Recently we visited Sierra San José, a Sky Island located within the Ejido Naco in Sonora. For this expedition, our team was made up of volunteers from both sides of the border, a representative from the Ejido Naco members, and staff from Sky Island Alliance. During this visit, we focused on our
Upon arrival, we camped on a ranch in the ejido, where we were caught in a sandstorm. It was amazing to watch as it approached.
At dawn the next day, we organized into two groups to explore the area of approximately 700 to 800 hectares. One team decided to hike along the high mountain range, while the other decided to explore the eastern slope. We hiked quite a bit that day, and the heat was intense.
The next day, we hiked through a more northern area; the goal was to cover as much ground as possible, following vegetation landmarks that might indicate the presence of water sources.
During the hike along the hillside, one of the groups managed to find two springs, one of which had been modified, using a tire to pool and store the water.
The other spring was in a more natural state; it was in this area that we decided to set up a remote camera to see what wildlife visits this water source. Another camera was placed in the lower northern part of the mountain range and another in the upper part.
Although we hiked for several hours, following signs in the landscape’s vegetation and satellite maps, we found few springs, which was a revelation in itself. It shows why we must conserve these few precious water sources. They’ve survived a long period of drought, providing for wildlife and native plants.
During the trip, we saw a variety of species, including birds, squirrels, rabbits, snakes, lizards, and insects, as well as a wide variety of flora such as pines, oak trees, and beautiful flowering chollas, which show the potential this mountain range has for wildlife, which will soon bloom with the monsoon rains. One thing that was fun and curious is that during one of our outings, we were followed by a swallowtail butterfly, which made us feel special and welcome as we passed through.
In the end, a storm over the mountains bid us farewell. We hope to return very soon, especially after the rains, to check the remote cameras and observe how the landscape changes with the humidity, how the vegetation flourishes, and how the wildlife activity increases.
This visit has been a fundamental step. We hope to continue collaborating with the Naco ejido community and APFF Bavispe so that this place can be designated as a voluntary conservation area. We thank the communal landowners from the ejidos who have expressed interest in conserving this part of their land and all those who joined us to make this trip possible, because fieldwork is essential to better understanding the ecosystem and creating conservation proposals, the result of a collective effort.
