Sky Island Alliance is a grassroots 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.
We work 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.
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Louise and Andy Anderson
Congratulations to Louise & Andy Anderson, winner of our 2010 Copper Canyon Raffle!
Thanks to everyone who participated and helped support the important work of Sky Island Alliance through the purchase of raffle tickets.
Didn't win the raffle, but really want to go? Contact Canyon Travel to set up a trip with this great company that helps to support the area's indigenous people as well as to protect Copper Canyon's wild country.
Peloncillo Mountains Ciénega: Restoration Project breaks ground!
The largest project in Sky Island Alliance history has broken ground - restoring one of the largest ciénegas in the Sky Island region, located in a grassland valley of the remote Peloncillo Mountain range.
Cloverdale Cienega
Imagine a vast, gently sloping, desert marsh (or ciénega) irrigated by a 10,000-acre watershed that is in near perfect condition. The ciénega is nurtured by a half dozen storm flow dominated ephemeral creeks, and is so large in relation to its watershed size that it is able to harvest the bulk of the runoff from a typical storm event by super charging its alluvial underground water storage.
At the down-valley end of the ciénega, parallel wetland swales dip into the landscape, bringing overflow waters to the creek, creating the only perennial stream reach in the entire Peloncillo Mountain range. The ciénega wetland is thick with a yellow green riparian bog of rushes and sedges. Very large walnut trees thrive in the margins of the ciénega adjacent to the super saturated soil, which is also sequestering carbon under anoxic conditions, and filtering the water to the highest purity. The creek is shaded by tall willow trees and graced with a wide variety of native berry bushes. It has many deep pools full of cold clear water, even on the hottest day at the end of the dry season, when water is just barely moving into and out of each pool through long, broad mats of thick and squishy wetland sod. The whole placeentire wetland complex is jumping with frogs, teeming with birds, and visited daily by legions of mammals.
Sarah at Cloverdale Cienega
Picture the ciénega fully restored to its historic flow regime with a relatively simple prescription: Just add water! This vision is now being realized after 2 years of planning with dozens of experts and support from the State of New Mexico River Ecosystem Restoration Initiative and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Starting March 15th we began removing man-made levees and plugging a man-made gully that is robbing water from the ciénega.
For additional information and to learn how you can make a difference in the protection and restoration of our rare Sky Island wetlands Ccontact the Landscape Restoration Program Manager Trevor Hare at 520 624-7080 x14 or trevor@skyislandalliance.org
NEW JOB OPENING (July 15, 2010)
Sky Island Alliance seeks a 'Conservation Policy Director'.
Ocelot in Sonora, Mexico
Sky Island Alliance, Patagonia, and Freedom to Roam in partnership document first live ocelot in Arizona!
Sky Island Alliance News Release - April 16, 2010. Tucson, AZ - Remote cameras captured the image of an ocelot, a rare tropical cat, in Cochise County, Arizona. Sky Island Alliance, a Tucson-based regional conservation organization, recently photographed the cat while participating in the Witness for Wildlife program, which is supported by the Freedom to Roam Coalition and Patagonia, the outdoor clothing company. <Read More>
New Jaguar in Sonoran borderlands
Sky Island Alliance Documents Jaguar Close to the US/Mexico Border
It was Saturday night when Martha and Carlos Robles, owners of Rancho El Aribabi, were waiting patiently for SIA Northern Mexico Program Coordinator Sergio Avila to return from a long day in the field. They were eager to help check the latest images from the remote cameras placed on their property in the Sonoran Sky Islands. As they sat down together to look through the photographs, Sergio told the Robles' of the intuitive feeling that overcame him while in the field that day - he sensed a presence in the area, a feeling that was familiar. Going through photos on a screen they saw stills of a mountain lion with her cubs, curios skunks, healthy deer meandering through the area and even creeks running after the winter rains. And then the first jaguar photo appeared and then another. Feelings of elation exploded in the room and the three began hugging and cheering - a celebration of three years working together to preserve the excellent ecological conditions on the property so that species like the jaguar have a place to roam and thrive. <Read More>
Jessica setting camera traps
Arizona Highways Article on Sky Island Alliance's Work in Mexico: Emerald Isle
AZ Highways - Feb. 2010 - In Arizona, it's known as the Tumacacori Highlands. In Mexico, it's the Emerald Mountains... Featuring Sergio Avila, Jessica Lamberton, and the Northern Mexico Conservation Program. > Read full article (PDF)
Arizona Game and Fish Department employee has been put on administrative leave for Macho B death
An Arizona Game and Fish Department employee has been put on administrative leave as a result of an internal department investigation into last year's capture and death of the jaguar Macho B, the department said Tuesday. > Read full article
Sierra San Luis, Sonora
Introductory Video on the Madrean Archipelago Biodiversity Assessment
The video below was made to briefly introduce the Madrean Archipelago Biodiversity Assessment (MABA) project and summarize its objectives for the numerous entities it will involve. The assessment will serve to perform critical research on the vast array of life found in the Sky Island region and educate the public, via electronic media, about why it is such a vital ecological zone. Nature shots are taken along the Continental Divide between Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico, and in the Chiracahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona.
MABA Principle Sponsors: The Veolia Foundation and the Sky Island Alliance. Video footage courtesy of Cuenca Los Ojos Foundation. Script and narration: Sy Rotter; Videography: Ruben Ruiz; Still photos: Laurence De Bure; Post Production: Terence Babb Production facilities:DSP Media Productions.
Visit DSP Media for more programs about the Sky Island region. See DSP Media Productions.
MABA Overview from Terry Babb on Vimeo.