Join us for a morning of looking for wildlife tracks and sign!

Sky island Alliance has launched a new project: 1,000 Cats. We are looking to amass 1,000 observations of wild cats throughout the Sky Islands, especially in areas at risk from development, highways, and the border wall. Over the next few months, we will be planning regular get-togethers for our trained trackers to come out and refresh their skills while helping us to collect important conservation data. Although we are especially interested in documenting the tracks and sign of our wild cat species, we will document whatever tracks and sign we can identify.

Trained Trackers; This is for You!

It’s been a while since we have gotten together to dust off our tracking skills. These upcoming meet-ups are going to be a great chance to practice our skills, and learn about ways we can put these skills to use for our current conservation projects! If you’ve been through one of our Wildlife Tracking Workshops, no matter how long ago, we would love to see you and get you involved in our work again!

The Work:

We’ll be using the iNaturalist app to document animal tracks and sign on the west side of the Tucson Mountains in areas that would be affected by the potential I-11 corridor. Please have iNatualist downloaded onto your phone and make sure you have joined the Sky Island Wildlife Tracking Program project before you come out. Please contact Bryon Lichtenhan (contact info below) if you have any questions about how to do this.

Where and When:

Meet us at the Brown Mountain Trail Picnic Area and Trailhead at 7:00 am Saturday morning. We will spend a few hours checking out nearby washes and trails for tracks and sign and wrap up by 10:00 am.

Covid-19 Safety:

We will be working outdoors, keeping the group fairly small, and practicing physical distancing, so risks should be fairly low. However, we ask that everyone keep a mask on their person and wear it if you need to be closer than 6 feet to anyone from a different household, such as when examining a track up close with others.

What to Bring:

• Smartphone or tablet for documenting tracks and sign
• Tracking ruler
• Field guides/tracking cards
• Mask for when physical distancing is impractical
• Daypack
• Water
• Snacks
• Sun Protection: appropriate clothing, hat, and/or sunscreen
• Whatever else you need for a (warm) morning in the desert…

If you have any further questions, please contact Bryon Lichtenhan at [email protected], or by phone at 520-307-6728.

Register Here!