Field Notes

Aravaipa Canyon Vinca Removal

Come join us for a weekend in Aravaipa Canyon Preserve as we resume the fight against invasive vinca!

Celebrate: 2025 Festival of the Sky Islands

Save the dates! Oct. 16-18 is the 4th annual Festival of the Sky Islands in Moctezuma, Sonora. Let’s celebrate in an event filled with education, art, and conservation. This year, we are placing special emphasis on the Sky Islands’ grasslands, which are very important for bird migration, climate regulation, water filtration, and other ecosystem services. This event is made possible through a collective commitment, with the participation of organizations, students, artists, teachers, and schools, sharing their talent and knowledge through workshops, talks, exhibits, artistic performances, and community activities.

Coffee Break: Wildlife Research at the Border During Wall Construction

Concerned about all the recent developments at the border and not sure where that leaves wildlife? Join Sky Island Alliance’s wildlife team for our next virtual Coffee Break. We’ll take a virtual tour of southeast Arizona and describe the current status of border wall construction projects underway at the Santa Cruz River and across the San Rafael Valley. We’ll also share insights from our vast network of cameras that’s faithfully keeping watch on wildlife’s cross-border movement and tracking impacts.

Spring Cleaning at Davidson Canyon

Together with Pima County, we will remove tamarisk seedlings from the drainages around one or two natural springs in Davidson Canyon, just east of Tucson. The springs go seasonally dry but support a beautiful array of riparian plants including willows, ashes, and cottonwoods.

Festival por la vida y el agua del río Sonora

Join us and our allies this Aug. 3 from 5-9 p.m. for the 3rd annual festival for the life and water of the Río Sonora. Our allies at Cuenca Río Sonora will be hosting the event, and we’ll be there tabling along with many other partner groups. It will be a gathering place to celebrate life and defend the river with live music, workshops, exhibitions, talks, and activities for the whole family. For almost 11 years, communities in the watershed have fought for clean water, health, and environmental justice following the Grupo México toxic spill in 2014. This festival is to remember, share, and strengthen collective memory.

Project Mountain Recharge: Moving Rocks to Save the Rain on Mt. Lemmon

In response to the 2020 Bighorn Fire, Sky Island Alliance has been working with the Arizona Conservation Corps and Coronado National Forest to build more than 250 erosion-control structures out of loose rocks. This helps protect springs, conserve soils, limit fire risk, and infiltrate rainwater and snowmelt in areas that were burned. Now, we’re planning to continue this restoration work around more springs, the community of Summerhaven, and other inhabited areas in the Catalina Mountains. Join SIA Stewardship Manager Bryon Lichtenhan for our next virtual Coffee Break to learn more about this project and how to get involved.

Erosion Control in the Catalinas

Join us in the Santa Catalina Mountains for a weekend building erosion-control structures in areas burned by the 2020 Bighorn Fire.

Spring Seeker Backpack in Sabino Canyon

For experienced Spring Seekers only, since we’ll be on and off trail while searching for new springs up side canyons along the West Fork. We’ll start from Gordon Hirabayashi Campground and camp near Hutch’s Pool, which should have good swimming. Over the course of the weekend, we may hike around 25 miles.

Tucson ‘Spring Cleaning’

Join our campaign to remove invasive species at nine priority springs in the Tucson area. Together, we can restore these crucial wildlife oases! We’ll meet every Tuesday morning and be working mostly in the Sabino Canyon area on the northeast side of town and near Vail and Davidson Canyon on the southeast side. Stay as long as you like, and leave for work if you need to. This is a great way to create an impact, get in a workout, and meet other volunteers.

Fireflies in Arizona and Sonora

Southern Arizona and northern Sonora are home to the Southwest spring firefly (Bicellonycha wickershamorum), a nocturnal species associated with permanent streams and marshy areas in the Sky Islands. This rare firefly is currently under review for U.S. Endangered Species Act listing and is the subject of several research and survey efforts. Additional information is needed on the distribution of the species in Sonora, and you can help!

Please join biologists with the Xerces Society and Friends of the Verde River to learn more about this firefly and its life history and how you can help contribute to conservation efforts. The presentation will be bilingual for English- and Spanish-speaking participants.