By: Cholla Rose Nicoll, Borderlands Wildlife Preserve CoordinatorBeavers are the original water storage engineers and relatively recently have been gaining recognition in the field of habitat restoration as vital partners in the journey to restoring watersheds. Beaver’s biological activities of dam building and pond creation slow water flow and allows water to infiltrate more deeply into surrounding and upstream soils. Beaver dams also regulate water temperature and help trap sediment filling in erosion areas. These slower and wetter waterways are less prone to fire damage, flooding, and biodiversity loss than other areas where beavers have been eliminated.  Photo by Cholla Nicoll, taken in Colorado. After the colonization of the Americas, the beaver suffered the same fate as many other animals. Their populations plummeted due to over-harvesting and habitat destruction, leaving many gaps in the ecosystem where beaver needs to be restored. Arizona is in the arid west and has also seen a loss of 96% of its historic surface waters due to recent human activity. Making the remaining 4% extremely important to protect, restore and expand. Much of the restoration work at the Borderlands Wildlife Preserve and by Borderlands Restoration Network (BRN) revolves around restoring our local watersheds with similar methods to our friend, the beaver but primarily in dry landscapes.  Photo by Cholla Nicoll, taken in Colorado. Recently led by Watershed Management Group (WMG), I had the opportunity along with some of BRN’s watershed restoration crew members, to join in with a group of like-minded individuals and organizations to discuss the reintroduction of beaver in Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. With some prior restoration to retore suitable beaver habitat, this area with year-round water flow could provide an ideal setting for a small population of beaver and a space to study further how beaver populations re-establish in our region. Find out more about how you can help move this process along by visiting the link above to WMG. Some more good news for beavers is also on the headlines in California. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has requested five permanent positions and a $1.67 million California Environmental License Plate Fund in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022–23 and $1.44 million in FY 2023–24 and ongoing to fund and support the implementation of a beaver restoration program within the Department. If this request is approved, it could serve as an example for other states to do the same and create the national support network that beavers and humans need to coexist and partner against climate change. For more information on what this program could help maintain and support, please visit Worth A Dam and read the news article from May 14th, 2022, titled This Is The Big One: Dam Good News.
Good news for beavers or any fellow living creature is good news for us all. By: Sarah Klingenstein, Patagonia Regional Times Editorial TeamMayor Andrea Wood signed a new conservation easement on May 2 at the Patagonia Town Hall. The town, in cooperation with Borderlands Restoration Network (BRN), will ensure that 1,800 acres of land in the Sonoita Creek Wildlife Corridor is kept in its undeveloped state. Ron Pulliam, ecologist and board member of Borderlands Restoration Network and Wildlife Corridors, LLC and Matthew Jewell, Forest Legacy Program Specialist with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management were instrumental in securing the grants that made this project possible.  Forest Legacy Program Specialist Matthew Jewell, Mayor Andy Wood, Patagonia Town Manager Ron Robinson, Borderlands Restoration Network and Wildlife Corridors board member Ron Pulliam, and Deputy Town Clerk Isabel Van Nest at the signing of the conservation easement. Photo by Chuck Klingenstein. Pulliam said, “We’ve been working on this conservation easement project with the Arizona Forestry Department for five years and it is coming to fruition. We will be able to pay off all our debt on the land that we have purchased over the years for the Wildlife Corridor. Arizona Game and Fish has identified this land as the most important corridor in the state to connect the Sierra Madre to the Sky Islands for species like jaguar, mountain lion, and black bear, and now this habitat and migratory pathway will be preserved.”  View from Borderlands Wildlife Preserve looking south toward Red Mountain. “It is also an area that is open and available for hikers, birders, and mountain bikers. We think it contributes well to the economy of the local area and the reputation of Patagonia as a nature-based tourism hub.” Jewell pointed out that the project is the result of a collaborative effort involving federal, state and local government agencies working hand-in-hand with business and nonprofit partners to achieve a goal that will perpetually benefit both people and wildlife. "This project," he said "also includes access to the new section of the Arizona Trail accessible from Casa Blanca Canyon Road."  View from inside the Borderlands Wildlife Preserve. Locals and visitors are invited to enjoy the Smith Canyon Loop Trail on the property, which features rolling terrain, views of the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains, and a recently completed series of interpretive signs made possible through a generous financial gift from an anonymous donor.
By: Cholla Rose Nicoll, Borderlands Wildlife Preserve CoordinatorThe Borderlands Wildlife Preserve (BWP) is managed primarily to protect and restore a corridor for migratory wildlife. This passageway links mountain range habitats of the Arizona Sky Islands and those of northcentral Mexico. In addition to restoration and habitat conservation, the BWP is a place for people to enjoy and use for low impact recreational activities respectfully. We are happy to announce a new partnership with Arizona Trail Association (ATA) that will allow easier access for people to enjoy the Arizona National Scenic Trail (AZT) and BWP adjoining trails.  Arizona Trail Casa Blanca gate. In partnership with the ATA, Wildlife Corridors LLC has created a formal easement to build a trailhead and half-acre parking area along with a short connector trail to access the AZT off Casa Blanca Canyon Road, about 5 miles north of the Town of Patagonia. This new trailhead will access the Arizona Trail and the Cross Corridor Trail within the BWP. A formal kiosk will be on site with more details on the area and trail usage.  AZT Casa Blanca, Mount Wrightson view. The AZT and Cross Corridor Trail allow non-motorized uses, primarily hiking, running, mountain biking and horseback riding. Dogs are welcome on the AZT traveling through the BWP but must remain leashed and on the trail. Dogs are not permitted on the BWP trail adjoining the AZT, the Cross Corridor Trail. As a multi-use trail, it is crucial to respect guidelines for all users' safety and allow for the continued multi-use status to stay in place. Please read over the additional policies provided at the kiosk and other onsite signage.  AZT Casa Blanca, Red Mountain view. The official opening of the new Little Casa Blanca Canyon Trailhead will be Saturday, June 4 beginning with a formal ribbon cutting ceremony that will take place at the parking area trailhead at 8am. The public and trail enthusists are welcome to join the ribbon cutting ceremony and are invited to explore this unique access point after that time. We hope you enjoy the trails as much as we do!
Please reach out with any questions to Cholla Nicoll at cnicoll@borderlandsrestoration.org. For more information on the Arizona National Scenic Trail, please visit their website. By: Clarissa Moreno, Sofía Vargas, Anays Blanco & Jorge Chacón, BRN Sonoran InternsLast summer, Mexican university students and young professionals completed Borderlands Restoration Network’s Sonoran Field Course, hosted between the beautiful plateaus of the northern border of Sonora and Chihuahua, in the private natural reserve “Los Ojos", officially designated as an Area Voluntarily Designated for Conservation near Agua Prieta, Sonora. As part of the program, we (Clarissa, Sofia, Anays & Jorge) were selected as the 2021-2022 Sonoran Field Course interns. Now, we find ourselves with blossoming ideas, preparing the second iteration of this course, which integrates the skills developed in its first edition and new aspects that will provide a more comprehensive, diverse, and renewed vision.  Sonoran Field Course 2021 graduates, facilitators Anays & Jorge, and Juliet Jivanti, BRN Education Coordinator. We began a journey which has been essential to connect with our environment and with people who seek to improve their communities. Along the way, we have been adding partners, ideas, knowledge, experiences, and building a collaborative network that allows us to re-establish the link between the community and our natural environment, by building healthier and resilient spaces for the different life forms that share it.  Clarissa collecting native seeds for her pollinator garden project at the Instituto Tecnológico del Valle del Yaqui. An exceptional elementary school: Palo Alto American School Palo Alto Escuela Americana is a private bilingual school in Hermosillo, Sonora. The school has an Ecology Club that coordinates projects of aquaponics, vermicomposting and a small vineyard to encourage children’s environmental awareness perspective. From the summer of 2020 through spring of 2021, Sonoran Interns Omar, Miranda, Anays and Jorge worked together with Palo Alto to build a native plant greenhouse that is currently growing native trees that were first germinated last year. We, as the new generation of Sonoran Interns, continue to support this project by helping with seed collection, facilitating native plant trainings including seed treatment and germination techniques and sharing knowledge about the importance of native plants.  Air-view of the median in front of the Palo Alto school (seen in the background), which is being restored, a collaborative work between the institution, BRN Sonoran interns, and interested parties. Another project currently being developed with Palo Alto that is very exciting for us, involved the implementation of green infrastructure by restoring a median located next to the school. The project consisted of implementing passive rainwater harvesting systems and planting native plants into the landscape. Through collaboration, we worked on the design and agreements with the neighbors in the area, and the Hermosillo Municipality's Parks and Gardens Department, who have greatly supported this project. We hope that this median will act as a case study and a demonstration site for the next Sonoran Field Course.  Sofía working on a design and planning meeting with neighbors and collaborators of her green area restoration project in the north of Hermosillo. In search for mobilizers We are currently preparing for the 2022 Sonoran Field Course and we are looking for new leaders who will represent the ideals of conservation for their communities through the application of strategies that will strengthen collaborative networks by connecting with local partners and improving community spaces through their restoration. For this, we have conducted planning sessions in which we materialized ideas and a strategic plan that will allow the Sonoran Field Course to be more varied and diverse for learning of ecological restoration and economic restoration techniques.  Brainstorming and planning meetings for the Sonoran Field Course 2022. The entire team of interns and graduates are collaborating to make possible this great learning experience that will begin in Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora, to address the urban component and then move to Voluntary Conservation Areas such as Cuenca Los Ojos that are part of important biological corridors in the northeast of the state. We hope that this new approach can further inspire a new generation of conservation leaders.
To read the Spanish version of this blog, please click here. By: Cholla Rose Nicoll, Borderlands Wildlife Preserve CoordinatorApril always has me thinking about eggs. The stores are full of Easter merchandise, and eggs are everywhere. Growing up in Tucson, I even remember one spring finding a lizard egg in our front yard and marveling at its tiny size, full of wonder as to what it would become. So many incredible animals in the Borderlands Wildlife Preserve start their lives inside a protective shell. One of the most amazing animals that many might think hatches out of an egg is the scorpion, but unlike many other insects scorpions give birth to live young. Scorpions tend to give birth to their young in the summertime and, depending on the species, sometimes ride around on their mother's back until their first molt when they are mature enough to survive on their own. All scorpions are predators and, as such, fill an important role by consuming other small animals, including cockroaches. Some natural ways to deter scorpions on your property are likely to impede their prey. Keep yard waste, and food scraps cleaned up and eliminate bug-attracting lights and water sources.  Giant Hairy Scorpion (Hadrurus arizonensis). Scorpions can be found on every continent except Antarctica and are an incredibly ancient species dating back approximately 400 million years. Scorpions have changed very little over their existence as a species and could be a valuable indicator of overall ecosystem health. Over thirty scorpion species can be found in Arizona, yet the only one considered dangerous to humans is the bark scorpion (Centruroides exilicauda). For more information on bark scorpions and what to do if you encounter one, please visit Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center. Part of the responsibility and fun of living in a highly biologically diverse region is enjoying the cute and cuddly critters like bunnies and baby birds and understanding and protecting creatures like scorpions, snakes, and spiders. One safe way to explore the world of scorpions is to take advantage of another fun fact, scorpions all fluoresce or glow under UV light. Purchase a UV flashlight and head out on a warm summer night. Look near the base of walls or under trees and bushes for a bright green glow. Keep a safe distance and as with any other wild animal, do not touch or capture it but observe an animal that has been surviving for a very, very long time.  Scorpion under UV light. If you are interested in learning more about scorpions in our region, I would highly recommend reading the book Amazing Arachnids by local author Jillian Cowles.
As daylight waned and winter came into its own, the Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center (PYEC) began planning for the summer 2022 monsoon season building upon prior efforts to harvest rainwater, build vegetable gardens, and plan future crops. Through collaborations with BRN programs including Borderlands Earth Care Youth (BECY), and Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wuḍ Doakag (Water is Life) the youth center is creating a sustainable and rich landscape that creates opportunities for youth to learn and care for the land while growing sustainable food crops.  Ṣu:dagĭ ‘O Wuḍ Doakag interns check out the rain-fed vegetable garden at Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center. During the summer of 2021, BECY installed a 2,500-gallon cistern to gather rainwater from the youth center roof. A full cistern and a gravity-fed irrigation system now allows rainwater to support a verdant garden of peas, carrots, onions, lettuce, kale, chard, and broccoli, which is tended to by youth center attendees. Additionally, BRN has developed a landscape plan with the intention of expanding the food gardens, building a food forest, adding pollinator gardens, and providing a passive rainwater chicken coop. When it rains, a small cistern in the coop will fill with water accessible to chickens.  Snap peas and carrots growing solely on rainwater from the cistern at Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center. As part of this expansion, students visiting BRN from The Webb School in California and participants from our Ṣu:dagī ‘O Wuḍ Doakag (Water is Life) program from Baboquivari High School on the Tohono O’odham Nation, came together to install rain basins and a berry patch. The rain basins are connected to the roof with gutters and PVC piping, allowing water to trickle in when it rains. Next, they installed an irrigation system that will be connected to a new cistern generously donated by PYEC parent, Matthew Hendricks of Hendricks Sewer & Drain. Unlike many native plants that require less water, the berries will need supplemental watering during dry times of the year.
Through a series of collaborative workshops led by BRN and PYEC, and funded by the Wildlife Conservation Society, New York Community Trust, and generous PYEC donors, Patagonia youth have since planted six blueberry bushes, three raspberry and blackberry bushes, two pineapple guava trees, and two kiwi vines. These plants were inoculated with compost and compost tea from Deep Dirt Farm. PYEC youth are now completing their finishing touches on the berry patch, removing excess soil and stabilizing the basins with rock. Feel free to peek over the fence across from the Patagonia Volunteer Fire Department to see their progress!  Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center youth mulch blueberry bushes at the berry patch. Youth are already planning what they’ll do with the bounty from the berry patch – jam, blueberry muffins, and gobbling fresh raspberries off the bush. Some of the youth have never tasted the fruit that is now growing at the PYEC. The berry patch rain garden and the cistern-fed veggie garden will continue to sustain Patagonia families long into the future.  Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center youth and volunteers in front of the berry patch. If you’re interested in learning more about harvesting rainwater in rain gardens or cisterns, sign up for our upcoming free Rainwater Harvesting Workshop series on Saturdays in April, with in-person classes both in Patagonia and Huachuca City.
By: Cholla Rose Nicoll, Borderlands Wildlife Preserve CoordinatorAt Borderlands Wildlife Preserve, we try to balance providing access to natural areas for humans and keeping our wildlife safe and thriving in the most non-invasive ways possible. We hope to work towards both goals this coming spring! As many of our readers are probably aware, a recent study published in Nature Climate Change has reported that the west is experiencing the worst drought in 1200 years. Climate change driven by relatively recent human activity has made it 40% worse. Evidence shows that the drought is also not over yet, potentially continuing until 2030. The continued drought makes life harder for our local wildlife. Borderlands Restoration Network and many other organizations concerned with wildlife conservation act by providing water for wildlife. Thanks to a generous donation from one of our incredible supporters, we have purchased four new wildlife drinkers to install in the preserve. Three of these drinkers will replace previous hand-crafted drinkers, eventually moving to different areas of the preserve. Although both types of drinkers provide much-needed water to animals, these new drinkers are designed to be buried at ground level allowing smaller animals and bugs to access moisture more easily. Two of these drinkers have already been installed, and we are happy to say they are working great just in time for the driest part of the year.
In addition to our new wildlife drinkers, the preserve will also be gaining a new trail, The Discovery Trail (DT). The DT will be located at the main entrance to the preserve just behind the welcome kiosk, with construction starting in March and completion planned for late fall of this year. The DT will allow visitors to discover habitat restoration techniques and local history through a series of small educational trailside signs and demonstration areas. As the coordinator of this project, I am excited to be working on this trail with the help of Tess Wagner, BRN’s Restoration Program Manager. Tess has helped design this trail to be ADA compliant using universal design concepts. The BWP currently has no trails that are universally accessible. This trail will provide access to individuals using wheelchairs, strollers, and others with limited mobility or impaired senses and/or abilities. In addition to being universally accessible the DT will also be open to leashed dogs.  The Discovery Trail will be an accessible interpretive trail departing from the parking area and existing kiosk at the Borderlands Wildlife Preserve. Please stay tuned for more updates and potential volunteer opportunities in the future to help with the completion of the Discovery Trail. This trail would not be possible without the generous donation of supporters and the MTN Dew Outdoor Grant program. Borderlands Wildlife Preserve continues to evolve into a place with more opportunities for all to enjoy nature and provide a haven for our local wildlife. We hope to continue to find the balance between the two and are always open to suggestions from the community. Please enjoy this spring in the Sky Islands and reach out anytime with questions about the preserve and new happenings.
By: Cholla Rose Nicoll, Borderlands Wildlife Preserve CoordinatorI know it's cliche to write about love in February, but some animals in Arizona find February the perfect time to meet a partner. Both coyotes (Canis latrans) and gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) breed in or around February having their pups or kits born in spring. Javelina (Tayassu tajacu) also frequently breed in February to coincide with the birth of their reds during monsoon season. (Baby javelina are called reds due to the red color of their hair.) Breeding season for bobcats (Felis rufus) also occurs in or around February. So, as you can see February is about more than Valentine's Day for our local wildlife, it just happens to be a great month to plan a family for a spring or summer arrival.  Gray fox pair drinking water at the Borderlands Wildlife Preserve. Some fun facts about the animals mentioned above are:
 Image of a bobcat pair captured at night by one of our wildlife trail cameras. Something I am hoping you will all love this month are these pictures from the Borderlands Wildlife Preserve of what is most likely mated pairs of animals. These rare images give us a glimpse into the survival of the species living within the preserve. Although gray foxes and bobcats are not considered threatened species it is always a special treat to see a picture of them not just surviving, but thriving under the pressures of an ever-changing climate and growing human population. I hope these images bring some warmth to your heart despite your relationship status on Valentine's Day.
By: Dr. Laura Monti, Borderlands Restoration Senior Fellow, Research Associate, University of Arizona Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and The Southwest CenterMangrove forests and seagrass beds are some of the most efficient ecosystems for carbon storage. Off the coast from the Comcáac Indigenous communities, within the Infiernillo Channel, there are 13 mangrove forests and more than 900 hectares of seagrass beds which is more than exist throughout the entire rest of the Gulf of California. With support from 11th Hour Racing and the Schmidt Family Foundation the members of the Comcáac blue carbon team explored ways to expand the existing seagrass beds and mangrove forests to increase carbon sequestration to strengthen climate resilience for these ecosystems while generating income for the community.  Zostera marina beds and seed planting sites in the Infiernillo Channel of the Gulf of California. Adapted from Terre Cosio, 2000. Comcáac team leaders Alberto Mellado, Erika Barnett, Gabriela Suárez, Gary Nabhan, and Laura Monti led an effort to cultivate 4000 mangrove seedlings which were transplanted to four estuaries in the Infiernillo Channel while scuba divers sowed thousands of eelgrass seeds and transplanted hundreds of rhizomes into the sea floor along the margins of seagrass beds at two different sites. This team is also working with the University of Arizona and Prescott College Kino Bay Center for Cultural and Ecological Studies to renew the designation as a recognized site of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. In addition to capturing carbon, these systems provide critical habitat and food for resident and migrating sea turtles. Among the five species of sea turtles that migrate or reside in the Infiernillo Channel, the sea turtle conservation team Grupo Tortuguero Comcáac-Desemboque led by Mayra Astorga, have documented that olive ridley sea turtle nests have increased significantly during the past seven years possibly related to warming waters further south. In addition to data collection, this group has been monitoring nests, collecting, and incubating eggs, releasing hatchlings, tagging turtles, and leading community education.  Sea turtle hatchery pen.  Volunteers from Grupo Tortuguero Comcáac-Desemboque monitoring hatchlings. During the 2020-2021 seasons close to 10,000 thousand sea turtle hatchlings were released. This two year trend represents a dramatic increase from previous years likely due to reduced human activity during the COVID pandemic. A new initiative supported by Amazon Conservation will link Grupo Tortuguero with other Indigenous coastal communities of Central and South America to facilitate knowledge exchange.  Hatchlings in their protected nest soon to be released to the wild.  Release of sea turtle hatchlings. This interweaving of programs across human health including food, water, and energy security as well as climate change resilience is rooted in Comcáac traditional knowledge and carried out with full knowledge and invitation of the Comcáac community governing authorities and leaders.
If you haven't already, read the first two blogs in this three blog update about work happening with the Comcáac Indigenous Communities. Lea la versión en español de este blog en este enlace. By: Dr. Laura Monti, Borderlands Restoration Senior Fellow, Research Associate, University of Arizona Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and The Southwest CenterIn our blog series update about the work of the Salud Comcáac team, that includes BRN Senior Fellow Laura Monti, we turn to renewable energy and food security. The lack of access to affordable energy, clean water and healthy food threatens the long-term survival of the Comcáac Indigenous communities. Thanks to support of the Honnold Foundation, in Desemboque the community well and about half the homes now have photovoltaic solar panels installed, reducing energy costs by two thirds and eliminating carbon emissions. Working alongside the Solarex Enterprise engineers were Comcáac solar technician leaders Veronica Molina and Cecilia Moreno who received additional training in solar panel installation.  Solar panel community workshop participants and team leaders. These new panels do more than provide renewable energy and clean water, they also provide shade, another resource in short supply. The panels create a buffer against the intense heat and aridity of the Sonoran coast. A food security team led by Mayra Astorga and Gary Nabhan are testing the idea to see what traditional foods and herbs grow well in these new shady spots.  Solar energy and agriculture team. Punta Chueca food security team leader Erica Barnett has also launched a community garden program to increase the availability of healthy foods with support of the Instituto Nacional de Pueblos Indígenas.  Community garden in Punta Chueca. An inaugural community celebration was held to revitalize the consumption of the traditional food, eelgrass. The seeds of this seagrass contain dense concentrations of nutrients and beneficial oils. Read more about the seagrass and mangrove restoration project here.  Close up of Zostera marina (eelgrass) seed. Photo by Eduardo Infantes. In addition, the Comcáac Mesquite Collective, made up of community members who collect mesquite beans to roast and grind by mortar and pestle, produced 150 pounds of mesquite flour providing an additional income source from sales. Much thanks to Juliet Jivanti and the Borderlands Restoration Network Mesquite Stewardship Program for your help with sales!  Read the other blogs in this three part update!
Publication: Renaissance of Xnois grain from the seagrass (Zostera marina) as a food of the Comcaac community together with the University of Arizona. Link: Publicación / Publication Lea la versión en español de este blog aquí. |
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