Sky Island Alliance

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Tucson, AZ
Sky Island Alliance

We protect and restore the wildlife, water, and lands of the U.S. & Mexico Sky Island region. The Sky Islands are world-renowned hotspot for wildlife diversity.
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In this unique place, mountain islands meet a sea of grasslands and deserts, creating habitat for a mosaic of native plants and animals – from the magnificent jaguar and white-nosed coati to the elegant trogon. However, the Sky Islands and the life they support are threatened on many fronts – disappearing habitat, a hotter and drier climate, increasing border infrastructure, off-road vehicle abuse

and more. The Sky Islands are the only place in the world where black bear and jaguar share the same spring-fed canyons alongside plants such as wild grape and the purple-leaved chiltepin pepper, a place where half the bird species in North America are found. On a larger scale, the Sky Islands are a biological bridge for animals of the temperate north and tropical south moving along the Spine of the Continent, a wildlife pathway connecting central Mexico to Canada. We work to explore, protect, connect and restore the native plants, animals and natural landscapes of this region for people and for wildlife. We do this work though science, exploration, education, and advocacy – bringing people together to learn and appreciate more about the place in which we live, to encourage collaborative successes, and to create and celebrate real conservation in action. We invite you to join, and become a part of our growing community. Read Our Community Guidelines: https://skyislandalliance.org/community-guidelines/

06/04/2026

A promising new article recently published in Frontiers in Environmental Science, including local authors Laura Norman (USGS) and Mike Crimmins (UArizona): It explores the potential for simple rock structures like the ones we build in our volunteer trips to restore dryland water cycles and possibly even influence rainfall patterns. Learn more: https://ow.ly/zU3I50Z5PaZ

And if you’d like to try your hand at some of this work (and help take it to scale), join us on our next volunteer trip on Mt. Lemmon, June 19-21: https://ow.ly/Wk0Q50Z3ila

Graphic modified by the article’s authors and based on an illustration by Timothy Lee (Fisher et al., 2025).

/ Frontiers

06/02/2026

This June 28, join us for a monsoon-themed open mic at Hotel Congress' Century Room in Tucson to celebrate and call in the 2026 monsoon season! This event is in partnership with the University of Arizona's Poetry Center. Participants can share their own work or a rain-themed poem that they love. Spots in the lineup will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Up to 30 people can read, with one poem per person. To learn more and sign up, visit: https://ow.ly/o6Qe50Z5hgh

Photo of monsoon rainbow over Saguaro West courtesy SIA.

/ Hotel Congress / University of Arizona Poetry Center

06/01/2026

It’s never too early to dream and hope for rain! At least not following this year’s drought and with an El Niño in the works. The National Weather Service has published their 2026 outlook for the monsoon season, which officially runs from June 15 to Sept. 30. Check it out: https://ow.ly/3x4F50Z5Nos

A few takeaways: Odds tilt toward warmer-than-normal temps this monsoon, above-average precipitation, and potential for some El Niño-driven cyclones blown east from the Pacific in August and September. Stay tuned for more on El Niño later this summer in one of our virtual Coffee Breaks. In the meantime, enjoy the anticipation. That’s half the fun. ☔

Photo of expectant monsoon enthusiast courtesy SIA.

/ U.S. National Weather Service (NWS)

05/29/2026

Think you can tell the difference between the Sky Islands’ four kinds of skunks? Or between its different species of deer and hares? SIA Wildlife Specialist Meagan Bethel recently created a new set of quizzes so you can test your knowledge. Check ‘em out, along with a guide on how to identify these and other regional species: https://ow.ly/t59R50Z4R7e.

05/28/2026

This June, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, we’re supporting another Spring Seeker campaign along the San Pedro River and are in need of volunteers to head out in the field independently and help make it a success.

While June is one of the hottest times of year, it’s also the best time to check on springs to see if they’re perennial water sources. By surveying springs during dry periods, we can learn about their health, flow rates, and how they support biodiversity during drought conditions. More than 250 species of birds, 14 species of fish, 84 species of mammals, and 41 species of reptiles and amphibians call the San Pedro Valley their home — so let’s give them some love. See the full list of springs needing surveyed and sign up: https://ow.ly/NbU850Z4Pgg

Photo of SIA cofounder Dale Turner surveying a spring along the San Pedro River in June 2025; San Pedro spring by Julia Fonseca; mountain lion along the San Pedro River courtesy SIA.

05/26/2026

Want to camp with us on Mt. Lemmon over the solstice weekend, June 19-21? We’re hosting a volunteer trip up in the pines. It’s been six years since the Bighorn Fire swept Mt. Lemmon. But signs of renewal are all around, and you can be part of efforts to heal the mountain. Since 2020, SIA volunteers have built 414 erosion-control structures out of rock and fallen logs to sink rainwater and snowmelt and help this area thrive again.

Note: Carpooling from Tucson is available, and day-trippers are welcome. We'll be camping at Spencer Campground. To learn more and sign up, visit: https://ow.ly/vX4850Z3in9

You can also learn more in this KOLD feature: https://ow.ly/Wk0Q50Z3ila

05/22/2026

FotoFauna highlights are in from this past month, and here’s your chance to see a Gila monster swimming, a near-record high jump in the furball division, and another spotted kitty in Sonora. Check out this video from SIA’s Wildlife Specialist Miguel Enríquez — and if you live where the wild things are, consider joining our community science project.

FotoFauna is a growing network of 328 individuals and organizations in the Sky Islands, with wildlife cameras set up in the U.S. or Mexico. It’s easy to get started. Just set up a wildlife camera in your backyard and submit an online monthly checklist of species you observe. In addition to being fun and another way to form community, the data will help us study when and where wildlife is present so we can better protect their habitats.

To learn more, visit: https://ow.ly/5C3o50TTLT7

Video by Miguel Enríquez/SIA.

05/21/2026

Next weekend, May 29-30, join us and our allies in Cananea for a community weekend celebrating the grassland ecosystem of northeastern Sonora. Cananea lies in the heart of the Sky Islands region — a place where rivers are born, and where biodiversity and culture abound. We look forward to a couple days full of community, learning, celebration, culture, hiking, and camping!

This gathering is part of the celebration of the United Nations’ International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, which seeks to recognize the importance of grasslands, biodiversity conservation, and the livelihoods of rural communities.

To learn more and see a full schedule of events, visit: https://ow.ly/jHqH50Z2XB5

/ Cuenca Los Ojos / Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Bavispe / PROFAUNA, A. C. / International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists

05/20/2026

Border wall construction in southern Arizona’s wild and scenic San Rafael Valley continues, with at least 12 of 27 miles completed and new wall going up each day. As you can see in this video interview with SIA Wildlife Program Manager Eamon Harrity, contractors are blowing up sections of mountain to make way for the monstrosity, destroying wildlife habitat in the process, along with their access to food, water, and mates. Through it all, our wildlife cameras have been rolling. Since 2020, Sky Island Alliance has had remote cameras along this major wildlife corridor and beyond — documenting wildlife presence in the area, showing which species can and can’t cross, and building the case for future advocacy when the winds change.

Have a look at this short video from SmallWheel Films’ Leslie Ann Epperson to see what life’s really like at the border and to see what’s at stake.

Then learn more about our Border Wildlife Study: https://ow.ly/KONU50Z1fV0

And help keep the cameras running: https://ow.ly/sHwK50YOg2V

Video by Leslie Ann Epperson, SmallWheel Films. Music selections from "Monsoon Mirage" composed by Grégory Rolland, and soundscape created by Lise Tanfin.

05/15/2026

New items are in at the Sky Island Market, including 35th anniversary designs and a “Making Tracks” T-shirt in honor of the ocelot Himdam and his amazing trek across four mountain ranges. So have a look today, and see if you find something for yourself and/or loved ones: https://ow.ly/2g7B50RphSr.

All net proceeds go directly to support our work in the Sky Islands to protect the region’s water, wildlife, and lands. And the designs are illustrated by SIA Wildlife Specialist Meagan Bethel.

Address

3127 N Cherry Avenue
Tucson, AZ
85719

Telephone

+15206247080

Website

http://www.skyislandalliance.org/

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