’sability to perform all its functions. And that is asystem that human ingenuity has created. Thenatural world is akin, but with millions of‘component parts’—species, ecosystems, naturalprocesses—and interactions that no engineer,designer, mechanic or scientist has yet named ordiscovered the countless complex relationships.

We should ALL be talking about biodiversity,in whatever way seems most accessible. Inorder to ensure our own safety net, to providenatural flexibility in a changing climate, to beliterally and figuratively closer to the place we callhome, we should be protecting the diversity of lifethat helps protect us. Please join us for five daysin May at the Madrean Conference to further thecritical conversation about Sky Islandbiodiversity.

It is through knowledge of the uniqueattributes of species that we illuminate theorigin and evolutionary history of life onour planet. As we find out where specieslive and how they interact, we increase ourability to understand the function ofecosystems and make effective, fact-baseddecisions regarding conservation.

— Quentin Wheeler, professor, School ofSustainability and Senior Sustainability Scientistat the Global Institute of Sustainability, ArizonaState University

12011 State of Observed Species (SOS) report releasedJan. 18 by the International Institute for SpeciesExploration at Arizona State University

It’s easy… and adds up

to make a real difference!

Donate just $10, $15, or $20 a month:

Monthly gifts add up to realconservation gains for the Sky Islands.

To start giving monthly, please call Keri at520.624.7080 x15 or click on the DONATE NOW

button at www.skyislandalliance.orgPhoto courtesy Chris Marzonie.

Sky Island Alliance www.skyislandalliance.org 3

Building New Bridges for WildlifeThis year, the Wildlife Linkages Program notonly celebrated its tenth year (look for thereport this spring!), but the funding approvalfor three wildlife crossing structures —including the second wildlife overpass to beconstructed in Arizona (see rendering below) —as part of a needed expansion of State Route(SR) 77 / Oracle Road in Oro Valley. Theseprojects were supported by the data andrecommendations Sky Island Alliancecontributed to the Arizona Wildlife LinkagesAssessment and SIA continued to watchdog theprocess, assuring funding agreements metdeadlines and the projectwas fully approved thoughthe design phase. Workingwith residents, weencouraged local volunteersin Sun City and RanchoVistoso to monitor wildlifein the backyards and in thefootprint the proposedwildlife crossings, providingbaseline monitoring beforeconstruction; documentingblack bear tracks in golfcourse sand traps;photographing badgers andbobcat kittens on remotecameras; and, effectively engaging neighbors inthe process. This success was confirmed when,in December 2011, a new project proposed bythe Tohono O’odham Nation that citedscientific data from the Arizona WildlifeLinkages Assessment gained final approval forRTA funding on SR 86 near Kitt Peak. Thisproject will consist of another two wildlifeunderpasses and a vegetated wildlife overpass,and is the first indication that the SR 77 wildlifecrossing project, scheduled to break ground in2013, is serving as a model for similar projectsin the rest of the region.

Wilderness and Protected LandsThe ultimate achievement of using science forconservation is the permanent protection ofhabitats, and therefore the permanentprotection of ecosystem processes and species.In addition to the protection of lands thoughthe Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan andother initiatives, we also seek to protect criticalblocks of core habitat that comprise a functionalwildlife linkage network and provide astronghold for many species. In the UnitedStates, the highest level of land protection

wildlands can acquire is the designation ofWilderness. Wildlife linkages between the SkyIsland mountain ranges strengthen the value ofWilderness, for without secure wildlife linkagesthe ecological health of a designated Wildernessis compromised, just as a wildlife linkagebecomes moot without the protected wildlandblocks it connects. Wildlife monitoring data andvolunteer advocacy have been instrumental indocumenting Wilderness-quality lands, buildingpublic support, and giving momentum in oureffort to introduce legislation to permanentlyprotect the Tumacacori Highlands and the Landof Legends (northern Chiricahua, Dragoon and

Whetstone Mountains) asdesignated Wilderness.As part of this long-term

effort, we have builtrelationships with localresidents, landowners andagency personnel, andprovided further supportof Wilderness designationby continuing to conductvegetation surveys,riparian restoration, roadclosures and wildlifemonitoring within theseareas.

In addition to this direct application of science,our wildlife monitoring data has also beenintegral to providing strong, accurate responsesfor emerging issues in ecosystem defense. Ourdetailed recommendations on scopingcomments for proposed Arizona Department ofTransportation and Federal HighwayAdministration projects has led to manyrecommendations being implemented wherewildlife movement could be facilitated byculvert improvements and other wildlifefriendly practices. In addition, we haveremained actively informed and engaged ontransportation infrastructure, mining and newenergy development projects, working tooppose the proposed Rosemont and Patagoniamines that would devastate a key wildlife blockand adversely affect its associated wildlifelinkages, inform decision making for theproposed SunZia transmission line routes, andmitigate and increase knowledge on the impactsto wildlife and habitats from borderinfrastructure and border related activities.

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Using Science for Conservation: How Sky Island Alliance Gets it Doneby Jessica Lamberton, Wildlife Linkages Program Coordinator

StaffMelanie Emerson Executive Director

[email protected]

Acasia Berry Associate [email protected]

Jenny Neeley Conservation Policy [email protected]

Keri Dixon Development [email protected]

Jessica Lamberton Wildlife Linkages ProgramCoordinator [email protected]

Julie St. John Newsletter Editor & [email protected]

Louise Misztal Conservation Policy ProgramCoordinator [email protected]

Maggie Trinkle Finance & Operations [email protected]

Nick Deyo MABA Project [email protected]

Rod Mondt Protected Lands Program [email protected]

Sarah Williams Volunteer & Outreach [email protected]

Sergio Avila Northern Mexico Conservation ProgramManager [email protected]

Tom Van Devender MABA Project [email protected]

Trevor Hare Landscape Restoration Program [email protected]

www.skyislandalliance.org520.624.7080 � fax 520.791.7709

[email protected] Box 41165, Tucson, AZ 85717

BoardDick Krueger President

Steve Marlatt Vice President Patricia Frederick Secretary

Carol Cullen Treasurer

Alberto Búrquez Ana CórdovaKevin Dahl Howard Frederick

Kevin Gaither-Banchoff Sadie HadleyAdrián Quijada Peter Warshall

Sky Island Alliance serves on the Pima

County Regional Transportation Authority

(RTA) Wildlife Connectivity Workgroup,

helping to direct dedicated funds to priority

linkage projects in the county. Renderingcourtesy Coalition for Sonoran DesertProtection.


Madrean Archipelago BiodiversityAssessment (MABA) by Nick Deyo

The winter months find many of the Sky Islandflora and fauna in a dormant state — reptileshibernate in their burrows and most perennialplants are not flowering, making them difficult toidentify. MABA expeditions typically take advantageof the abundance of species found during the rainsof late summer, so for now the field season hasended. Yet MABA staff remain hard at work, addingspecies records to MABA’s online database,promoting the MABA project in Mexico, andpreparing for the upcoming Madrean Conference(see below) in May.

The MABA online database (www.madrean.org) isthe most comprehensive source of biodiversityinformation for the Sky Island region — aninvaluable resource for researchers andconservationists. This virtual Flora and Faunahouses species records collected on MABAexpeditions to Mexican Sky Islands, as well ashundreds of thousands of other plant and animalrecords compiled from herbaria, museumcollections, and scientific literature. Aside fromstoring species records, the MABA database offersdynamic tools, which can automatically generatespecies lists and taxonomic keys. The database isalways growing — since this past September 1,794animal records and 45,806 plant records wereadded. The majority of new plant records camefrom Turner, Bowers, and Burgess’s Sonoran DesertPlants: An Ecological Atlas — an importantecological text, previously unavailable as a webdatabase.

In November, MABA staff gave two presentationsentitled “Documentación de la Biodiversidad delArchipiélago Madrense” as well as hands-onworkshops using MABA’s online database at twobiology conferences held in Hermosillo, Sonora —the VI Congreso Universitario de Biología at theUniversity of Sonora and the II Congreso de Ecologíaat the Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado deSonora (CESUES). The talks and workshopsreached several hundred students and researchers,and elicited a great deal of excitement about theMABA database and expeditions. Participation inthese two conferences will build an even largernetwork of bi-national collaborators studying andconserving the biodiversity of the Mexican SkyIslands.

The third Biodiversity & Management of theMadrean Archipelago conference will be held inTucson, May 1–5, 2012, marking a significantmilestone for the MABA project. Previous Madrean

Conferences were held in 1994 and 2004,each concluded there was a lack of dataabout biodiversity which is necessary to supportthe management and conservation of thisspectacular region, particularly in Mexico. MABAwas created by Sky Island Alliance with supportfrom the Veolia Environment Foundation to fill thisdata gap. If conference participation is used togauge MABA’s success, the program has succeededgreatly. Conference organizers Dr. Tom VanDevender and former SIA Board member DaleTurner have received 22 abstracts for papers andpresentations from MABA staff and volunteers.MABA project manager Dr. Tom Van Devender willbe presenting a keynote speech on the evolution ofthe MABA project. Other topics include JohnPalting’s “Moths of Rincón de Guadalupe, Sonora:The Dresden-Bacadéhuachi connection” (seerelated article page 8) and Robert Villa’s“Comparison of the herpetofauna of the Sierras dela Madera and Bacadéhuachi with the Yécorafauna.” This conference will be an exciting event forMABA, for Sky Island Alliance, and for science inthe region.

Conservation Policy Programby Jenny Neeley

Sky Island Alliance continues to be a leader in thefight against the Rosemont Mine which threatens todevastate the Santa Rita Mountains. The minewould trash thousands of acres of wildlife habitat,obliterate over 1,300 acres of riparian areasincluding the headwaters of Davidson Canyon, anddraw down and pollute the Santa Cruz aquifer,increase regional air pollution and destroynumerous cultural resources. In October 2011, theCoronado National Forest released the DraftEnvironmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for theproject and accepted public comments throughJanuary 31, 2012. In addition to submitting robust,science-based comments opposing the project, SIAstaff and volunteers attended public meetings, helda public comment-writing workshop, andencouraged our members to submit their owncomments through regular enews updates andaction alerts.

And the fight is not over yet! The DEIS is only oneof many local, state, and federal regulatoryapprovals that Rosemont Copper must receivebefore it can move forward. SIA continues toengage in every one of these battles to ensure thisharmful proposal never becomes reality.

As part of Sky Island Alliance’s ambitious climatechange adaptation project, we continue to work

with land management agencies to implementprojects identified during our ongoing series ofworkshops and designed to increase the ability ofagencies to address landscape-level changesresulting from a warming climate. With fundingfrom the Desert Landscape ConservationCooperative, Sky Island Alliance initiated a projectto inventory and assess springs and seeps in the SkyIsland region. These resources are critical tosupporting wildlife and biological diversity in theregion and are becoming increasingly importantrefugia as the climate warms. Working with trainedvolunteers and a variety of agency, county, non-governmental organizations and other partners, wewill develop a better understanding of the locationand importance of springs and seeps, and willrestore these waters so they can best support theplant and animal species that depend on them.

Northern Mexico Conservation Programby Sergio Avila

The final weeks of 2011 were of heightenedexcitement when jaguar and ocelot sightings insouthern Arizona were reported — the news evenmade it to the New York Times! (December 4, 2011).First, a jaguar sighting in Cochise County wasreported by a hunter; then a months-old report ofan aerial sighting of a jaguar in the Santa RitaMountains by a helicopter pilot, was deemed‘credible’ by the Arizona Game and FishDepartment (AZGFD). Finally, in early DecemberAZGFD officials reported an ocelot sighting,releasing the photo of a spotted cat. During thesereports, SIA staff received calls, offered feedback,talked to the media and shared opinions regardingthe three reports. The jaguar in Cochise County wasproven by photos and video; the second sightingwas only a description of a “large spotted cat.” Thethird turned out to be a misidentification on thepart of AZGFD.

Each of these reports, accompanied or not bysupporting evidence, is typical of those we receiveat SIA. Each time we remind ourselves that, evenwith trained eyes, adequate descriptions and goodintentions, not all reports turn out to be credible,provable or real. The need for evidence that cansupport our observations is fundamental for ascience-based organization: a photo, a track, scat orkill, a detailed observation of behavior, and other

Protecting Our Mountain Islands and Desert Seas…Sky Island Alliance’s dedicated staff advance the organization’s goals every day — in the field with volunteers, around the map table planning strategies, in the office, at community meetings, reaching out to Sky Island residents… you name it. If it’s important to the Sky Island region, we are there. We hope you’re inspired — let us know!


useful information such as location, habitat type, ortime of the day. A combination of observations andcorroborating evidence is desired. We do appreciatepeople taking the time and effort to let us knowwhat they’ve seen; so thank you for that.

Back at the office, we have been sharing ourbiological information for very urgent, pressingthreats such as mining projects, specifically in theSanta Rita and the Patagonia Mountains. Inaddition to public comment-writing workshops,numerous meetings and other work, SIA staff hasspent considerable time going over the 1,100 pagesof the Draft Environmental Impact Statement forproposed Rosemont Copper project in the SantaRita Mountains. Additionally, we have also writtencomments in response to a Biological Assessmentfor the Hardshell Exploration Drilling project in thePatagonia Mountains. Staving off both miningprojects presents an opportunity to utilize and sharethe wealth of biological information staff andvolunteers have gathered throughout the years. Wesee it as our responsibility to inform thecorresponding agencies and other organizations,and make sure we protect, maintain and restore theplants and animals that call our Sky Islands home.These mining projects are NOT a done deal; thefight continues.

Similarly, several staff members submitted abstractsfor the Third Madrean Conference to be held inTucson on May 2012. I will be presenting resultsfrom our remote camera surveys in northernMexico, and from our border mapping project. Weare excited to present the results of our projects atthis conference, shedding light on the species thatlive in the region.

Protected Lands Programby Rod Mondt

It’s the start of a New Year and Wilderness, as amajor component in the protection of regionalbiological diversity, remains integral to the SkyIsland Alliance agenda. Our areas of interest featureoutstanding Wilderness attributes and clearlyqualify for designation: Protecting these areas servesto provide core habitat and overall biodiversity.With that in mind, our goal continues to be theestablishment of Wilderness in Cochise andSouthern Pima County.

While the Tumacacori Highlands Campaignremains on hold, the Land of Legends Wilderness

Campaign gathers increasing support amongCochise County business leaders and user groups.One piece of good news is the Forest Service hasrecommended the Northern Chiricahua Mountainsfor Wilderness in the new Forest Plan. While theyjump from one completion date to the next, we aregoing all-out to convince them to include theWhetstones and the Dragoons. We continue toengage our public officials and local residents bymaking presentations and building support withour partner conservation organizations.

This remains an important opportunity to protectthe most biologically and culturally diverse pieces ofArizona as it was and as it remains to this day.

Wildlife Linkages Programby Jessica Lamberton

A new year means bigger and better things from theWildlife Linkages Program!

In conclusion of the program’s 10th anniversary, thelong-awaited 2001-2011 Wildlife Linkages ProgramReport was released, beautifully designed by ourvery own Julie St. John, and includescontributions from some of theprogram’s founders: Janice Przybyl,Roseann Hanson and Susan Morse. The2012 survey schedule was also releasedwith changes to improve our studydesign so that surveys occur on the sameweekends every year. Trackingvolunteers can look forward to learningmore about these and other newimprovements during our FebruaryTracking refresher training to be held atthe Amerind Museum in Dragoon, AZ.

Outreach at the Bisbee 1000 Stair Climb,and at the Saguaro National ParkBioBlitz was successful, as well as fun! Atthe 2011 Saguaro National Park BioBlitz,we participated with remote cameramonitoring and wildlife track surveyswith middle school groups, conductedour own track count survey with a teamof exceptional volunteer trackers, ran atable at the event, provided “BiodiversityUniversity” learning activities and gave atalk on wild cats of the region. SkyIsland Alliance was listed as one of theevent sponsors because we were soinvolved in making the event successful.

Thanks to the stellar efforts of volunteers in SunCity, we have an amazing amount of tracking dataand remote camera photos of backyard bobcats andother species moving between the Catalina andTortolita Mountains. Their data is being analyzedwith nearby track count information by JonathanReed, a University of Arizona student and internwith Sky Island Alliance. Student intern MeaganBethel has also been busy in the office, analyzingwildlife response to fire using remote camera data.

We continue to build on the small tasks andsuccesses that make up everything we do forwildlife connectivity in the region… and there isgood reason to celebrate! Three wildlife crossingstructures including another wildlife overpass alongState Route 86 near Kitt Peak have been approvedfor funding by the Pima County RegionalTransportation Authority. This project wasproposed by the Tohono O’odham Nation andsupported by data from the Arizona WildlifeLinkages Assessment. As we hoped, the Oracle Road

continued on page 19

Sky Island Alliance is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the rich natural heritage of native species and habitats in the Sky Island region of the southwestern

United States and northwestern Mexico. Sky Island Alliance works with volunteers, scientists, land owners, public officials and government agencies to establish protected areas, restore

healthy landscapes and promote public appreciation of the region’s unique biological diversity.

Founders Fund is aSuccess—Thank you!Thanks to your membership support, we far exceeded

Sky Island Alliance’s fundraising goal for the 20th

Anniversary Founders Fund! Our sincere appreciation

goes out to our Founders and challenge donors for

speaking out and asking the community to help make

more of our great work possible. And many thanks to

those of you who contributed or invited a friend or

colleague to participate. Through donations over the past

year and attendance at our benefit concert with R.

Carlos Nakai and Gabriel Ayala, over 200 members

made gifts from $10 to $10,000. All of you are helping

launch our next decade by supporting this fund. In total,

you helped us raise over $106,000, exceeding our goal

and making sure we finished our 20th anniversary year

strong. Your support will keep SIA initiatives thriving

and growing. We are grateful for your help so that we

may keep working to deepen and broaden support for

our work and community engagement in conservation.


Madrean Archipelago Biodiversity Assessment: Amazing Results its First Three Years by Tom Van Devender, MABA Project Manager.

On the second United States-MexicoBoundary Survey in 1892-93, LieutenantDavid Gaillard took detailed notes on thenatural history of the borderlands includingthe Sierra San Luis and Cajón Bonito innortheastern Sonora. He described theregion as “bare, jagged mountains rising outof the plains like islands from the sea”. Thegenus of the blanket flowers (Gaillardia) isnamed in his honor. In 1951 in NaturalHistory magazine, Weldon Heald, a residentof the Chiricahua Mountains, named theseranges “sky islands,” evoking the image ofcontinental islands emergent from inlandseas of desert grassland or desertscrub. FredGehlbach’s 1981 book Mountain Islands andDesert Seas. A Natural History of the U.S.-Mexican Borderlands stimulated interest inthe southwestern United States. His use of“desert seas” was rhetorical and includedlowland grasslands and Chihuahuandesertscrub. In 1992, University of Arizonaherpetologist and ecologist Charles Lowecoined the term “Madrean Archipelago” forthe isolated ranges between the SierraMadre Occidental in Sonora and theMogollon Rim in central Arizona. Todayboth Madrean Archipelago and Sky Islandregion are used to describe this important area.

In 1995, Peter Warshall and Steve McLaughlinestimated that there were about 40 Sky Islandranges in the Madrean Archipelago. Based on thecriteria of an isolated mountainous area withcrowns of oak woodland or pine-oak forest, Iidentified 52 Sky Island ranges and complexes onBrown and Lowe’s 1982 map of the bioticcommunities of the Southwest. In Sonora, thereare 36 Sky Island ranges or complexes of rangesconnected by oak woodland above about 1,100 m(3,600 ft) elevation. Our current view of the SkyIsland region extends west to the Sierra El Humosouth of Sásabe and south to the Sierra Mazatánand Sierra San Javier east of Hermosillo. In thisarea the ‘desert seas’ surrounding the Sky Islandsare desert grassland and Chihuahuan andSonoran desertscrub in the north, foothillsthornscrub farther south, and tropical deciduousforest around the Sierra San Javier.

The Madrean Archipelago is one of the greatestbiotic convergence zones in the world. Speciescharacteristic of temperate woodlands and forestsof the Sierra Madre Occidental and RockyMountains, tropical deciduous forest andthornscrub from the south, Great Plainsgrasslands and Chihuahuan desertscrub from theeast, and Sonoran desertscrub from the westcome together in northeastern Sonora. The

transition from the New World tropics tonorthern temperate zone is in eastern Sonora atabout 29°N to 30°N latitude. Foothills thornscrubextends farther north in finger-like tributaries ofthe Río Bavispe (Yaqui) drainage, where sometropical plants and animals reach their northernrange limits in southeastern Arizona andsouthwestern New Mexico.

The 1994 symposium Biodiversity andManagement of the Madrean Archipelago. The SkyIslands of Southwestern United States andNorthwestern Mexico and its sequel in 2004,brought together lots of information on the biota,land management, conservation, etc. for the SkyIsland region, but mostly north of the border. The2010 Diversidad Biológica de Sonora edited bymyself and Francisco Molina-Freaner andsponsored by Sky Island Alliance, summarizedthe current knowledge for Sonora of all plantsand animals, geology, land use, conservation, andmuch more. More important, the book is astarting point for future ecological research in thestate.

The Madrean Archipelago BiodiversityAssessment (MABA) program at Sky IslandAlliance began in April 2009 with funding fromthe French-based, Veolia EnvironmentFoundation, US National Park Service, and theTurner Foundation. This is a visionary project to

document the distributions of all plants andanimals in the Sky Island region of northeasternSonora and adjacent Chihuahua. The first threeyears of MABA have been a resounding success. Iwas hired as Manager in May 2009. The skills andinitiative of past Project Coordinators MarkTrinks and Caroline Patrick, and currentcoordinator Nick Deyo and the support of SIA

above View to Sierra San José, Sonora, and the

Huachuca Mountains, Arizona. The US/Mexico border

passes between them. Courtesy the author.

below Map of the biotic affinities of the Madrean

Archipelago. Courtesy Sky Jacobs.


staff Sergio Avila, Melanie Emerson, AcasiaBerry, Sky Jacobs, and Trevor Hare have movedthe project along at coachwhip escape speed. EdGilbert, our database guru, has programmed,massaged, tweaked, and badgered the MABAdatabase into an incredibly useful regionalresource.

Expeditions to gather new biologicalobservations in the Madrean Archipelago inSonora are not new. Barry Campbell andStephen S. White of the University of Michiganexplored the Río Bavispe Region innortheastern Sonora in search of amphibians,reptiles, and plants from 1935 to 1941. JoeMarshall studied birds and vegetation in theSky Islands of Arizona, Sonora, and Chihuahuafrom 1952 to 1961.

Beginning in the early 1990s, about the sametime that Sky Island Alliance advocated its wayinto existence, future Sky Islanders were alreadygoing on expeditions. Founders Mark Fishbein,Richard Felger, and Dale Turner, along with JimMalusa, inventoried plants in the Sierra de losAjos in 1992. Turner, Cecil Schwalbe, and CarlOlson returned to document animals in 1998.Ana Lilia Reina-Guerrero and I began studyingthe Sierra Madre Occidental baseline flora ofthe Municipio de Yécora in the eastern Sonorain 1995. Bob Minckley began to collect beesand plants on Rancho San Bernardino east ofAgua Prieta in 2000. Aaron Flesch and SkyJacobs have been documenting the birds on SkyIsland mountaintops since the early 2000s.Turner, Erik Enderson, and Steve Hale went tothe Sierra de la Madera (Oposura) to observeherpetofauna in 2003.

Plant and animal observations were made onMABA Expeditions to the Sierra San Luis(September 2009), Sierra el Tigre (March2010), Sierra de la Madera (August 2010),Ciénega de Saracachi-Sierra San Antonio (May2011), and Sierra Bacadéhuachi (August 2011).These expeditions were remarkable

international events with 25-45participants, including MABAscientists, agency biologists,university professors and students,photographers, journalists, andvolunteers.

The increase in knowledge about theSonoran part of the Madrean Archipelago hasbeen dramatic. The MABA database(Madrean.org) is still developing, but is alreadya powerful analytical tool. There are currently37,705 plant observations from the Sky Islandregion in northeastern Sonora in about 2,700taxa — a whopping 73% of the state flora!There are 32,130 animal observations from theSky Island region in the database, but thenumber of taxa is difficult to say because insectnames are poorly covered in the IntegratedTaxonomic Information System. There are 38taxa of freshwater fishes in the Sky Islandregion, 13 (34.2%) of them non-native.Arthropods are very numerous and poorlycollected in Sonora, with ca. 4,000 observationsin the Sky Island region in ca. 1,380 taxa.Better-known groups are Lepidoptera (mothsand butterflies, ca. 620 taxa), Odonata(damselflies and dragon flies, 65 taxa), andFormicidae (ants, 53 taxa). Jim Rorabaugh lists143 species of amphibians in the entireMadrean Archipelago. My tally for the Sonoranportion is 106 taxa, with another 26 SierraMadre Occidental in eastern Sonora. There are553 species of birds in Sonora in the databasewith 358 species (61.1%) of them in the SkyIsland region. For mammals, there are 73 taxarecorded from the Sonoran MadreanArchipelago, although the dataset is not ascomplete as with other vertebrates. The ThirdMadrean Archipelago Conference in May 2012will, in part, be a celebration of these activities,successes, and advances.

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Cosponsors Ajos-Bavispe CONANP Reserve, Universidadde Sonora, Universidad de la Sierra, and Comisión deEcología y Desarrollo Sustentable del Estado de Sonora

Field scientists Ana Lilia Reina-G., Jesús Sánchez-E.,Socorro González, Gertrudis Yanes-A., María de la PazMontañez-A., George Ferguson, George Yatskievych,John Anderson, Barbara Phillips, Laura Moser, and EdGilbert (plants); John Palting, Justin Schmidt, Nico Franz,Kim Franklin, and Robert Johnson (insects); Wayne, Amy,and Martha Van Devender (land snails); Alejandro Varela(fish); Dale Turner, Martín Villa, and Steve Hale (herps);Eric Wallace, Trevor Hare, and Van Clothier (frogs, aquatichabitats, restoration); Sky Jacobs and Carl Tomoff (birds);and Horacio Cabrera, Sandy Doumas, Maggie Fusari, andRoseann and Jonathan Hanson (mammals)

Scientists who helped with identification after trips

Richard Bailowitz and Jim Brock (butterflies, odonates),Carl Olson (general ‘bugs’), and Robert Behrstock(grasshoppers)

Volunteers Cynthia Wolf, David Bygott, GracielaRobinson, Tim Cook, Dick Kreuger, Terry Gustafson, andmany more

Photographers Chip Hedgcock and Frank Rose

Robert Villa wowed us with his solo violin inside colonialchurches in Bacadéhuachi and Granados

Enrique Yescas (SonoraEs), Chris Marzonie (OverlandJournal), and Roseann and Jonathan Hanson (Terra)wrote stirring accounts of the expeditions in theirpublications

Thanks to ALL of you and of course to the Veolia Environment Foundation for their continued support

left View to the north from the Sierra de los Ajos, 1992. Courtesy Dale Turner. right MABA Expedition group in Rincón de Guadalupe, August 2011. Courtesy Chris Marzonie.

above from left Selected species inventoried in the Sierra

Bacadéhuachi: Adelaide jewel beetle (Chrysina Adelaide),

Chihuahua earth snake (Geophis dugesi), and clearwing

moth (Pseudohemihyalea edwardsii). Courtesy Tom Van

Devender and George Ferguson.


Biodiversity Assessment of the Moths of El Rincón de Guadalupe,Sierra Bacadéhuachi, Sonora, Mexico by John Palting

With the human population eclipsing the 7billion mark, the need to identify, bioinventory,and preserve the last wild places on the planet isbecoming increasingly urgent. This is exactly themission of MABA, right here in the Sky Islands ofthe southwest US and Mexico. The SierraBacadéhuachi, near Moctezuma, Sonora wasidentified by MABA director Tom Van Devenderas an area with few biological records andpotential high diversity, separate but near themain Sierra Madre. In the midst of this relativelyunexplored range, the Catholic Diocese of Sonorahad built a retreat to escape political persecutionearlier in the century and still owns the 7000 acreproperty today. El Rincón de Guadalupe is one ofthose special places where humans have touchedthe land lightly and created a wonderfulcompound of shelter in the midst of unspoilednatural beauty — the perfect venue for bothspiritual and scientific investigation. Built andrebuilt between 1920-1940, the hand-hewn stonebuildings were clearly made with great love andthe whole compound blends in beautifully withthe surroundings, many of the stones nowsporting a lovely veneer of lichens, mosses andferns that only comes with time. The history ofthe compound is in itself quite interesting and thebuildings have a wonderful and comfortingpresence, from the library to the small chapel tothe panadería, where the daily bread was baked ina wood-fired oven. The primitive road into ElRincón is just difficult enough to limit visitation,but not too difficult with 4 wheel drive vehicles topass. The road climbs rather abruptly, going fromdesert scrub to oaks and finally pines in about 10miles.

I had the privilege of visiting El Rincón twice in2011 as part of Sky Island Alliance’s MABAinitiative, first in early August and a second time

in early September. The moth fauna encounteredwas dramatically different on each trip, with theAugust visit being particularly rich in members ofthe moth families Saturniidae (silk moths),Sphingidae (hawk moths) and Arctiidae (tigermoths). The second visit a month later wasparticularly rich in Noctuidae (cutworm moths),particularly those families and genera that feed onflowers. In fact, botanical sampling of plants inthe flowering stages was the goal of the secondexpedition for Tom Van Devender, who felt manyimportant botanical records were missed on thefirst trip because the plants weren’t far enoughalong in their development. On this second tripthe moths told us we were there at the right time.

The first visit was an official MABA expedition,actually the largest MABA expedition to date,with over 40 participants. Logistically, I’m sure itwas a challenge, but the facility seemed toaccommodate the large group comfortably, andthe participants owe a debt of gratitude to Tomand Enrique Yescas, editor of Sonora Es magazine,for arranging the wonderful accommodation. Ichose the panadería as my base of operations forcollecting and curating moths, as it offered someoverhead protection from afternoonthunderstorms. Making a biological inventory ofmoths is a challenge, as most moths are strictlynocturnal, and often exhibit temporal phenologythroughout the night, with different species flyingat different times. Thus, one must spend nearlythe whole night checking the lights in order toassemble a relatively complete picture of what isthere. This is followed by spreading and dryingmany of the specimens, a critical step which alsohelps one recognize subtle differences in speciesthat might otherwise be overlooked while they areflying about the lights. I usually spend all nightcollecting and all day pinning the material,

followed by another all night of collecting andanother day of pinning…eventually, most of thefaces around the lights start to look familiar, atwhich point one feels exhausted but confidentthey have done a pretty good job making abioinventory.

Identified taxa from the first trip to El Rincónstands around 205 species, which are allobservations in the MABA database. Collectingseveral specimens is ideal for unknown species, asmoths are so diverse that one must often mailspecimens to various experts around the worldfor determination, and some require genitalicdissection in order to make a definitedetermination. One of the great surprises of theAugust 2011 expedition was the number oftropical taxa more typically associated withtropical deciduous forests that were flying amongthe pines of El Rincón. These included theextremely large, tailed Saturniid mothDysdaemonia boreas, a common monsoon speciesaround Álamos where the larval foodplants in thefamily Bombacaceae occur, but certainly notexpected in the pines so far north. Another totallyunexpected saturniid moth was Copaxa rufinans,which was previously thought to be restricted toextreme southeast Sonora, where the caterpillarsfeed on plants in the family Lauraceae. LikeBombacaceae, plants in this family wereseemingly absent, yet the moth was there —evidently coming from somewhere nearby thatheld a pocket of tropical vegetation. Alsorecorded were tropical Sphingids Xylophanesceratomoides and X. tersa, and one of the largesttropical Sphinx moths, the Forestiera-feedingSphinx leucophaeta. A single specimen of themetallic, tropical wasp-mimic tiger moth,Phoenicoprocta lydia, was also an unexpectedrecord. Northern range extensions for several

above Eupackardia caletta (Calleta Silkmoth) specimens collected in El Rincón de Guadalupe in August (left) and September (right). Courtesy Tom Van Devender.


species more typical of the Yécora plateau, 120kilometers farther south, were also a surprise:Copaxa muellerana, Coloradia prchali (bothsaturniids, the latter named in honor of StevePrchal, founder of Sonoran Arthropod StudiesInstitute), Epicrisias eschara, Ammalo nr.paranomon, two species of Amastus (all arctiidae,Tiger Moths) show the association of this areawith the main Sierra Madre Occidental. Anoteworthy southern record of the large silkmothHyalophora gloveri was also obtained — center ofdistribution for this moth is the RockyMountains, with only a handful of Sonoranrecords.

While noctuids (cutworm moths) were notparticularly abundant in August, some of thosethat were collected were important records andseveral are thought to represent new, undescribedspecies. A new species of Richia nr. cofrensis wascollected, along with possibly new Licnoptera nr.illudens, a new Bryolymnia nr. biformata and twopossibly new Zale sp. (one nr. obsita, another nr.sabina). All of these moths are currently withDon Lafontaine, a noctuid expert at the CanadianNational Collection in Ottawa, being barcodedfor DNA. Specimens of Paraceliptera guerreronisand the beautiful shiny white Chasmina mexicanacollected on the August trip also proved to bevery exciting. Both of these moths were describedearlier in the 1900s from much farther south inMexico by the German lepidopterist M. Draudtand figured in the famous German lithographseries on Lepidoptera by A. Seitz. The originaltype specimens, the only actual specimens ofthese moths known, were destroyed in WWIIwhen Dresden, Germany was bombed by theAllies in February of 1945. The specimenscollected at El Rincón represent the firstspecimens collected since the types. In additionto noctuids, two undescribed species of limacodidmoths (slug moths) were collected at El Rincón.Specimens of these moths have been sent to Dr.Marc Epstein in Sacramento, CA, a world experton this family. For just a few nights of sampling atEl Rincón, there were as many as 12 moths thatare new to science and many incredible records,demonstrating what a special place this is. Theconvergence of Rocky Mountain species, SierraMadre Occidental specialty species, and tropicalspecies at the northern edge of their range wasstriking. A very exciting non-moth record from ElRincón was the metallic green and copperChrysina adelaida, a scarab beetle more associatedwith the mesic pine forests of Chihuahua, withjust a few Sonora records near Yécora — yetanother species indicating how unusual the site ofEl Rincón is.

The September 2011 “return to El Rincón” was amuch smaller group of 3 vehicles. The tranquilityof the place was more evident this time, and themoths were just as exciting. Virtually all of the

“giant moths” seen a month earlier were absent,as were most of the tropical species. Instead, therewas an explosion of smaller moths, with thenumber of identified taxa this time coming to214. The most amazing assemblage of speciesbelong to the noctuid subfamily Acontiinae,which are best known as the “bird droppingmoths”. Many species in this group are mottledblack and white and spend the day perched onthe upper surface of leaves, looking like dry birddroppings. A whopping 37 species in severalclosely related genera of acotiines were recordedat El Rincón, the most I had encounteredanywhere. Other exceptional diversity was notedin the noctuid family Steriinae, with these feedingas caterpillar in the flower heads of composites.Particularly abundant was the bright orange“Goldenrod moth”, Cirrhophanus dyari, a mothnever encountered in large number is Arizona,but here well over 100 showed up at the lights.Another undescribed noctuid was collected onthis second trip, this one in the genus Charadranr. moneta. Specimens of this moth were sent toChris Schmidt in Canada, who just last yearrevised the genus north of Mexico, whoconfirmed the moth as a new species. Anadditional specimen of the rare Chasminamexicana and additional records of Chrysinaadelaida were also obtained.

As the fall season had arrived by our Septembertrip, caterpillars from the previous month’s burstof moth activity were especially evident. TheCeanothus buxifolius bushes around thecompound were virtually denuded by the gaudycaterpillars of the Notodontid (Prominent moth)Crinotes beidermani, black with bright red legs,false “eyespots” and a spiderweb network ofbright yellow. When frightened, the caterpillarsarch their bodies in a menacing way, exposing thefalse eyespots and red prolegs like the mouth of amonster — if this fails to deter harassment, theyregurgitate a transluscent blue “goo” all overthemselves (that really looks like AIMtoothpaste). If left alone, they eat the goo andresume feeding. Another caterpillar delight was

the Christmas-colored larvae of the silkmothEupackardia caletta, collected for us by a localcowboy on Rhusaromatica, a previouslyunrecorded food plant for this moth. While inArizona, desert populations of this moth feed onocotillo, this mountain population exploits a verydifferent plant. These and other photogeniccaterpillars rounded out another extraordinarilyproductive MABA trip to El Rincón.

With over 400 taxa of moths recorded from twobrief expeditions to El Rincón de Guadalupe, onecan safely extrapolate that the species diversityexceeds even that of the richest localities in theUS, the Huachucas Mountains of southeasternArizona being one such site, with 1,500 moth taxarecorded. The wonderful biodiversity of thislocality, including an unusual number ofundescribed taxa, combined with the naturalbeauty and historic value, makes this a standoutfor protection for future generations. In part, thissort of recognition was the goal of EnriqueYescas, who arranged with the Catholic Dioceseof Sonora to allow us to visit the site, and who isadvocating that the area be offered permanentprotection. Participants from both sides of theborder came away with a deep appreciation ofwhat a special biological refugium the Sierra deBacadéhuachi and El Rincón represents.

Much more than just an exercise in documentingbiodiversity of the Sky Island region, MABA hascreated a wonderful venue for collaborationbetween scientists, students, teachers andconcerned individuals on both sides of theborder. More than half of the participants on theAugust El Rincón expedition were from Mexico,including students and teachers from UNAM andUNISIERRA. Friendships forged on MABAexpeditions will undoubtedly help futureconservation efforts, lead to collaborations andhelp ensure unique Sky Island localities like ElRincón remain for future generations to enjoy.Documenting what is there is just the first step.

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from left John spent countless hours in la panaderia and at the three collection sheets collecting, preserving,

and routinely calling out new species. Courtesy Chip Hedgcock.


I was incredibly fortunate to beinvited to participate in the very firstMABA expedition in September of2009. My assigned role would be touse my skills as a biologicalphotographer to produce photovouchers of reptiles, amphibians andinvertebrates discovered during thetrip. Along with documentinganimals in the field, I would alsophotograph animals brought back tocamp by other members of theexpedition. These animals werephotographed with temporary studiosetups and then returned to the placeof capture for release unharmed.

Photo vouchers are photographicdocumentation of the various speciesfound. They work around the needfor special permits that are typicallyrequired — and increasingly difficultto obtain — for collecting andtransporting specimens betweencountries. Permits for rare,threatened, or sensitive species areespecially difficult to procure. To beused in this fashion, photo vouchersmust therefore show diagnosticcharacteristics of each specimen withenough detail for positiveidentification.

Instead of collecting a physicalspecimen from the field and storingit, pickled in a jar on a shelfsomewhere, careful photographicdocumentation of animals is nowaccepted. In fact, photographs areoften preferred by curators sincedigital files take up such a smallamount of space and have relativelylittle maintenance.

As well as taking photo vouchers, Idecided that I would also try todocument the entire event — thebiologist working in the field, varioushabitat types encountered, and prettymuch everything and anything that Ifelt was relevant to the project andmight be useful for helping SkyIsland Alliance tell this amazingstory. It must have worked, they keptinviting me back.

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DocumentingDiversity by Charles “Chip” Hedgcock

Voucher photographs of many animals were

taken immediately upon capture, before the animal might have an opportunity to escape (see Striped plateau lizard

above). While not the most aesthetically pleasing, images like these provide enough information to positively identify

the animal to species. Some animals were retained over night, returned to the point of capture in the cooler morning

hours. There, with the animals more subdued, “Beauty shots” were attempted that captured the animal in situ during

their release (see Green rat snake next page). Some animals, like the Mountain skink (next page) were brought in by

other members of the MABA field team. Captured animals were photographed in an impromptu studio. After being

documented, they were returned to the point of capture and released back into their environment.Data collected for

each animal were transferred to voucher sheets. These individual Voucher sheets were saved as a Word document and,

along with the voucher image files, placed in a folder. Each animal then had its own folder and the whole set were

burned to a DVD and delivered to both the University of Arizona’s herpetology collection and Sky Island Alliance.

This page, clockwise from top left: Dorsal, ventral and lateral views of Striped plateau lizard (Sceloporus virgatus), Eyed

silkmoth (Automeris randa), Sonoran Lyersnake (Trimorphodon lambda), Green-bordered fighting beetle (Pasimachus

viridans), and Lowland leopard frog (Rana yavapaiensis).


This page, clockwise from top: Ciénega de Saracachi, Mountain skink (Eumeces callicephalus), Wolf spider (Rabidosa

santrita), Millipede (Hiltonius sp.), and Green rat snake (Senticolis triaspis).


Imagine trying to conserve important habitats andspecies in a region you know little about; it is likedescribing a landscape after only visiting it in thedark. Since 2009, the Madrean ArchipelagoBiodiversity Assessment has been shining light onthe state of biodiversity of the Sky Islands, especiallyin Mexico, with the aim of supportingconservation. Cataloging the biodiversity of the SkyIsland region is no easy task considering the areacontains over 40 mountain ranges, hundreds of rareand endemic species. It includes numerous habitatsranging from the Rocky Mountains to the north,the Sierra Madre Occidental to the south, and theSonoran and Chihuahuan deserts in between. Facedwith this daunting task, Sky Island Alliance workedwith programmer Ed Gilbert to create the MABAonline database. Since its creation, the database hasgrown to become the leading source of information

for many groups of species in the Sky Island region.This special biodiversity issue of RestoringConnections gives us the opportunity to pause andreflect on the state of the MABA database,discussing its history, the nature of onlinedatabases, profiling the status of species records,and why it’s important to support conservation inthe region. If you are not familiar with the database,this is also a good chance to learn about its uses.

The MABA project is a direct result of the MadreanConferences held in 1994 and 2004. Theseconferences were hosted by the U.S. Forest Serviceand convened scientists and natural resourcemanagers from the US and Mexico to discuss thebiodiversity and natural resources management ofthe Sky Island region (DeBano et al 1994 andGottfried et al 2005). One resounding conclusion

from both of these conferences was the lack ofbiodiversity data to support the management andconservation of this spectacular region, particularlyin Mexico. MABA was created by Sky IslandAlliance in partnership with the VeoliaEnvironment Foundation to fill this data gap. TheMABA database is the primary means formanaging, querying, and sharing the fruits ofcountless hours of SIA staff, collaborator, andvolunteer labor — a wealth of plant and animaldata.

The MABA online database is considered a “virtualflora and fauna” — a digital resourcerevolutionizing the way biodiversity information isdocumented and shared. Floras and faunas refer toboth the species of plants and animals that inhabit aregion as well as publications that describe them(Heidorn 2004). Historically floras and faunas havetaken the form of print media and containinformation such as scientific classifications(taxonomy), species descriptions, illustrations,photos, distribution maps, and identification keys.You may be familiar with the University ofCalifornia Press’s Arizona Flora, or Hoffmeister’sMammals of Arizona — these are important paper-based resources for our region. However, there arelimitations to printed materials when it comes todocumenting biodiversity, not least of which is thesheer number of organisms in some taxonomicgroups — given that there are an estimated 5,300species of flowering plants in Madrean Pine-OakWoodlands alone (Conservation International2011), you would need a small forklift to carry thisfield guide around, not to mention that the cost andlabor associated with publishing regional floras andfaunas. In 2003 the estimated cost of producing aflora with 2,104 species was $1,579,946 (Mori2003). Web-based virtual floras like MABA’sdatabase overcome many of these problems: theyare relatively inexpensive, allow for unlimitedimages, support millions of species records, allowfor complex queries of the data, and can becorrected and updated continually (Conversationwith programmer Ed Gilbert 2011). In addition,

The MABA Database: Shining a Light on Sky Island BiodiversityText and analysis by Nick Deyo, MABA Project Coordinator, cartography and GIS analysis by Alex Smith and Nick Deyo

One of the finest features of the MABA database is that it is available to anyone who wants to learn

more about the incredible biodiversity of the Sky Island region. See for yourself! Create your account

today at www.madrean.org and begin your own virtual expedition.

The earliest plant record within the MABA database was collected in 1805; the earliest animal record in 1855.

observations

1895

–190

0

1900

–190

5

1905

–191

0

1910

–191

5

1915

–192

0

1920

–192

5

1925

–193

0

1930

–193

5

1935

–194

0

1940

–194

5

1945

–195

0

1950

–195

5

1955

–196

0

1960

–196

5

1965

–197

0

1970

–197

5

1975

–198

0

1980

–198

5

1985

–199

0

1990

–199

5

1995

–200

0

2000

–200

5

2005

–201

0

plants

animals


web-based flora and fauna provide a medium forcollaboration between researchers and citizenscientists — increasing the speed with whichbiodiversity data is collected and made available.Time is critical considering how quickly species andhabitats are being lost to development and otherhuman activities (Heidorn 2004).

The MABA database is an extremely powerful toolfor researchers, conservationists, and anyone elseinterested in the natural history of the Sky Islands.The database does not just house hundreds ofthousands of plant and animal records; it offerssome very useful tools for learning about thesespecies and their distributions. With MABA youcan search for species using detailed taxonomic andgeographic criteria. For example, it is possible tosearch for all records of the genus Crotalus(rattlesnakes) within Pima County. It is alsopossible to generate lists of species by clicking onGoogle Maps and using the “Build a Checklist” tool.Or, by simply clicking on Tucson and specifying thefamily Cactacea, it is possible to generate a list of allthe database records for cactus species in theTucson area. Once you have your list, you can use itlike a taxonomic key — clicking on plantcharacteristics to narrow your choices to a fewspecies. Once species have been selected, it ispossible to learn more about them by generatingdistribution maps, reading species’ descriptions,and searching for photos in the Image Library.These are just a few of the tools available forsearching for and learning about the species of theSky Islands.

No matter how sophisticated a virtual flora or faunais, it is only as good as the data it contains;describing the biodiversity of a region as completelyas possible is the ultimate goal of any flora or fauna.Adding records to the database has been an ongoingtask for MABA staff and volunteers since theproject’s inception in 2009. Preparation for thethird Madrean Conference in May of 2012 has givenMABA staff an opportunity to pause and reflect onthe status of the database. It is important to notethat not all of the records have been gathered byMABA; in fact most records in the database comefrom collaborating with other organization, such asherbaria and natural history museums which havetheir own species databases. The MABA databasetakes advantage of technology developed for theSEINet online flora, which shares much of the samedata. The figures to the right show the number ofrecords within the states of Arizona, New Mexico,Sonora, and Chihuahua. (Note: any records withoutgeographic coordinates were not included in thisanalysis.) Currently, the MABA database contains592,192 plant records distributed among 25different collections. The MABA fauna databasecontains 132,235 animal records from sevendifferent collections. Another way to examine thedatabase is to see which years were the mostproductive for record collection (see table on

previous page). The earliest plant recordwithin the MABA database was collected in1805; the earliest animal record is from 1855.The obvious trend is that more plant andanimal data has been collected in recent years.It is also possible to view the geographicdistribution of the databases. The adjacentmaps were created using a geographicinformation system and show the density ofobservation per square kilometer. Arizonanoticeably contains the greatest number ofplant records, while Sonora currently has themost animal observations within thedatabase. One obvious finding from thesemaps is that most data is located aroundcities, some select mountain ranges, and roads— indicating that the distribution of recordsreflects travel routes, human populationcenters, and specific research interests ratherthan the abundance of species. Looking at thedata sets in these ways allows the MABA staffto focus their efforts on areas that are not wellrepresented, helping to provide a morecomplete picture of biodiversity in the region.

The MABA project has come a long way sinceit started in 2009, and the MABA onlinedatabase is one of the many contributions ofthis project. After three years of intensive datacollection and compilation, we are juststarting to get a sense of what species are wellrecorded and which taxonomic andgeographic areas need more attention.Without a tool like MABA’s virtual flora andfauna, this task would be impossible.Documenting the biodiversity of a region asdiverse as the Sky Islands is a tremendoustask, but one that is essential for preservingthe unique species we all care about.

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References

Conservation International. (2011). MadreanPine-Oak Woodlands. ConservationInternational Website. Retrieved 2011, fromwww.conservation.org/where/priority_areas/hotspots/north_central_america/ madrean-pine-oak-woodlands/Pages/default.aspx

Heidorn, P. B. (2004). Publishing Virtual Florasand Faunas.pdf. Bulletin of the American Society forInformation and Technology, 30(2), 8-11.

Forest Service. (1994). Biodiversity and Managementof the Madrean Archipelago: The Sky Islands ofSouthwestern United States and NorthwesternMexico. USDA Forest Service General TechnicalReport (p. 669). Fort Collins, CO: US Department ofAgriculture.

Forest Service. (2005). Connecting Mountain Islandsand Desert Seas: Biodiversity of the MadreanArchipelago II. Natural Resources Research (p. 632).

Currently, the MABA flora database contains 592,192

plant records distributed among 25 different

collections. The MABA fauna database contains

132,235 animal records from seven different

collections. Arizona noticeably contains the greatest

number of plant records, while Sonora currently has

the most animal observations within the database.


Flora of the Madrean Archipelago in Sonora, Mexico by Thomas R. Van Devender, MABA Project Manager. Photos courtesy the author.

In 1998, the World Wildlife Fund identified‘Mexican Pine-Oak Forests — Mexico, UnitedStates’ as a global biodiversity hotspot. It has alsowidely been stated that the Sierra Madre is ahotspot. This is actually a vast area within theSierra Madre Oriental on the east and the SierraMadre Occidental bounding the Mexican Plateauin the double rain shadow between them. TheSierra Madre Occidental extends up westernMexico from Zacatecas and Jalisco north toChihuahua and Sonora, Mexico. While JerzyRzedowski in his 1978 Vegetación de México statedthat the highest diversity of plants in Mexico wasin the pine-oak forest of the Sierra Madres, forthe purposes of this article we are interested inthe diversity in the northernmost Sierra MadreOccidental ranges in Sonora and Chihuahua andthe isolated Sky Island ranges in the MadreanArchipelago northward into Arizona and NewMexico.

The international border between the UnitedStates and Mexico was established by the Treatyof Guadalupe Hidalgo at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848 and the Gadsen Purchasein 1853. The U.S. government sent expeditions tosurvey the new border led by soldier-scientistWilliam H. Emory. The border is an east-westtransect across the Continental Divide thatintercepts all of the major biotic communities ofgreater Southwest. These expeditions were thefirst biological inventories in the Sky Islandregion, much of it done by military physicians,who had more free time than others in theexpedition.

The botanists associated with the firstU.S.–Mexican boundary survey (1848) were JohnM. Bigelow, Charles C. Parry, Arthur C. V. Schott,Edmund K. Smith, George Thurber, and CharlesWright. Their specimens collected along theArizona-Sonora border were sent to eminent

botanists such as Asa Gray at Harvard University,German-born St. Louis physician GeorgEngelmann, and New York state botanist JohnTorrey. Botanists Carl V. Hartman and Francis E.Lloyd accompanied the Norwegian explorer CarlS. Lumholtz on his 1890-1893 Mexicananthropological and geographic expedition fromBisbee, Arizona, south and east into the SierraMadre Occidental. Edgar A. Mearns, a surgeonand naturalist on the second U.S.–Mexicanboundary survey (1907), collected animals andplants, and described general aspects of thevegetation in the Arizona-Sonora borderlands.Numerous plants bear the names of theseexplorers, collectors, and systematists; forexample Quercus emoryi, Nolina bigelovii,Penstemon parryi, Lophocereus schottii, Rhamnussmithii, Anisacanthus thurberi, Garrya wrightii,Krameria grayi, Opuntia engelmannii, Anthericumtorreyi, Esenbeckia hartmanii, and Solanumlumholtzianum.

The 1994 symposium, Biodiversity andManagement of the Madrean Archipelago: The SkyIslands of Southwestern United States andNorthwestern Mexico, and its sequel in 2004,brought together information on the biota, landmanagement and conservation of the Sky Islandregion, but mostly north of the border. Floras onthe Mexican side of the border were forgotten formost of the 20th century. U.S. botanists wentfarther south, lured by botanical treasures in thetropical deciduous forests of the Río Mayoregion, pine-oak forests in the Sierra MadreOccidental in eastern and southeastern Sonora,and Sonoran desertscrub in the scenic PinacateRegion of northwestern Sonora, and the boojumtree (Fouquieria columnaris) landscapes on theBaja California Peninsula. Botanists from MexicoCity rarely visit la frontera, more than 1,500kilometers away. An important exception was the

botanical expeditions (1938–1941) led by StephenS. White of the University of Michigan to explorethe Río Bavispe region in northeastern Sonora.

Modern botanical forays into the Sky Islandregion began in the early 1990s, about the sametime that Sky Island Alliance advocated its wayinto existence. Paul S. Martin at The University ofArizona led a team of botanists, including MarkFishbein (SIA founder) and me, to collect in theRío Mayo region in tropical southern Sonora,resulting in the 1998 book Gentry’s Río MayoPlants. Ana Lilia Reina-Guerrero and I beganstudying the flora of the Municipio de Yécora inthe northern Río Mayo region in 1995. This areain the Sierra Madre Occidental in eastern Sonorahas a very rich flora (1,774 taxa), and serves as abaseline to compare with Sky Island floras. In the1994 Madrean Archipelago Symposium, Fishbeinand fellow SIA founder Richard Felger presentedtheir preliminary flora of the Sierra de los Ajos,one of the highest and most temperate SonoranSky Islands. A comparison of the floras of theHuachuca Mountains in Arizona with the Yécoraarea by Reina-G. and me in 2004 showed theSierra Madre to be about 30% more diverse.

By far the most ambitious project to learn moreabout the plants of the Sky Island region inSonora is the Madrean Archipelago Biodiversity(MABA) project at SIA begun in 2009. Plant andanimal observations were made on MABAExpeditions to the Sierra San Luis (September2009), Sierra el Tigre (March 2010), Sierra de laMadera (August 2010), Ciénega de Saracachi-Sierra San Antonio (May 2011), and Sierra deBacadéhuachi (August 2011). Jesús Sánchez,Curator of the Universidad de Sonora Herbarium(USON) has been collecting plants in Rancho ElAribabi and other bordlands areas under supportof a series of Comisión Nacional para elConocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad

from left Melampodium moctezumum — one of 39 species commonly known as blackfoots (sunflower family) — found 20.5 km SSE of Moctezuma, Sonora,

August 2011. Acer grandidentatum (Bigtooth maple). Matelea caudata — one of about 200 species commonly known as milkvine (dogbane family) — found

north of Mazocahui, Sonora, August 2011.

Bloom of Echinocereus

rigidissimus (Rainbow hedgehog

cactus), P. Blanca, May 2008.


(CONABIO) projects. With theexpertise of Ed Gilbert, MABAdeveloped a database to make allhistorical records from museumcollections, literature, field notes,and new observations easilyaccessible for conservation,research, and education. TheMABA: FLORA database is anextension of the SouthwestEnvironmental InformationNetwork (SEINet) plant databaseand MABA: FAUNA is a new resource for the region.

In the 2010 book Diversidad Biológica de Sonora (above) edited by myselfand Fransciso Molina-Freaner and Van Devender, a chapter on vascularplants by Van Devender, Felger, Fishbein, Sánchez-E. and Reina-G.summarized the flora of Sonora, which included 3,653 taxa (now ca.3,700) documented by herbarium specimens in 1,103 genera and 188families in an area of 184,934 km². Preliminary analyses using theMABA-SEINet database yielded 37,705 observations from the Sky Islandregion in northeastern Sonora in about 2700 taxa! The whopping 73%of the state flora in the Sky Island region reflects its very highbiodiversity. The Madrean Archipelago is one of the greatest bioticconvergence zones in the world. The New World tropics reaches itsnorthernmost limit in North America in eastern Sonora at about 29°Nto 30°N latitude. Species characteristic of temperate woodlands andforests of the Sierra Madre Occidental and Rocky Mountains, tropicaldeciduous forest and thornscrub from the south, Great Plains grasslandsand Chihuahuan desertscrub from the east, and Sonoran desertscrubfrom the west come together in northeastern Sonora. Foothillsthornscrub extends to 30°30’N in the Río Bavispe (Yaqui) drainage, withsome tropical plants and animals following northern tributaries intosoutheastern Arizona. Very little floristic work has been done in the high,montane forests of the northernmost Sierra Madre Occidental rangesnear Mesa de Tres Río or the near by Sierra Huachinera, which likelyhave the highest plant diversity in Sonora.

That’s the good news! There is always more to learn, new areas toexplore, plants to find.

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Sky Island Alliance and AlliesChallenge Proposed Open-pitMine in Patagonia Mountainsby Jenny Neeley, Conservation Policy Director

Harshaw Creek, nestled in the Patagonia Mountains southeast of Tucson, is arare riparian gem in the Sky Island region. Widely considered a premiereinternational birding destination, this area provides essential habitat fornumerous imperiled species. It also provides the town of Patagonia with aportion of its water supply, as well as numerous recreation and ecotourismopportunities.

Unfortunately, if the Wildcat Silver Corporation has its way, this peacefulrefuge for wildlife and humans alike will be transformed into a 600-footdeep open-pit mine and processing plant, with almost 3,000 acres ofnational forest lands buried under mining waste. Sky Island Alliance isputting to work our extensive knowledge of this area’s importance as acritical wildlife linkage in order to make sure this does not happen.

Extending south into Mexico as the Sierra San Antonio, the PatagoniaMountains serve as one of the region’s most important wildlife linkages, oneof only three remaining cross-border corridors in southeast Arizona wherehuman development and border infrastructure do not impede wildlifemigration. Information gatheredthrough on-the-ground surveys andwildlife monitoring shows that thislinkage is essential to the recovery ofthe ocelot and jaguar, with bothspecies documented repeatedly in themountain ranges encircling thePatagonia Mountains and 55 percentof all jaguar sightings in the 20thcentury occurring in this area. From2001 to 2007, biologists monitored atleast two jaguars thirty to sixty mileswest of the Patagonia Mountains,and SIA has repeatedly documentedtwo different jaguars thirty milessouth of the Patagonia Mountains inSonora’s Sierra Azul.

Last year, the Wildcat Silver Corporation submitted a plan with theCoronado National Forest to expand mining activities in the Harshaw CreekWatershed. The Forest approved the plan after exempting the project fromthe National Environmental Policy Act and waiving the need for anenvironmental assessment, wrongly concluding that no natural resources ormunicipal watersheds would be affected.

Sky Island Alliance, the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance, and Defenders ofWildlife are challenging this dubious and ill-informed decision, and haveasked the courts to put this project on hold until the Forest undertakes athorough environmental review of the project’s impacts. SIA is translatingscience into action and utilizing the hard work and dedication of ourvolunteers and staff in order to conserve this important Sky Island linkagefor the jaguar, ocelot, and all other plant, wildlife and human communitiesthat call this extraordinary place home.

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In 2009, SIA documented thefirst live ocelot in Arizona inforty years, only about thirtymiles from the PatagoniaMountains, and we also haveextensive documentation of aknown breeding populationonly thirty miles south inSonora. Recently, the ArizonaGame and Fish Departmentdocumented ocelots on twodifferent occasions in thenearby Huachuca Mountains.


You’ve managed to get your four-wheel drivevehicle all the way up the road in Cañon Evans tothe Ajos-Bavispe Reserve’s cabin. Now comes thehard part — negotiating the old, unmaintainedlogging roads into the high country of the SierraLos Ajos. But you persevere, maneuvering yourvehicle over boulders and around washouts thatthreaten to roll your jeep down steep, rockyravines to what would no doubt be an unpleasantend. But the voyage is worth the risk, as you travelever higher through lush mixed conifer forest andaspen groves toward the highest point in Sonora.The last kilometer is on foot, and all uphill. Butthe vista from the 2,625-meter peak isspectacular, and as you gaze around the 360-degree view, you realize just how much of acrossroads you’re at. On this clear May day, beforethe moisture and clouds of summer obscure theview, the Sierra El Tigre is clearly visible to thesoutheast, around which the Río Bavispe flows,dipping to the south where it joins with the RíoAros to become the Río Yaqui, which drainsmuch of eastern Sonora. To the south and west,the Río Sonora flows towards the sea throughvalleys of semi-desert grasslands, which turn tofoothills thornscrub, and then to the SonoranDesert. To the north, the Río San Pedro arises inthe mountains and flows through short grassprairie, then through Chihuahuan and Sonorandesertscrub to the Gila River. Surrounding theserivers, and providing much of the water for them,are the Sky Island mountain ranges with theirpatchworks of montane flora and fauna that areremnants of wetter and cooler times.

The herpetofauna — amphibians and reptiles —are also at a crossroads in this region, with moreor less distinct assemblages that insert theirinfluence from the ChihuahuanDesert and Great Plains to thenortheast, the Sonoran Desertmostly to the west, the forestsof the Mogollon Rim andRocky Mountains to the north,the Sierra Madre Occidental tothe southeast, and have atropical presence that scurriesand slithers its way northwardthrough tendrils of thornscrub,and farther south, in thetropical deciduous forests thatcarpet the base of thesouthernmost Sky Islands.

Within view of the top ofthe Sierra Los Ajos, boaconstrictors, spiny-tailediguanas, and neotropicalwhipsnakes — denizensof tropical America —inhabit the lowlands andfoothills to the south,while temperate species— prairie rattlesnakes, Great Plains toads, andgreater short-horned lizards — penetrate the SkyIsland region from the north and east. Manyspecies are restricted to the cooler, wettermontane forests and woodlands, such as twin-spotted and ridge-nosed rattlesnakes, theChihuahuan black-headed snake, mountainhorned lizard, and Yarrow’s spiny lizard. It is nowhotter and drier than any time since the lateCretaceous, but during the last five million years,episodes of climatic oscillation, from cool andwet to warm and dry, caused correspondingcontraction and expansion of bioticcommunities. For instance, several lines ofevidence suggest that during the latter half of theWisconsin glacial period (45,000-11,000 yearsago) pinyon-juniper-oak woodlands occupiedmany of the Sky Island valleys. Spruce-fir forestswere also much more widely distributed thanthey are today. Fauna associated with thesewoodlands and forests moved up and down inelevation with warming and cooling periods. Asthey did, some differentiation among montaneherpetofaunal populations developed, asevidenced by genetic differentiation amongpopulations of Yarrow’s spiny lizard in mountainranges of southeastern Arizona. Ridge-nosedrattlesnakes are represented by three subspecies in

the Sky Island region that are likely also productsof the contraction and expansion of the montanewoodlands.

In total — from the Santa Teresa and PinaleñoMountains in the north, south to the Sierra deSan Javier, west to the Baboquivari Mountains,and east to the Animas Mountains and Sierra SanLuis — the Sky Island region is known to behome to about 143 species of amphibians andreptiles, including two salamanders, 26 frogs,toads, and spadefoots, 11 turtles and tortoises, 48lizards, and 56 snakes. This is a remarkablediversity owing to the crossroad influences oftemperate and tropical biotic communities. Thesenumbers compare favorably with published statetotals for Sonora (187), Chihuahua (169), andArizona (148), each of which are much largerareas than the Sky Island region. NortheasternSonora, in particular, is poorly studied in terms ofamphibian and reptile distributions, andadditional species are certain to be detected there.

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Amphibians and Reptiles of the Sky Island Region by Jim Rorabaugh

Craugastor tarahumaraensis (Tarahumara barking

frog), Rincón de Guadalupe, August 2011.

Courtesy George Ferguson.

Lampropeltis pyromelana (Madrean mountain kingsnake), Rincón de Guadalupe, September 2011. Courtesy Tom Van Devender.


In November, I participated in the 2011 SaguaroBioBlitz. During BioBlitz I backpacked up theRincon Mountains with ten other people frommy school, five scientists, and a paramedic to theGrass Shack campground where we stayed forfour days and three nights. Our goal was to helpidentify and record plants and animals in SaguaroNational Park. Two of the scientists studied batsand small rodents. We helped them trap rodentssuch as pack rats and pocket mice, recordingthings such as their weight, their gender, andwhere we caught them. With these same twoscientists we also caught bats in mist nets andrecorded their wing span, what type of bat theywere, and much more.

Working with the bat scientists was my favoritepart because I love bats and I am interested inprotecting and studying them. While we werehelping we got to set up mist nets in the evening— large nets that are made of such thin materialthat the bats can’t sense them until they arecaught. Once we caught the bats we recordedthings such as their wing span, their weight, andwhat type of bat. There were also two bugscientists staying with us at the campgroundwhom we assisted by spending many hourscatching bugs such as toe biters so that they couldtake them back and collect info on them. Therewas only one bird and plant scientist with us. Wetook multiple small hikes with him and talkedabout the native and exotic plants and recordedwhere they were on a GPS. He also taught usmany new plant names such as Carnegiea gigantiawhich is a saguaro’s scientific name. We alsolearned many of the native bird calls and got tohear a Great-horned owl. On many of the nightswe looked at the stars and were amazed at how

many there are. This was especially fun because inthe city you only see a small portion of the starseven if you may not realize it.

During our stay at Grass Shack, we also talkedabout sound and light pollution and why it isimportant to stop or minimize it. Sound and lightpollution are artificial light and sound that affectthe natural world in ways that mess up the foodchain. For example: Many animals rely on hearingtheir predators sneaking up on them but if thereis extra noise going on, they cannot hear themcoming. To demonstrate sound and lightpollution we played a game. This game involvedtwo people; the prey and the predator. The preyput earplugs in and the predator tried to sneak upon the prey. After we tried it with the earplugs wetried it a second time without the earplugs. Theearplugs demonstrated sound pollution, and wefound that an animal is more likely to be caughtby a predator if there is sound pollution because

it stops the animal from hearing the predator, justlike we discussed. Light pollution is also part ofwhy we can only see so many stars in the citybecause excess light blocks out the stars.

After going on BioBlitz, I have many newperspectives about the environment and the SkyIslands of southern Arizona. I learned lots and Isaw many things that I might have never gottenthe opportunity to see if I hadn’t gone. It was afantastic trip and I would highly recommend thatresidents and visitors to Tucson take theopportunity to enjoy our Sky Islands.

Allie is an eighth grade student at Paulo FreireFreedom School. She likes to hike, read, and spendtime with her chickens.While she is not doing any ofthese things she likes to dance on the trapeze. Everyyear Allie also spends one month in the WhiteMountains on the Blue River.

BioBlitz: Bats, Rodents, and New Perspectivesby Allie Gaither-Banchoff, 8th grade, Paulo Freire Freedom School. Photos courtesy the author.

from left Species like rodents are marked when they are caught so that

researchers can have a rough idea of how many rodents are in the study area — if

100 rodents are captured the first time and 100 the next, but only 60 of the second

group have been marked, it can be deduced that there are at least 140 rodents.

Allie Gaither-Banchoff at the study site.

Give Creatively!SIA is already planning this year’s awards banquet (May 24: Save the Date!)

and are looking for donations to make the silent auction a great success.

Do you work for a business that could donate a gift basket?

Have a favorite restaurant that might donate a gift certificate?

Are you an artist who can support the event

and SIA with a unique creation?

Please send your ideas and offers to [email protected].


From coastlines and rivers to desert grasslands tomountaintops clad in spruce and fir, thesouthwestern United States and northwesternMexico are home to an amazing diversity ofwildlife and habitats. The character of the regionis one of ending points, meeting places, andoverlap among desert, temperate, and tropicalhabitats. Throughout the region, one finds a richmixture of species and habitats that wouldnormally be separated by considerable distances.The Rocky Mountains from the north meet theSierra Madre Occidental from the south. TheChihuahuan Desert from the east blends with theSonoran Desert from the west. The variedtopography and distinctive climate of the regiontranslate into an array of desert, grassland,scrubland, riparian, spruce-fir, forested, andwetland habitats. This variety, in turn, supportsextremely diverse bird life.

If you are a birder, you already know thatsoutheastern Arizona is world famous for theamazing diversity of bird life. People arrive from

all corners of the globe to see species thatcan be found nowhere else in the UnitedStates. From hummingbirds, tanagers, andtrogons in the spring and summer tosparrows, raptors, and tens of thousands ofSandhill Cranes in the fall and winter, everyseason in this region is full of birdspectacles.

When you add northwestern Mexico to theequation, the diversity only increases. In thesouthwestern U.S. and northwesternMexico together, researchers havedocumented nearly 650 species of birdsmigrating through, breeding, or wintering.This represents approximately two-thirds ofall bird species that occur in northernMexico, the United States, and Canada.There are over twenty endemic or near endemicresident or breeding species, including birds suchas, Gray Thrasher, Abert’s Towhee, and Rufous-winged Sparrow. Additionally, there are severalendemic subspecies such as “Arizona”

Grasshopper Sparrow and“Large-billed” SavannahSparrow. Remnants of old-growth pine-oak forest supportimportant species such asGolden Eagle, Military Macaw,Thick-billed Parrot, and EaredQuetzal. Other prioritylandbirds are Sinaloa Martin,Spotted Owl, Red-faced Warbler,Aztec Thrush, Five-stripedSparrow, and Montezuma Quail.Riparian areas support many in-transit migrants as well asbreeding Thick-billed Kingbird,“Western” Yellow-billed Cuckoo,and “Southwestern” WillowFlycatcher. Unfortunately, thereare also species that arepresumed extinct, such as theImperial Woodpecker from theSierra Madre Occidental.

Many of the birds in the regionare Neotropical migrants: birdsthat breed in the temperate zoneof North America and migrateto more tropical regions in thesouth to spend the winter. Somespecies breed in thesouthwestern U.S. andnorthwestern Mexico and

migrate to Central America for the winter. Othersbreed in Canada and the western U.S. and cometo southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico tospend the winter, while others may stop in theSky Island region to refuel before continuing theirsouthward (or northward, depending on theseason) journey.

Because of the migratory nature of so many ofthe birds in the region, land use practices in onearea can have far-reaching effects on birdpopulations. Threats to the area’s ecology are asdiverse as the bird species found here.Development, unsustainable grazing and loggingpractices, mining, conversion to agricultureground water pumping and surface waterdiversion, non-native plant invasions, recreationalpressures, drought, and climate change all presentreal and serious threats to the birds of the region.

Fortunately, if the challenges to bird conservationin the region are varied, so are the opportunitiesto meet them. From collecting basic data todocument presence and distribution of birds inthe region to undertaking habitat restoration andprotection projects to community outreach andinvolvement efforts, partners in the Sky Islandregion are working to help ensure a healthy futurefor bird populations. Although the threats areserious, collaborative partnerships and innovativeprojects provide hope for a future where thrivingpopulations of native bird species, as well aspeople, are supported by healthy landscapes.

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Conserving Bird Diversity in the Madrean Archipelagoby Jennie Duberstein, Education and Outreach Coordinator, Sonoran Joint Venture

Support SIA!Join or renew here OR through our secure website:

www.skyislandalliance.orgWe rely on membership support for our work to protect

the natural treasures of our Sky Island region. Contributions

are tax-deductible; we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Basic membership for one year is $35, but if you add to that, here’s a sampling of what your dollars can do:

Fill this out, call, or donate online. It’s quick, easy and secure!

Name: ______________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________________________

City, State & Zip: ______________________________________________________

Phone & Email: _______________________________________________________

� $35 � $50 � $75 � $100 � Other $_____ This gift is: � One-time � Monthly � Quarterly

� My check is enclosed � Please bill $_____ to my: � MasterCard � Visa

Card No.: ____________________________________________________

Security Code: ________ Expiration Date: __________

Card billing zip code if different: _____________

Signature: __________________________________________________________

$50 will help us survey 30 miles of roads and riparian areas…

$100 closes one mile of wildcat road…

$500 supports one remote camera for a year…

$1,000 covers a weekend of riparian restoration!

Euptilotis neoxenus (Eared Quetzal). Courtesy

Dominic Sherony.


wildlife crossing project, scheduled to break ground in 2013, is providing amodel for similar projects elsewhere. In Cochise County, we have begunactively working to increase wildlife corridor awareness by conducting aconnectivity planning assessment with the goal of bringing projects likethese to other parts of the region. As human population and transportationneeds increase, these critical wildlife connections will become more andmore necessary. This new wildlife crossing project will be exciting to follow.

Recently, I was very happy to join trackers Dana, Dagmar, Karen and Tomduring their North Canyon transect survey in Las Cienegas where wefollowed the trail of a striped skunk in addition to seeing sign from deer,coyote, fox, and a roadrunner. We shared lunch under a juniper tree, and onthe way home, were graced with the sight a herd of Sonoran pronghornagainst the backdrop of the Santa Rita and Whetstone mountains,reminding us why we do all this hard work in the first place.

Landscape Restoration Program by Trevor Hare

We had a very busy fall here continuing our work in the field — chasingnon-native frogs around the Pajaritos, stacking rocks on Ciénega Creek tohalt erosion, planting riparian vegetation along Aravaipa Creek and itstributaries, and walking Sonoran creeks and wetlands. But our work doesn’tstop there. Before we can get out there and restore the landscape, we plan,we meet with the agencies, we drink coffee and plática with Mexicanlandowners and their vaqueros, we share discoveries at conferences andwrite proposals and reports, and of course we submit comments on some ofthe disastrous proposals people, corporations and agencies concoct for ourbeautiful Sky Islands.

Of course even the meetings, the writing, the phone calls and emails —while not as fun as chasing critters around — are generally fulfilling andworth it. For example, in September I traveled to Palm Desert, California, inthe shadow of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains NationalMonument to attend the Conservation Lands Foundation AnnualRendezvous where we learned about how other groups around the westwork with the Bureau of Land Management to protect NationalConservation Areas and Monuments. Then, in October we spent two dayson the San Pedro River with the National Riparian Service Team learningabout and planning protective and restorative actions for that mighty river.Also, in October we attended, presented at, and led a field trip for theArizona-New Mexico Travel Management and ORV Conference. Finally, inNovember the heavy lifting began.

One of the most nefarious and injurious proposals to come across ourdesks in a long time (we didn’t get a chance at the border wall) is theproposed Rosemont Copper Mine in the northern Santa Rita Mountains,home to endemic, rare and threatened species of animals and plants, andrecently visited by a jaguar. This mine will undo years of riparian andupland restoration that has occurred on Las Ciénegas NationalConservation Area, and kill Ciénega Creek, so we have poured our heartsand souls into reading the thousands of pages of documents and the DraftEnvironmental Impact Statement (DEIS) — we have found that it is totallyinadequate, that the public cannot make informed comments, and that theForest Service cannot make an informed decision. Stay tuned for whatpromise to be an exciting year both in the field and behind the desk!

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Protecting Our Mountain Islandsand Desert Seas continued from page 5

Join the Tradition… Volunteer!Sky Island Alliance formed in 1991 by a group of concerned scientists,conservationists and activists who wanted to keep our public lands intactand wild so that future generations would have an opportunity to enjoy thequiet solitude of a mountain meadow and experience a landscape wherenative species still roamed. Today, Sky Island Alliance gathers peopletogether to protect our rich natural heritage and restore native species andhabitats. New volunteers come out all the time, whether they are seasonedbackpackers or have never looked at, much less know what a topographicmap is. We welcome you to join us!

There are Always Volunteer Opportunities

to Rejoice in and Restore our Sky Islands!

Check www.skyislandalliance.org for the latest calendar!

Join our Landscape Restoration Field WeekendsHabitat Restoration Weekends: These trips can be physically demanding buthave a wide variety of tasks to suit different skills and fitness levels. Currentprogram work focuses largely on riparian restoration. Volunteers learn hands-onrestoration techniques such as building one-rock dams and other water harvestingstructures that control erosion, trap sediment, stabilize stream banks and retainwater on the landscape. These structures, combined with the planting of young , —increase quality wildlife habitat along vital riparian corridors.

Riparian and Recreational Impact Surveys: Volunteers gather at a basecamp and are matched with three to four other volunteers. We provide a map, GPSunit, digital camera, and data sheets. The teams are sent out to walk a riparian area orroad transect. Each team collects photo and geospatial points to document theirfindings. Depending on the distance to the site, volunteers drive out for the day orcamp out.

Contact Sarah at 520.624.7080 x23 or [email protected]

Adopt a TransectMonitoring the presence of mammal species in important

intermountain corridors: This volunteer program involves the largest timecommitment. After an extensive training in identification and documentation ofwildlife sign, volunteers are teamed up with other trained trackers to monitor atransect (tracking route) every six weeks. Check www.skyislandalliance.org

or join our eNews list for information on our next tracking workshops!

Contact Jessica at 520.624.7080 x21 or [email protected]

Represent SIA at Outreach EventsVolunteer to spread the mission of Sky Island Alliance! SIA is regularlyinvited to participate in community events within the Sky Island region, but havelimited staff resources to ensure our participation. We are seeking committedvolunteers to represent SIA at public events, give presentations to the public andhelp at SIA outreach events and workshops. If you enjoy interacting with newpeople, sharing your knowledge of the region, and furthering the mission of SIA,this is the job for you!


Make a DifferenceData entry, analysis and office needs: Enter and analyze data collected inthe field so that Sky Island can put that hard-earned information to work.


We’re looking for a few members who have expertise in planned

or legacy giving: If you feel well-versed from your experience, whether on thefinance or legal side, to participate in the conversation to help us develop andlaunch a more formal program, please contact [email protected]

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Biodiversity & Management of the Madrean Archipelago III

MERGING SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT

IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD

May 1–5, 2012 DoubleTree Hotel, Tucson AZ

Keynote speakers Julia Cole University of Arizona

Climate change, megadroughts, and theNorth American monsoon

J. Mario Cirett-Galán Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas

Conservation management of the Ajos-Bavispe reserve

Dave Lytle Oregon State University

Floods, droughts, and aquatic biodiversity inthe Madrean archipelago

Bill Radke US Fish & Wildlife Service

Land management on the US/Mexico border

José A. Sarukhán-Kermez Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y

Uso de la Biodiversidad

Conservation in Mexico

Julie Stromberg Arizona State University

Riparian vegetation and disappearinggroundwater

Thomas R. Van Devender Sky Island Alliance

The Madrean Archipelago BiodiversityAssessment

Registration is now open. Over 100 presentations on the currentstate of our knowledge of the Madreanregion and its the unique natural andcultural resources; and the continueddiscussion of how best to caretake thisincredible region.

Regular Registration: Now through April 10, 2012

Late Registration:After April 10th and at the door

REGISTER NOW: www.madreanconference.org

Restoring Connections - Sonoran Joint Venture

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Transcript of Restoring Connections - Sonoran Joint Venture