Volunteers identifying tracks
At Sky Island Alliance we work to protect the world-renowned biodiversity in our backyards by preserving and restoring habitat for our native wildlife through a wide variety of programs. We work to educate the public and work with policy-makers. We keep our membership and public informed and involved through a variety of on-the-ground volunteer programs and informative events.
OUR PROGRAMS
> Policy and public lands planning program Natural Resources Policy - whether on a regional, state, or federal level - provides the framework for the management and conservation of our region's lands and resources. Our Policy and Planning Program works within established policy to promote the strongest conservation decisions possible.
> Wilderness and special designations Our Wilderness & Special Designations Program is working to secure the designation of additional Wilderness Areas and other legislative-based protections throughout the Sky Island region to serve as a foundation for preserving native species and habitats.
Restoring habitat
> Landscape restoration The Landscape Restoration Program is an on-the-ground, results-orientated program engaging hundreds of volunteers in restoring the ecology of our region through road closures and riparian habitat restoration.
> Wildlife linkages The Wildlife Linkages Program identifies at-risk wildlife corridors within the Sky Island region and conducts long-term wildlife monitoring and data collection that will be used to guide local and international management decisions related to the preservation and restoration of bio-regional connectivity.
> Northern Mexico Conservation Program Sky Island Alliance is implementing outreach efforts to landowners in northern Sonora and has started collecting data using remote camera traps integrated with track counts within the Sonoran Sky Islands. This project’s long-term goal is to build cooperative relationships with landowners in northern Sonora in order to encourage jaguar conservation and facilitate ongoing scientific research. As a key component of this project, we work on the establishment of partnerships with landowners and Mexican conservation organizations to promote research, education, changes in cattle management practices and the protection of jaguar and ocelot habitat and their corridors to the United States.
> Madrean Archipelago Biodiversity Assessment Project (MABA)
After months in development, the Madrean Archipelago Biodiversity Assessment (MABA), under the scientific direction of Tom Van Devender is now launched! This multinational, Mexican, French and U.S. scientific research and conservation project will establish baseline data on various forms of wildlife and vegetation in select locations principally in the Mexican Sky Islands of northern Sonora and Chihuahua and in the borderlands of Arizona and New Mexico. The Assessment and integrated restoration actions will constitute a major conservation effort, with visibility and applicability that will reach around the globe. The Assessment is interdisciplinary in nature, acknowledging that successful land and wildlife conservation projects need to embrace the connections between scientific and applied research, natural resource policy formulation, and community education efforts. The Project and Sky Island Alliance staff will team with scientists, students, volunteers and community members to conduct assessment, education and outreach activities.