Regional Conservation Org Bi-national meeting

Date: February 19, 2015
Contact: Andy Fisher, [phone]

Tucson, AZ - In an effort to establish working relations between National Parks and Reserves on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, Saguaro National Park and its partners Sonoran Joint Venture, Sky Island Alliance, and Friends of Saguaro National Park will host a week-long meeting and training in Tucson, February 23-27, with their Mexican counterparts.

The goal is to share natural resource information and discuss regional wildlife, fire effects, and habitat monitoring. Last fall personnel from Saguaro National Park and Sky Island Alliance visited the "Ajos-Bavispe" Reserve in Sonora and Parque Nacional "Constitucion de 1857" in Baja California. This week's event will include biologists and managers from the Mexican states of Sonora, the Baja California Peninsula and Jalisco who will visit Saguaro National Park, Chiricahua National Monument and Coronado National Memorial.

"National parks and reserves on both sides of border protect and share natural resources," said Saguaro National Park Biologist Don Swann. "They address critical conservation needs and help interpret plants and animals to the visiting public."

The Sonoran Joint Venture (SJV) is coordinating an effort to better understand the projected impacts of climate change on birds and habitats in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. During the workshop biologists from participating parks will learn how to use an on-line tool to guide decisions about conservation and monitoring activities.

"Birds are great indicators of environmental change because they are so closely linked to climate and vegetation," says SJV Coordinator Robert Mesta. "One of the goals of this project is to bring together folks from both sides of the border to collaborate on monitoring and management issues."

According to Sergio Avila, Sky Island Alliance Conservation Director, "Plants and animals know no political boundaries and through these partnerships we facilitate communication between conservation partners. Sky Island Alliance connects people from both sides of the border, improving opportunities to learn from each other, and developing positive conservation stories that benefit our shared natural and human communities. This type of collaboration is very important and necessary."

For more information contact:

• Don Swann, Saguaro National Park - Email: [e-mail]. Tel: [phone]·
• Jennie Duberstein, Sonoran Joint Venture - Email: [e-mail]. Tel: [phone] · 
• Sergio Avila, Sky Island Alliance - Email: [e-mail]. Tel: [phone]

The Sonoran Joint Venture's mission is to conserve the unique birds and habitats of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. We bring together partners from both sides of the border to integrate the strategies, goals, and objectives of existing regional, national, and international bird conservation plans into a single, strategic effort that addresses the needs of our area. For more visit: www.sonoranjv.org.

Sky Island Alliance is a bi-national conservation organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the native species and habitats in the Sky Island region of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. We work with volunteers, scientists, landowners, public officials, and government agencies to establish protected areas, restore healthy landscapes, and promote public appreciation of the region's unique biological diversity. For more visit: www.skyislandalliance.org.