This Oct. 16-19, we celebrated the 4th Festival of the Sky Islands in Moctezuma, Sonora — an annual event that uses environmental education, art, and culture as tools to connect... Read more »| Sky Island Alliance
For much of this year, little rain fell across the Sky Island region. A dry winter in early 2025 gave way to a dry spring and disappointing monsoon season in... Read more »| Sky Island Alliance
The following is part of a series of recommended Sky Island hikes. Be safe, have fun, and leave no trace. Ready for an adventure? I suggest the Reef Townsite Loop Trail and... Read more »| Sky Island Alliance
Recently, Sky Island Alliance’s Sonora team visited Rancho La Cieneguita near Cananea. This ranch is part of our Regenerative Ranches network, and I had the opportunity to speak with the person in charge of the bees, Mr. Manuel Morales Bracamontes, about this practice that has allowed the ranch to diversify its production while caring for the land.| skyislandalliance.org
The recommendations propose a comprehensive approach to preserve and restore springs and their environment. It is suggested to implement sustainable livestock management plans, placing fences that exclude cattle from water sources, as well as promoting rotational grazing to avoid overgrazing and favor the regeneration of riparian vegetation. For affected soils, such as sodic soils at Rock Ledge, the use of amendments such as agricultural gypsum and the incorporation of organic matter is recom...| skyislandalliance.org
At Sky Island Alliance we’re happy and proud to celebrate Laura Patricia Gutiérrez Velásquez, who after several months of work with our team, advised by our Habitat Conservation Manager Sarah Truebe, presented her thesis report and successfully graduated from the Universidad de la Sierra in Moctezuma, Sonora, with a bachelor’s degree in biology.| skyislandalliance.org
With new border wall construction starting this month in the Tucson Sector, wildlife will undergo further habitat fragmentation across the San Rafael Valley and Huachuca Mountains. Our research shows that border wall, with 6-inch bollards separated by just 4-inch spaces between bollards, stops 86% of wildlife on the ground from crossing the border. | skyislandalliance.org
A team of scientists and volunteers at the University of Arizona’s Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center have recorded five sightings of one male jaguar so far this summer, including the detections above. The big cat has been observed in multiple southern Arizona locations south of Tucson. The remarkable news from the University of Arizona’s Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center of the jaguar’s return to Arizona this week is a powerful reminder of how the Sky Island region is a ...| skyislandalliance.org
Hello, I’m Michell Cordova, and I recently joined the Sky Island Alliance staff. I’m currently a tech with the Ranchos Regenerativos program, and I’m very happy to be part of this project. I’d like to share a little about what the wildfire experience was like this summer near Cananea, Sonora, where I live.| skyislandalliance.org
A look across the San Rafael Valley and into Mexico from near Mesa Tank. This valley is one of the few remaining wildlife corridors in the Sky Islands not blocked by a border wall.In 2021 the Sierra Vista district of the Coronado National Forest approached Sky Island Alliance with a project idea to improve water sources for wildlife in the southwestern foothills of the Huachuca Mountains. The biologist for the district wanted to create better habitat for Chiricahua leopard frogs and other wil...| skyislandalliance.org
In early 2017, the Grupo Pionero Espeleológico de Sonora, a caving group I co-founded, embarked on a trip to the northeast of Sonora to explore Cueva La Mora. Unlike other large expeditions we’ve participated in, this was the first exploration made up exclusively of members of this group.| skyislandalliance.org
