Sky Island Alliance · of your individual values and passion for this unique region by making a bequest to Sky Island Alliance. Sky Island Alliance’s Legacy Giving program continues

Sky Island Alliance2012 Annual Report

We think forward. We think big. We act.p Sky Island Alliance 2012 Annual Report2

Dear Friend of the Sky Islands,

Reflecting on the year 2012, I am proud to share highlights of allwe have accomplished in this region we treasure and am honoredto share a sincere message of thanks to the many people who havemade this work possible.

Even as our work continues to mature and deepen in its vision andscope, I can still describe what we do — we as staff, board,volunteers, and supporters — in four simple words: Explore.Restore. Connect. Protect. What is not simple, but is crucial to understand and affect change in this region,is the effective coordination of not only staff and financial resources but our cooperative partnerships sothat as we explore, we connect; as we restore, we protect.

We explore: Understudied and remote places, dwindling but critical water sources, and the movement ofkey wildlife on and among our treasured Sky Islands, sharing knowledge and building relationships withdedicated community members.

We restore: Damaged wildlife habitat — most often, riparian and aquatic refuges for wildlife — helpingit return to a more natural state so rainfall can percolate the soil, re-establishing native plants that stabilizethe soil, and creating shade for fish and amphibians, thereby sustaining deer, birds, butterflies and more.

We connect: We not only advocate for connectivity of wildlife habitat, but as a bi-national organizationwe work as a bridge to connect people to each other and to this special place.

We protect: Scientific data can speak a thousand words and we effectively use what we know in both thetraditional ecosystem defense model, and proactively in a preventative ecosystem offense model. We fightill-conceived ideas that would harm wildlife and habitat — concurrently proposing increased protectionsand adaptive management planning.

I hope we can count on your support for many years to come as we forge new partnerships and increaseprotections for this landscape we treasure.

Melanie EmersonExecutive Director

3Explore. Restore. Connect. Protect.

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Your Values, Your Legacy: Leaving a Legacy of Conservation in the Sky IslandsMost days, we don’t take time to consider how our actions are creating the legacywe’ll someday leave, but today can be different.

You can protect the wild places, native animals and plants you treasure for generationsto come by naming Sky Island Alliance in your will or trust. You may not be able togive a large gift today, but you can start to have this important conversation with yourloved ones today. You can make a final contribution that leaves a legacy, a reflectionof your individual values and passion for this unique region by making a bequest toSky Island Alliance.

Sky Island Alliance’s Legacy Giving program continues to expand and provides vitalsupport for implementing this vision we share — healthy, diverse ecosystems withabundant native wildlife, and connected landscapes for all to enjoy.

A generous legacy donor put it this way, “Being surrounded by beautiful, wild desertsand mountains rich with biodiversity inspires me, and has caused me to reflect onwhat we can do to preserve the Sky Islands for future generations. I believe in the waySky Island Alliance is approaching conservation in this region I care about — andthat’s why I’m involved… I want to leave a conservation legacy.”

All of us offer our sincere thanks to the growing list of donors who have made acharitable pledge to Sky Island Alliance through a will, retirement or other estate plan.

We would be honored and grateful to know of your intentions to include Sky IslandAlliance in your will or estate. If you would like to disclose your intent to join ourgrowing list of legacy donors or have questions, please contact Development Director,Keri Dixon at 520.624.7080 x15. We encourage you to seek counsel from a trustedadvisor to plan your gift.

Many Thanks to ourIn-Kind Supporters4th Ave. Yoga | Leanne & Kip Adams |

Greta Anderson & Steev Hise | Antigone

Books | Arizona Native Plant Society |

Axle Canyon Preserve | Ballet Tucson |

Blue House Catering | Blue Turtle

Botanicals | Borderlands Brewery |

Borderlands Theater | Borderlinks |

Wynne Brown | Shawn Burke | Murray

Bolesta, Cactus Huggers Photography |

Rancho La Candelaria | Casa Video |

Civano Nursery | Tim Cook | Roberto

Corella, Rancho La Esmeralda | Sky

Crosby | Carol Cullen & Bruce Pheneger |

The Desert Leaf | Kathy & Glenn Dixon |

Keri Dixon | John Donoghue | Jack

Dykinga | Ejido Miguel Hidalgo | Ejido

San Pedro de Aconchi | Dr. Arthur & Mrs.

Audrey Emerson | Melanie Emerson | ESRI

Conservation Program | Fini’s Landing |

Flandrau Science Center | Laird Gassan |

Richard & Joanne Griffiths | Hammel, Beal

& Lauer PC | Happy Tails Pet Services |

Chip Hedgcock | The Historic Rialto | The

Historic Y | Imágenes de Sonora | Kalil

Bottling Co. | Bonnie Kay | Ken & Karen

Lamberton | Dennis LeBlond | The Loft

Cinema | Lotus Massage & Wellness

Center | Madaras Gallery | Jessica Moreno

| National Parks Service Sonoran Desert

Network | Native Seeds/SEARCH | The

Nature Conservancy, Cobra Ranch | Brit

Oleson | Jean Ossorio | Pasco Kitchen &

Lounge | Pima County Natural Resources,

Parks & Recreation | Plaza Liquors |

Quench Wines | Raging Sage Coffee

Roasters | REI Tucson | Carlos Robles,

Rancho El Aribabi | The Rogue Theatre |

Chris Roll | Ruben Ruiz, Rancho Pan Duro

| Wendy Russell | Saguaro PC Tech | Dr.

Justin Schmidt | Joey Schwanz | Sierra

Club Rincon Chapter | Alex Smith |

Sonoran Glass School | Sparkroot |

Springs Stewardship Institute | Julie St.

John | Van Clothier & Donna Stevens,

Stream Dynamics | Summit Hut |

Sunglow Ranch | Tohono Chul Park |

Training Resources for the Environmental

Community | Dale Turner & Julia Fonseca

| UApresents | Tom Van Devender & Ana

Lilia Reina Guerrero | Wildwind Realty |

Raymundo Yescas-Cru | Enrique Yescas-

Enríquez | The Z Mansion


EXPLORE

September 2012 marked the Madrean Archipelago BiodiversityAssessment's (MABA) 6th expedition into the Mexican Sky Islands: LaSierra Aconchi. Over the course of four days, ornithologists, herpetologists,botanists, and entomologists from both the U.S. and Mexico ventured intohigh country pine-oak woodlands and nearby riparian areas in which theyobserved over 1,300 animal and plant species, including the northernmostrecords of tropical orchid bee and lizard, 108 species of birds, a rare plant,and many plants typical of the Sierra Madre Occidental.

We are creating the most comprehensive — publicly accessible — catalog of the Sky Islands biodiversity!

Sky Island Alliance broughttogether over 300 scientists, landmanagers, and conservationistsfrom the U.S. and Mexico for theBiodiversity & Management ofMadrean Archipelago conference.

5Explore. Restore. Connect. Protect.skyislandalliance.org p

Sky Island Alliance’s Seeps and Springs project demonstrates our commitment to respondingto climate change by tackling projects that protect and restore ecosystem resilience.

Springs are among the mostbiologically rich, culturally important,and highly threatened ecosystems onearth, but they are not completelyunderstood. And it may be surprisingthat Arizona has more springs thanany other state. In order to betterunderstand our precious springs, weare assessing these scarce watersources.

Resource managers, landowners,conservationists, and volunteers havejoined in our project team to learnmore about these biologicallyimportant springs in the region andhow we might work together toprotect and restore these refuges.

EXPLORE We sent a team of staffand volunteers to the WhetstoneMountains. The hard work startedwhere the road ended — the teamexplored remote, roadless areas onfoot.

Over rough terrain and throughthickets of cat-claw acacia, teamsinventoried sites including NogalesCanyon Spring where they found abeautiful spring ecosystem flowingfrom travertine with deep pools ofturquoise water and thick riparianvegetation of California buckthorn,sumac, Fremont cottonwood, and ahealthy population of poison ivy.

82 individuals volunteered a total of 1,908 hours in 2012,assessing 59 springs in 14 Sky Island locations — from thePatagonia to the Rincon to the Huachuca Mountains.


RESTORE

This year, Sky Island Alliance continued the Cloverdale Ciénega and Creek Restoration Project —reconnecting the alluvial aquifer recharge system to supply flow to the ciénega and the creek below.Approximately 300 invasive juniper trees were removed from the drying ciénega surface and used to controlerosion along one mile of the adjacent creek. We built structures, baffles, and weirs to slow water down andpromote infiltration, thus encouraging riparian vegetation growth on the banks and floodplains andincreasing habitat for the Chiricahua leopard frog and other cool aquatic and riparian critters. By raisingthe streambed, we accommodated for a rise in the water table during runoff — and with rains over the nextdecade, the ciénega surface will become fully saturated and transition back to a wetland. As soon as thedrought ends and a normal (or even sub-normal) water year occurs, Cloverdale Creek will flow again!

RESTORE We createdponds and other froghabitat to protect Chiricahualeopard frog populations.

The Cloverdale Cienega restoration project turned back over a century of human alterations to the landscape and restored natural water flow, native grasses, and habitat for the threatened Chiricahua leopard frog.

6,000 invasive, non-native bullfrogs wereremoved from the PajaritoMountains, allowing nativeleopard frog populationsto rebound.


This year we forged a partnership withInstituto Tecnológico Superior deCananea (ITSC) to promote mutualconservation goals. We have engagedstudents and professors in restorationtraining and they have participated inSky Island Alliance riparian restorationprojects on both sides of theU.S./Mexico political boundary.

Through this new partnership, wefoster understanding and appreciationof the unique resources of the regionand promote future wildlife habitatrestoration and protection in NorthernMexico as we encourage students toexplore, study and make careers ofconservation.

CONNECT In September, studentsfrom Hermosillo and Cananea joined aSky Island Alliance riparian restorationworkshop held at Rancho La Esmeralda.They learned to recreate the stream’s“riffle, run, pool” structure and helpedrestore its capacity to support native fishpopulations.


CONNECT

Corridors and linkages allow wildlife movement. The more we understand about wildlife movement, the betterwe can advocate for habitat protection — setting priorities and working pro-actively with land managers andtransportation planners.

Sky Island Alliance intern and graduate student Sara Sillars identified linkages that best maintain wildlife movementbetween the Dragoon, Winchester and Galiuro Mountains, and in her final Master’s project highlighted specificmeasures required to maintain habitat connectivity. This is especially significant because the Dragoon Mountainsare part of a proposed wilderness area. Both core habitat areas and the related wildlife linkages must be protectedto ensure successful migration and healthy populations of wide-ranging species like black bear and jaguar.

A milestone on its own, Sara’s 2012 project — combined with the skill of Sky Island Alliance’s team of biologists— is helping to build partnerships with local planners in the region. Sharing this information as a case study anda starting point for a large-scale connectivity assessment, Sky Island Alliance’s team of experts is able to pulltogether spatial analysis and sound, science-based recommendations as we advocate for future wildlife linkage andwilderness protections.

Already, we have shared this new information with the Arizona Department of Transportation — to justify theneed for a wildlife crossing structure at Texas Canyon — as they begin planning highway reconstruction for thatstretch of Interstate 10.

Sky Island Alliance uses the data it collects for both ecosystem defense and offense: Working withland managers and community to preserve the ecological integrity of the region as a whole.



Home to the jaguar, the Sky Islands offer open space, prey, cover, and water. The numberof sightings in the last 15 years continues to grow, north and south of the border. Since2010, Sky Island Alliance has collected photographs of at least two individual jaguarsin northern Sonora, only 30 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

PROTECT In August, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed Critical Habitat forthe jaguar. Sky Island Alliance used our extensive analysis to demonstrate that theproposal did not include sufficient east-west corridors linking isolated Sky Islandmountain ranges in the U.S. It also did not include some of the most suitable core jaguarhabitat in the region. Identifying and protecting both core habitat and linkages thatconnect that habitat is critical for jaguar survival and recovery in the United States.Particularly in light of the growing impacts of climate change, jaguars must be able tonot only expand their range northward but also have room to roam across habitat inthe U.S. Our response to the federal proposal mapped out high-quality, connectedhabitat including the Dos Cabezas and Chiricahua Mountains. The final Critical Habitatdesignation must be far more expansive than originally proposed in order to ensureconservation of the species.

CONNECT Sky Island Alliance collaborated with SonoranJoint Venture and Tucson Audubon Society, gathering expertbirders familiar with the region, to learn the ArizonaCoordinated Bird Monitoring Project’s protocols. Sky IslandAlliance will be applying this strategy to observe and assessbreeding bird populations in oak woodland and pine oakhabitat of Northern Mexico. This work will informconservation decisions in Sonoran Joint Venture’s MexicanHighlands Bird Conservation Region.

In 2012, The University of Arizona

initiated a study in the U.S. portion of the

Sky Island region to document individual

jaguars using remote cameras. The study

has yielded early and exciting results,

including several photographs of a jaguar

in the Santa Rita Mountains. We anticipate

this new information will prove valuable

for jaguar recovery. ©USFWS/UA/DHS


PROTECT

We defeated the proposed widening of Scenic Highway 83 — a significantvictory and excellent example of how citizen science can be used effectivelyin ecosystem defense. Sky Island Alliance presented compelling evidence ofwildlife presence and movement in the area and urged Pima Association ofGovernments to reject the widening project proposed by the companybehind Rosemont copper mine. We showed the significant negative impactthe road widening would have on numerous wide-ranging species, includingmountain lions, bears, ocelots and jaguars, who use the Las Ciénegas wildlifecorridor to move across the landscape from the Santa Rita mountains to theWhetstone mountains and points east, and to points north via their onlysafe passage across I-10 — the wildlife underpass at Davidson Canyon.

PROTECT Sky Island Alliance ishelping revise management plansfor the roads in our National Forests.Advocating for greater protection ofimportant wildlife habitat andlinkages with partner organizations,we submitted comments thatidentify specific routes for closureand urge greater consideration forthe impacts of climate change onNational Forest resources. The U.S.Forest Service agreed with themajority of our recommendationsand we will continue to addressoutstanding concerns.


The Patagonia Mountains’ fragile HarshawCreek watershed is threatened by hard rockmining proposals — one of which would buryalmost 3,000 acres of National Forest landsunder waste from a 600-foot deep open-pitmine and processing plant. And that’s not theonly mining proposal in this ruggedlandscape, essential habitat for endangeredMexican spotted owls and Lessor long-nosedbats, and migratory crossroads forendangered ocelots and jaguars.

PROTECT Working with communitypartners, Sky Island Alliance filed a lawsuitchallenging the Coronado National Forest’sapproval of one mining project without firstcomplying with the National EnvironmentalPolicy Act and the Endangered Species Act.The good news is the Forest subsequentlywithdrew its approval of the project; however,we continue to watch this and other miningproposals in the Patagonia Mountains, andwe expect the fight is not yet over. We areworking with Patagonia-area volunteers toidentify and collect data on the biologicaldiversity and richness of the mountain rangewhich will then be used to advocate for itsprotection.

Hard rock mining threatens to disrupt a crucial wildlife corridor for jaguars and ocelots.It would also destroy essential habitat for endangered Mexican spotted owls and

lesser long-nosed bats. We must remain vigilant: The fight is just beginning.


Tim AllenIsabel AmorousJundari ArmstrongHoward ”Chip” ArnbergHumberto ArriolaBill AzevedoDana BackerTina BakerLuis Banda-BojórquezDinah BearBill BeaverAndy BennettCarol BernsteinMeagan BethelBill BethelMichael BissontzHetty BlackJoe BlackSteven BlackNick BleserEric BodznickScott BolingCarl BoswellCheri BoucherStephanie BowmanAllison BoydJeff BoydCurt BradleyLinda BrewerWynne BrownRetta BrueggerElizabeth Buchroeder-WebbLee BurtonDaniel Bustamante C.David BygottDennis CaldwellRichard CallahanJoshua CampbellOscar Cano B. Walter CarbajalKacey CarletonSue Carnahan

Jefferson CarterAida Castillo-FloresAmbre ChaudoinDyna ChinJim ChumbleyJoe CiceroMario Cirett-GalánCarlos CohenPaul CondonTim CookCharlotte CookKathy CooperCarolina Copetillo VasquezAna CordovaDaniela Cruz C.Carol CullenDagmar CushingNick CzaplewskiKevin DahlDon DavisGail DawkinsBrian DeArmonLogan DeCiancioDana DeedsJulie DehlinKeri DixonKathy DixonJesús DuarteDave EerkesJoan EerkesFrances EmerickKim EtheringtonDave EvansGeorge FarmerGeorge FergusonKen FieldsTim FloodValerie FloresJulia FonsecaWarren ForreyKelly Franco-GarcíaHoward Frederick

Donna FreyDebbie FriesenRoberto FuentesEric FunderburkGlenn FurnierKevin Gaither-BanchoffMark GeorgeSandy GoodallRich GriffithsLinda GuinterGaby GutierrezSteve HaleEdward HaleySamantha HammerJeannette HanbyJonathan HansonRoseann HansonEvan HansonMatt HansonChristine HassJohn HathawayAlyson HeadMike HeadrickChip HedgcockOscar Hernandez MirandaRand HighleyCliff HirschJustin HobertCorbin HobertKeri HobertMike IngramNathan JacksonLinda JakseGayle JandreyAndrew JansenZurrizadah JaramilloJan JohnsonTerry JohnsonZane JohnsonTom JonesDavid KellyDick Krueger

Bill KurtzEllie KurtzKen LambertonJack LasseterDennis LeBlondNorberto León del CastilloEric LinzmeyerSara LowdenKaren LoweryFelicia LoweryBeatriz E. Loyola-ReinaRussell LyonKeeley Lyon-LettsAndy MacLeodJim MalusaRosita MalusaRudy MalusaSherry MannMike ManningMary Ann Marazzi-HassanSteve MarlattKarina MarquezLora MartensRichard MartinJosé ”Chito” Martinez C.Jessica Martinez C.Susan MastDanielle MathieuJacques MaugerRichard MaxwellPat McGowanMalcom McGregorChris McVieJoe MeenachDaniel Mendoza DuartePat MerrillRick MickNorma MillerBarbara MillerRon MillerIvan MolinaGuillermo Molina Padilla

Beth MorganAxhel MuñozDevin MyersAlba Navarro R.Sonya NormanFrancisco Isaías Ochoa-

GuetiérrezBrit OlesonJennifer OliverJonny PaklaianJohn PaltingPat PhelanSteve PlathMatt PollockCynthia PrendergastStephen PrendergastSusan QashuMike QuigleyMichael QuinlanVictor QuirogaKris RandallKim RegoSande Rego-RossAna Lilia Reina-GJoe ReyesMarisa RiceKelly RobertsonGraciela RobinsonFabiola Rodriguez MedranoLee RogersChris RollShandira RomeroJim RorabaughMorgan RossDenise SantiagoAnnamarie SchaecherDieter SchaeferMarjanne SchnarrDug SchoelkopffLeslie SchuppLeslie SellgrenChris Seniw

Thank you, steadfast volunteers, for sharing thousands of hours of time and expertise! (Names in bold contributed 100 hours or more in 2012.)

100 volunteers logged inmore than 3,400 hoursover 24 restoration fieldweekends!

All photos by and © Sky Island Alliance unless otherwise noted. Cover: Road into Rancho Los Alisos, James C. Rorabaugh. Page 2: Barrel cactus fruit,William Beaver. Page 3: Great blue heron, Tim Cook; Coral snake; Northern cardinal eggs; Volunteer Norma Miller. Page 4: MABA expedition participants,Chip Hedgcock; Pleasing fungus beetle; Chihuahuan ridge-nosed rattlesnake, James C. Rorabaugh; Ringtail, O. Castro. Page 5: Sycamore Spring; Canyonwren, Tim Cook. Page 6: Cloverdale recharging with rains; Bull-frog eradication in Buenos Aires; Juvenile Chiricahua leopard frog. Page 7: Rancho LaEsmeralda riparian restoration workshop; Grass moth, T.R. Van Devender; Sky Island Alliance staff at ITSC; Calliope hummingbird, Ken Lamberton. Page8: Dragoon Mountain corridor, Charlie Ohrel, TNC; Black bear cub, Tim Cook; Bobcat tracks. Page 9: Jaguar at El Aribabi, ©Sky Island Alliance / El Aribabi;Inset photos: Male jaguar photographed by automatic wildlife cameras 10-25-2012 and 11-10-2012, as part of a US Fish and Wildlife Service/Departmentof Homeland Security-funded jaguar and ocelot survey conducted by University of Arizona; Thick-billed kingbird, Sky Jacobs; Ringtail, Ken Lamberton.Page 10: Immature mountain lion, Tim Cook; Brown vine snake, T.R. Van Devender; Flea beetle, James C. Rorabaugh; Ocelot kitten, ©Sky Island Alliance/ El Aribabi. Page 11: Patagonia Mts.; Faux persil, T.R. Van Devender; Gulf fritillary, James C. Rorabaugh. Page 12: Road to Rancho Los Alisos, ChipHedgcock; Peruvian zinnia, T.R. Van Devender; Bordered patch butterfly, James C. Rorabaugh. Page 13: Sulphur butterflies, James C. Rorabaugh;Woodhouse's toad; Tiger moth caterpillar, James C. Rorabaugh; Cactus Ferruginous pygmy owl, Sky Jacobs. Page 14: Rock work at Aravaipa; Pole-planting in Aravaipa. Page 15: Finding tracks on the transect; Larry Stevens leading the Springs workshop; MABA participants sharing findings at theend of the day, Enrique Yescas. Back cover: Sky Island Alliance staff at the 2012 staff retreat, Elizabeth Hospadarsky.



Randy SerraglioRon ServissJoe SilinsLynne SkeltonTom SkinnerAlex SmithCurtis SmithEric SophieaDeb SparrowChristine St. OngeBirdie StabelJohn StansberryPatty SternLarry StevensMichael StockKristina StramlerKristen TerpeningCarl TomoffMichael TorresEduardo TrinidadDale TurnerMartin TurnerAnna Van DevenderTim Van DevenderLaurie Van VlietDiana VásquezRoberto Antonio VelardeMartín Villa-AndradeJesús Villaseñor G.Eric WallaceNorm WatsonRobert WeberRachel WilliamsCynthia WolfEnrique YescasReymundo YescasChang You

Financial SummaryJanuary through December 2012

IncomeIndividual Donors, Membership & Events 13% 147,059Foundation Grants 30% 331,538Government Contracts 28% 302,727Foundation Contracts 4% 47,731In-Kind Services & Volunteer Effort 22% 235,892Fiscal Sponsorship Fees 2% 16,700Miscellaneous Income 1% 10,283

1,091,928

ExpensesWildlife Linkages & Connectivity 18% 201,494Wildland & Watershed Restoration 20% 222,030Conservation & Ecosystem Protection 18% 206,377Research & Science 21% 238,011Outreach & Community 8% 93,667Administration 8% 89,680Fundraising 8% 86,777

1,138,036

STAFFMelanie Emerson Executive Director Sergio Avila Northern Mexico Conservation Program Manager Acasia Berry Associate Director Nick Deyo MABA Project Coordinator Keri Dixon Development Director Trevor Hare Landscape Restoration Program ManagerSarah Williams Mencke Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator Louise Misztal Conservation Policy Program Coordinator Rod Mondt Protected Lands Program Coordinator Jessica Moreno Wildlife Linkages Program Coordinator Christopher Morris Landscape Restoration Program

Conservation Assistant Jenny Neeley Conservation Policy Director & Legal Counsel Julie St. John Newsletter Editor & Designer Maggie Trinkle Finance & Operations Associate Tom Van Devender MABA Project Manager

BOARDDick Krueger PresidentSteve Marlatt Vice PresidentPatricia Frederick SecretaryCarol Cullen TreasurerDinah Bear, Alberto Búrquez, Ana Córdova, Kevin Dahl,Larry Fisher, Howard Frederick, Kevin Gaither-Banchoff,Sadie Hadley, Adrián Quijada, Peter Warshall

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage PAID

Tucson AZPermit #1156

PO Box 41165 Tucson Arizona 85717www.skyislandalliance.org

Sky Island Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the rich natural heritage of native species and habitats in the Sky Island region of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

Sky Island Alliance works with volunteers, scientists, land owners, public officials and government agencies to establishprotected areas, restore healthy landscapes and promote public appreciation of the region’s unique biological diversity.

Documents

Sky Island Alliance · of your individual values and passion for this unique region by making a bequest to Sky Island Alliance. Sky Island Alliance’s Legacy Giving program continues