Field Notes
Notes from the Field: Van Trap and Chimney Spring in the Southern Rincon Wilderness
March 29, 2021Volunteers lie at the heart of our Spring Seeker program. In 2020, 63 people helped us check over 220 springs in the U.S. and Mexico—a feat that would be impossible…
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We’re Rooting for Native Flora at Aravaipa Canyon Preserve!
March 22, 2021In early March, a team of six volunteers and three Sky Island Alliance staff braved the chilly spring evenings at Aravaipa Canyon Preserve to do two days of hard, earnest work: pull invasive…
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Notes from the Field: Searching for High Spring in the Huachuca Mountains
January 14, 2021Volunteers lie at the heart of our Spring Seeker program. In 2020, 63 people helped us check over 220 springs in the U.S. and Mexico—a feat that would be impossible for staff alone. Retired wildlands firefighter Brit…
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What We Learned from Monitoring Springs in 2020
January 8, 2021Since the launch of Spring Seeker in July 2020, Sky Island Alliance and its volunteers have been able to visit 256 springs throughout the Sky Island region of southern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. Visitors of these springs completed a quick survey in an app on…
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Notes from the Field: Spring Seeking with Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows
December 7, 2020Since the most memorable years of my life were spent in the Peace Corps, I’m always excited to meet another returned Peace Corps Volunteer (“RPCV”), which happens quite often in…
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Friday Flora Feature: Arizona Walnut
December 4, 2020When searching for water in the Sky Islands, finding a walnut tree can be a great indicator that you’re getting close to a spring, stream, or other water source! These…
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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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Wall Construction at the San Pedro River
September 2, 2020In July 2020, construction of a 30-foot steel border wall began across the last free-flowing river in Arizona. Despite monsoon floods that push water 140 miles from the San Pedro River’s headwaters in Mexico northwards to its convergence with the…
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Finding Water in Chiricahua Mountains
August 24, 2020In my time living in the Sky Islands, I’ve made a habit of seeking out any water source that’s just deep enough to plop down in and taking a dunk….
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Notes from the Field: Florida Canyon, Wilderness Springs Survey
August 18, 2020Driving back from the field the other day I smiled as I merged onto I-19 heading back towards Tucson. I had traveled just a mere hour from my home and had enjoyed another rewarding day in the…
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