Microscopic View of a Hedgehog Cactus Fruit
November 23, 2020Hedgehog cacti of the Echinocereus genus are relatively small-stature cactus plants with multiple cylindrical stems. In eastern Arizona, Fendler hedgehog (Echinocereus fendleri) may go unnoticed for much of the year until its brilliant pink…
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Creature Feature: Gould’s Turkey
November 20, 2020For today’s Creature Feature, we’re highlighting the Gould’s turkey, a subspecies of wild turkey that’s native to Arizona and slowly returning to our mountain ecosystems after being overhunted. So instead of eating this turkey for…
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Celebrating LGBTQ Environmentalists for LGBTQ STEM Day
November 18, 2020As a queer science writer working in environmental science and conservation, I both recognize and resonate with the profound ideas and inner strength the LGBTQ+ community brings to Science, Technology, Engineering,…
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Recapping the First 30 Days of Sky Island FotoFauna
November 17, 2020With October now complete, we are excited to look back on the first month of Sky Island FotoFauna, a wildlife monitoring network powered by many organizations and individuals that call the…
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Friday Flora Feature: Canyon Grape
November 12, 2020For this week’s Friday Flora Feature, we’re spotlighting Vitis arizonica, a grape species we often see while seeking water resources in the Sky Island region. Keep reading to learn how to identify this species when you’re…
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Meet Profauna: An Organization Turning the Tables in Favor of Conservation in Northern Mexico
November 11, 2020Northern Mexico has had a tragic history of iconic wildlife extinctions due to hunting and persecution by government agencies and landowners. The Mexican Grizzly Bear or Mexican Silvery Bear (Ursus arctos nelson), for example, was a subspecies of…
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Microscopic View of a Desert Cardinal Feather
November 9, 2020 We have two lovely cardinal species that reside in the Sky Island region, the Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) and Pyrrhuloxia (Cadinalis sinuatus), also known as the desert cardinal. Pyrrhuloxia has a prominent crest on its head,…
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Friday Creature Feature: Gray Fox
November 6, 2020Two fox species have been detected in the Sky Islands. One of these—the gray fox—is this week’s Friday creature feature! The gray fox is considered an urban-adapted species and is one of the animals listed on our FotoFauna checklist. So, grab a…
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A Quick Guide to Springs in the Sky Islands
November 3, 2020If you’ve ever wondered what springs are, how they form, or why they’re important to the ecosystems and habitats found in the Sky Island region, go no further. In celebration of hitting three months of spring seeking—a community…
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Microscopic View of a Cholla Fruit
November 1, 2020When you zoom in closer and closer to living things you encounter in the Sky Island region, it’s amazing what you find! I was recently drawn to look more closely…
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