Sky Island Alliance

I was introduced to Sky Island Alliance 20 years ago and have had the pleasure of serving alongside their incredible staff in many capacities: first as a partner field biologist and community organizer, then as a donor, volunteer, and finally now a Board member. I am constantly impressed by how Sky Island Alliance takes a leadership role in so many aspects of conservation science and binational partnerships. They never hesitate to take on the difficult jobs, and they stay laser focused on engaging the community in everything they do, on both sides of the US-Mexico border.

I began as a volunteer with Sky Island Alliance (SIA) removing invasive plants from Aravaipa Canyon, a mini-Grand Canyon northeast of Tucson with a perennial stream and magnificent canyons and wildlife. I'm now on the board of directors and am honored to be able to support SIA and the many wonderful programs and important research we do. There are many challenges facing the sky island region: increased population and development and the destructive border wall. Sky Island Alliance is in the forefront in protecting and advocating for our precious environment in southeastern Arizona.

I've been a sustaining member for many, many years - they do such great work in protecting our sky island. Plants, animals, the land itself. They're always doing research on how to improve their methods. Just an awesome organization!

Used to be great but now a watered down version of the former organization. Lost all its original integrity, especially for wildlife. Pretends to still do wildlife research but no longer has a single real wildlife biologist on staff. If you studied plants, stick to plants please, don’t pretend you know more than you are capable of or worse don’t try to teach the community about it. This organization would benefit tremendously from hiring SW locals from the region (not just as interns). Too bad, they used to be the best.

One of very few nonprofits with Boots on the Ground in the unique Sky Islands region of Southern Arizona.

Sky Island Alliance does a great job of engaging with agencies, policymakers, landowners, and the general public to make important changes on the ground in the sky island region of southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. They mobilize hundreds of volunteers to do the hard labor of landscape restoration and produce citizen science that really makes a difference on both sides of the border. They bring science to decision making processes and land management to improve the resilience and adaptability of the regional environment in ways that benefit human populations and wildlife alike. It is a unique, and therefore absolutely essential, organization.

I am a donor and strong supporter of the incredibly effective work done by Sky Island Alliance in the "sky island" region of the U.S. Southwest and northwestern Mexico. They involve all sorts of people in citizen science and hands-on restoration projects. They are skilled, science-based advocates of the vulnerable wildlife and unique habitats of this beautiful area.

Sky Island Alliance is focused on habitat preservation of the unique Sky Islands of the Southwest. Our Sky Islands offer habitat for hundreds of species that could not exist without the this complex topography offering amazing stacked biogeographic communities. The Sky Island Alliance preserves springs and other water resources which is critical for wildlife in our changing climatic future. As a professional wildlife biologist, specializing in the study and preservation of bats, the Sky Island Alliance is protecting and restoring habitat which is critical for bat species diversity in the Southwest.

I have been volunteering with Sky Island Alliance for over 5 years now. The experience to learn more about my community and to contribute to the well being of the desert has been priceless. In the process, I have also created a partnership for my leadership students at the University of Arizona. 100's of Blue Chip Leadership students have been able to contribute to land restoration and in return get to learn more about the community they live in. The partnership has been fantastic and I am thankful that a partner like SIA is willing to teach my students and me about my environment!

I have been a member, volunteer and adviser for Sky Island Alliance for almost 10 years. I am involved with many environmental nonprofit organizations, but SIA is closest to my heart. They do great work to protect my special place--the Sky Islands.

I've been volunteering with and contributing to Sky Island Alliance for more than 20 years. It's a one-of-kind organization that's deeply rooted in this place that I call home. Not only does it use science and advocacy to protect the beautiful and diverse Sky Islands region, it does a fantastic service in connecting community members directly to the many magical places to be found outdoors in the Sky Islands.

I'm particularly loyal to SIA as an organization that's truly bi-national, working on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and treating the region holistically, as nature intended. Every day SIA proves that the international border need not divide us as they bring Sonorans and Arizonans together to do the important work of caring for our world-renowned natural heritage in the Sky Islands region.

In this time of division, rancor, widespread ignorance and hatred, SIA is a brilliant ray of hopeful collaboration that could very well be our salvation. SIA heals the landscape and the people who live on it at the same time, and I'm very grateful for the work that this organization does and the positive impact that it's had on my life.

I like Sky Island Alliance because this is a unique organization that works on environmental conservation on both sides of the US-Mexico border. For this reason, I am proud to serve on its board.

As a donor and volunteer, I appreciate the focus of the work that Sky Island Alliance does and the depth with which they permeate the local environmental movement.

Sky Island Alliance is unique among conservation groups for its community oriented and community building focus. SIA uses contributions for its various conservation endeavors as do other charitable organizations, but I believe the SIA approach to using volunteers is vital for the future of conservation and protection of natural areas. People want to protect nature and they want to be physically involved in an action to carry out these protections. By welcoming volunteers to document animals and plants, to help remove invasive plants, to work together to clear springs and even build water sources for wildlife, SIA fosters volunteers with lasting connections to the land and each other. SIA helps participants become more knowledgeable and proactive in a place, and therefore more rooted and at ease in their place on Earth.

Sky Island Alliance came to the Gila Cliff Dwellings to help a slow-to-recover burned hillside in the monument. Their enthusiasm, the diversity and the energy of the volunteers, and the work they accomplished in such a short time was simply amazing.

Years prior to being on site, Sky Island invested huge amounts of time and effort gathering native plant seeds from the Monument and then growing new plants to place on the hillside. This not only guaranteed native plants were going into the site, but were already adapted to surviving in this particular location.

There are not enough ways to say "Thank you!" for the work done. Come see the hillside and how well it's recovering now!

I have been on one trip so far. These are dedicated people who care about the world we leave for the future. If you love the outdoors like I do, this is one non-profit doing the real ground work in southern Arizona and New Mexico.

I have been involved off and on with SIA since the mid-1990s. Through many ups and downs, SIA has persisted and been one of the most effective and hands-on conservation organizations in the southwest. Our region would be a much poorer place for people and wildlife without SIA.

Sky Island Alliance is a great, hard working organization that uses science and research as a basis for helping preserve and protect the precious sky island regions which are so important to southern Arizona and northern Mexico for a multitude of reasons. Sky Island Alliance is working to make a difference!

I first heard about SIA when I was college and I remember thinking "I need to get involved with them anyway I can." SIA is so appealing because it is implementing restoration on a systems based approach that goes past political boundaries and is therefore able to be effective in conserving the habitat of so many species in this region.

My first experience with Sky Island Alliance was for a mountain lion survey in the Huachuca mountains. It was an amazing learning experience to walk with experienced trackers and to discover the presence, through tracks, of bear and mountain lion in the area. We found three sets of bear prints and 3 different mountain lion tracks, and I loved the hands on training I received. It was an unforgettable experience. I'm so glad for the existence of the Sky Island Alliance because it has the foresight to work toward preserving our unique "islands" while there is still time to do so. It shows a unique selflessness to work for the benefit of other species other than ourselves, and I am thankful for their dedication to this cause.

Excellent organization working a special natural area.

It was in 2009 when I met SIA for first time. At that day, they shared an incredible flora and fauna workshop at Rancho El Aribabi, Sonora. I was a 19th year old student of biology, I consider that experience as revealing, my entrance the amazing world of the biota.

I have been volunteering with Sky Island Alliance for the past 16 months. The staff are very warm people. I'm inspired by their passion for the environment. I have learned a lot about native plants, insects, critters and water resources while working on land restoration projects with them. Sky Island Alliance takes me to scenic places, often on the back-roads, that I'd never otherwise have the opportunity to see. I highly recommend this organization.

SIA is a very important organization that works to ensure the preservation of the health of the land, water, and wildlife. I volunteer for them as often as possible.

Sky Island Alliance has been an incredible influence in our community for the better protection of species in our world. They defend and protect those who cannot speak for themselves by collecting data on the current status of species and the changes to their environment. We are so fortunate that the dedicated staff, care so deeply and work so hard on all of our behalf.

SIA is an exemplary organization, with a well-balanced approach to the compelling message of conservation. Everyone involved, from volunteers, to staff, to board members work together to celebrate and steward the uniqueness of this incredible region.

In late April I spent four days at the Aravaipa Canyon Preserve at a wildlife tracking workshop learning the basic skills. The staff members from Sky Island were extremely knowledgable and capable teachers, patiently walking us through our first identifications and providing a much broader picture of how tracking provides data on a wide array of wildlife in our region. The staff communicated both the practical information and skills as well as a passion for their work to protect and preserve wildlife. I would highly recommend this organization to anyone who wants to support an outstanding environmental organization.

I've been volunteering with Sky Island Alliance for eight years. Because the work they do is science-based and collaborative, the alliance has caused good things to happen. The staff and members have been able to restore damaged areas, protect Arizona's wildlife, and give residents of this politically backward state hope that clean water and clean air will not be destroyed by ignorance or corporate greed. By reaching out to like-minded citizens and groups in northern Mexico and eastern New Mexico, SIA has insured the future health of the Sky Islands.

I've worked with Sky Island Alliance (SIA) as a field and office volunteer off and on for over a decade. The field projects are worthwhile, and always draw an interesting crew of volunteers. The projects feel like they're making a quantifiable difference as you work. I will probably continue to work with SIA as long as I live in Arizona.

I love being a board member for SIA because it is focused on tangible change on the land and the communities that I care for. The reach of the restoration work is impressive, the effort to empower Mexican conservation practitioners is commendable and the science being generated is immediately applicable to resolve conservation issues. All this makes SIA not only a great non-profit but an indispensable partner in a region that has very few conservation groups stewarding one of North America's most biodiverse regions.

Sky Island Alliance is doing some of the most innovative and important conservation work in the desert Southwest - from the critical science and analysis to the on-the-ground conservation and restoration work with springs, habitat, and species that represent the unique biodiversity of this region. I am an enthusiastic donor and proud to be part of this organization of dedicated professionals and volunteers.

I have been a volunteer for Sky Island Alliance since 2002. Over this time I have seen SIA become increasingly effective in protecting and restoring the wildlife and wild lands of the Sky Island region, both in the U. S. and Mexico. A dedicated staff with the help of many volunteers and donors, and in partnership with numerous nonprofit and government organizations works tirelessly for conservation in the Sky Islands.

Sky Island Alliance creates a unique opportunity for the public to connect to their local wild lands. As a volunteer, I have engaged in meaningful habitat restoration work with like-minded individuals. The Sky Island staff always create a welcoming environment; as a result, the organization has cultivated a large cadre of dedicated, long-term volunteers. We adventure to wild places to restore the land and ourselves.

I grew up here, hiking these mountains and exploring our wonderful desert regions. I'll probably never see a jaguar in the wild, but knowing that these magnificent cats are out there and that Sky Island Alliance is leading the charge to protect wildlife corridors makes me proud to be a donor and board member of this terrific group. I encourage everyone reading these reviews to join, become a volunteer, and help make the Sky Islands a permanent home for all native wildlife.

As a Tucson native and lover of the outdoors, Sky Island Alliance is my absolute favorite local non-profit. The advocacy and collaborative nature of the work they do is so key to the diversity and beauty of our natural spaces.
I first became involved in 2015, through a friend's recommendation. This year, we have tripled our giving and become regular monthly donors. And I am now on the Board, and getting involved in some committee work.
Our family is also looking to adopt a Spring soon. Can't wait to see what Sky Island accomplishes in their next 25 years!

Sky Island is a wonderful organization, I have volunteered with Sky Island Alliance for over seven years. Starting when I was middle school a they helped me grow as a scientist conducting cutting-edge research projects using noninvasive monitoring through tracking and remote cameras. This fueled my passion for the Sonoran desert and the Sky Island region and they are why I am studying wildlife conservation at the University of Arizona today. Sky Island Alliance is full of wonderful, caring individuals who truly wish to see our natural resources protected and restored.

The work of Sky Island Alliance is unlike any other organization in the region! They are building strong partnerships, preserving wild places, protecting our region's precious water resources...and always having a lot of fun doing it!

If you have money, donate. If you have time, volunteer. If you have a voice, tell your friends about this great group!

First, you need to know what our desert Sky Islands are. They stick up out of the broad desert valleys that stretch the Great Basin and Range region of the American west. The Sky Islands are incredibly important to wildlife, offering habitats with water and habitats above the grass, cactus and desert scrub . The Sky Island Alliance (SIA) works to protect the mountains and the corridors that connect them despite our human foot/road/freeway prints. This grassroots organization does more than that, it restores habitat, conducts field surveys, trains trackers and raises awareness with citizen scientists, volunteers of all kinds as well as public lectures, etc. An exceptionally active and worthwhile nonprofit that profits both wildlife, landscapes and humans.

I interned with SIA as a senior in college and was provided with many great networking opportunities and field experiences. I would recommend any student looking for an internship to apply with Sky Island Alliance, they are true to their mission and do such an amazing amount of work for the number of staff working there. They need volunteers and interns to continue their amazing work - so get out there, you will have a great time!

I feel extremely proud to be involved in the conservation of the Sky Island Region as a staff member with SIA. We are able to achieve all we can in habitat restoration, wildlife connectivity, climate change adaptation study and more because we have the support of so many equally passionate volunteers and conservation partners in the U.S. as well as in northern Mexico.

About a decade ago, Sky Island Alliance approached the Forest Service, where I worked as a staff officer, to offer volunteer services to help with some difficult ecological restoration projects. One entailed wading out in stinky cattle stock tanks to capture invasive bullfrogs to help recover native frog and fish populations. I was so impressed. They were so dedicated, worked very hard without complaint, showed much interest in learning and sharing knowledge, and were all great fun to spend time with. This was just the start of many environmental improvement projects on public land that continue to this day. Thank you, SIA, for all the good work you do!

Sky Island Alliance is a wonderful grassroots organization. They do great work restoring habitat, conducting important field surveys, advocating for the Sky Islands and raising awareness of the importance of plants, animals & the environment to our well being. One of their best features is how they involve members in all of the work they do. Keep up the great work! Paula H.

Sky Island Alliance fills a really unique niche in the region - a bi-national conservation effort that combines the best conservation science with outstanding on-the-ground restoration work. On any given weekend you can join dedicated staff and volunteers in fieldwork to help restore portions of our unique landscapes and learn about our region's natural history. As an organization committed to the power of partnerships, SIA works with land managers of all stripes - ranchers and communities, government agencies, and other non-profit organizations on both sides of the border. Join in - volunteer, donate, educate yourself about this important work!

Sky Islands Alliance does great work in the field of environmental conservation and advocacy. They have wonderful, expert staff and a dedicated cadre of volunteers (such as myself0 which is truly inspiring. They have forged wonderful liaisons with organizations, ranchers, and politicians both in the US and Northern Mx to further the cause of preserving our wild lands .

Sky Island has been such a large contributor to my interest in wildlife biology today and I am grateful for all the work they put into the effort they put into saving our sky island and desert seas. I started volunteering at Sky Island Alliance when I was in Sixth grade and have never stopped. The staff are wonderful and supportive of a student interested in wildlife conservation, and the efforts they are making to protect both the wildlife and habitat has led me to major in wildlife conservation at the UofA this year.

Sky Islands is a great non-profit serving critical environmental needs in Southern Arizona. I have enjoyed partnering with them on many projects involving public lands, youth engagement, and overall community health. They have a great staff to boot. Please help support this local organization.

I interned with Sky Island Alliance over the summer, and it was one of the best things I've experienced. They are by far one of the best conservation organizations I know of. All of their staff know so much and are an absolute joy to work with. If I still lived in Tucson, I would be volunteering with them every chance I got. The work they do for the nature and wildlife of the sky islands and the surrounding areas is amazing. I'm so happy that SIA is out there advocating for our wildlife.

I have been a volunteer with Sky Island Alliance for 14 years, tracking as part of the Wildlife Linkages program. I am very impressed with the organization. It has a robust restoration program, making good use of many, many volunteers. It is a conservation organization that works by education and research and not by confrontation. People who work for the organization are very well informed and they work to help others to become informed regarding habitat issues in our Sky Islands.

I am a volunteer and monthly donor, and full disclosure, also have had the honor of working for Sky Island Alliance for eight years! From wilderness to wildlife linkages and communications and development, I've watched this organization grow as I have grown in my many roles here. Although our budget and staff are small, we have a powerful impact in conserving the Sky Islands, and I am extremely proud of our work and our volunteers and supporters. What a fun, passionate group! Together we can get anything done - and we have! I give to only a few organizations, and this one remains on my list, and will for many years to come. The organization has seen many changes in the past year, and now we are poised for some really exciting and great things... there is no better place to give your time and money right now!

Sky Island Alliance is restoring southern Arizona. This organization with mostly volunteers restores riparian, desert, and mountain habitats for plants and animals. It does very important work. The staff are extremely knowledgeable about the local Sky Island ecosystems. They are absolute experts. This is a welcoming organization for volunteers. I have learned so much being a volunteer with Sky Islands.

The Sky Island Alliance is an effective, hardworking organization, free of the corporate trappings of many larger environmental organizations. Think globally & act locally, you can't do better that the SIA. Landscape restoration and preservation, Spring assessments, Biological surveys... this is a boots in the mud, dirty hands, bunch that won't shy away from hard work or waste your valuable donations. I give all of my free time and $$ to these folks!

Sky Island Alliance is amazing! I was initially impressed with their conservation work in southern Arizona from stories and articles that I had heard and read. When I was about to jump into volunteer work with them--I found my own small community in need. My attention shifted toward my home, but --lo and behold-- SIA recognized my community's need as well. I soon found myself working side by side with SIA's amazing group of dedicated people.
I am grateful for all the work that Sky Island Alliance does in our region to protect and preserve the sky islands--and especially grateful for all the work they've done and continue to do in the little corner of the Patagonia Mountains that I call home!

The Sky Island Alliance for me is an example of training citizens to be natural historians and stewards of the natural world in the borderlands of the Southwestern US. Their data are synthesized into real-world conservation efforts that set an example to other.

This group, Sky Island Alliance, is studying climate changes on the ground, starting with water. Not too surprising in the desert. But, knowing how facts about seeps and springs are changing is almost as important as knowing how to reverse it. One must study any aspect of life on earth to know what it means, and what the future could be like, and also know if there are changes one direction to the other. Sky Island is studying and working to know our environment for the health of our Sky Island area so that the animals and the humans have a better place to live and benefit from in all ways.

These guys really care about what they do! I have never had a bad experience volunteering with SIA and I don't expect to. I can only hope they are able to continue to receive funding so that the important research they are involved with can continue for many years to come.

SIA has been organizing, teaching, encouraging local participation for the preservation of this incredible biodiversity that we call the Sonoran Desert. Who else goes out there and builds ladders in the cattle water tanks so that the frogs and other little water seekers can get in and get out safely!
These people DO! I give them triple Hip Hip Hoorays and five stars!
The scope of their mission crosses the national borders of USA and Mexico! Not always a savory endeavor in these times of border tragedies. However, I have faith that they will be the ones to succeed!

I know of no other grassroots organization who does so much to nurture the preservation, awareness, restoration, advocacy of cherished places. Their "place" is the sky island region of southwest Arizona and I have been supporting them for years. They put together tremendous volunteer outings with outstanding hands-on accomplishments, they reach out to the neighboring sky islands south of the border, they have raised an awareness of jaguars and are a strong voice of advocacy on their behalf, they work to preserve, protect, restore the land, as well as raise awareness of the greater need for conservation efforts in the area. This is one of the best action-oriented, boots on the ground, passionate and community minded groups I've ever encountered!

Arizona's borderlands with Mexico are at tremendous risk due to fragmentation of lands, wasteful unneeded strip mining, water depletion, and degradation of landscapes by traffic from border patrol vehicles, migrants, and border criminals. Plus, global climate disruption is degrading the biome habitats of the various elevations of the Sky Islands. All the while there continues to be important evidence of successful struggles of remnant megafauna populations such as the ocelot and even the jaguar in the USA. Sky Island Alliance works tirelessly to protect, preserve, and restore the natural world of the borderlands. As a borderlands art & heritage photographer, I've worked with this group since 2004 in various ways, supporting it as I can. Without this group, the Sky Islands would be in much more dire circumstances.

Sky Island Alliance is one of those run-silent-run-deep organizations which has the delicate and inclusive skill of building bridges between and among seemingly disparate groups. They bring opposing and opinionated people together to see each others' points of view and to find common ground. Their staff understands issues from the ground up--from deep ecological studies of sky island flora and fauna, up through the action arena inspiring volunteer boots on the ground to care for threatened natural places, and at the top, advocating as a team player on Capitol Hill to bring about changes in wildland management policy.

I'm a new volunteer, I recently attended their 20th Wildlife Tracking Workshop, part of their wildlife linkages program. SIA staff were so knowledgeable about wildlife, natural history, the issues and their work. I left feeling very informed and confident in my abilities to identify wildlife and completely understood how my work as a volunteer was directly supporting their mission and makes a clear difference to protect the astounding biodiversity of the Sky Islands region. From a volunteer perspective, that is the most I could ask for.

SIA is a great non profit organization. Their work across the border (US-MEX) forges true friendship and teamwork between nations to protect our Sky Islands. Also by being a volunteer now I can put in practice what I have learned in my community.

Sky Island Alliance demonstrates incredible leadership in involving its volunteers in a citizen science initiative. Volunteers are trained and then utilized to collect data that is then used by the organization to
effect important changes in preserving the species of the Sky Island region. Just one example of this
groundbreaking effort has been use of the data collected by it's volunteers and hard working staff
to work to get highway underpass corridors approved and implemented. This organization is doing a great job with a limited budget. The staff members are great people who are enthusiastic and committed to
preserving our southwestern region for future generations. They do this across borders and by working with people from many different walks of life, helping all to come together to support an ideal shared by a diverse group of people.

I would like to thank Sky Island Alliance for all the great work that they are doing for Southern Arizona's wildlife corridor, riparian area, and protecting water.

I was able to take a tracking class 4 years ago and have volunteered on a transect every since. What a great class and awesome way of getting out there and understanding the importance of this area.

Volunteers and staff work so closely together. I was also able to volunteer with Sky Island staff on a BioBliz, taking school children out to learn and collect photos and tracks, surveying and recording all the different species they came along on the trails.

What a hard working wonderful group and I feel so lucky being part of the importance of the Sky Island Alliance work - team/family.

Sky Island Alliance has flourished by putting aside political concerns nationally and internationally to prioitize the habitats as a whole. I have been impressed by the quality of data collected on their bioblitzes and the follow-up of entering data into regional databases accessible by all. Thank-you!

Sky Island Alliance is an important and effective regional leader on issues at the intersection of climate change and the environment. They have brought together a diverse array of regional resource managers, decision-makers, and private land owners for constructive dialogues on environmental change, habitat vulnerability, wildfire threats, and the potential compounding effects of climate change. Moreover, SIA's ability to mobilize volunteers for monitoring key regional ecosystem processes and species, has improved the ability of scientists and others to track environmental change, and contributed to scientific understanding of wildlife and ecosystem issues.

I logged over 100 hours volunteering for Sky Island last year on projects as diverse as spring assessments, tracking and camera trapping, and data entry. I have only lived in Tucson a couple of years and have found a family of extremely dedicated professionals that I embrace not only with time, but also emotional gratitude for the necessary work that they accomplish. Thank you Sky Island for what you do and allowing me to contribute to protecting the great quality of life that Southeast Arizona and Northern Sonora offers.

Sky Island's stated objective of preserving wildife corridors is matched by its physical presence in the field. Staff members and volunteers effectively demonstrate how a dedicated group can make a difference, not only on this side of the border, but in Northern Sonora as well where cooperative programs are being implemented and accepted.

Sky Island Alliance is an amazing local/regional conservation organization undertaking important work that other groups are not, working collaboratively with partners in two countries and four states. SIA does a lot of critical work with not a lot of funding; they do a superb job of effectively applying donor dollars to ensure change on the ground and movement forward.

I have volunteered with this group for a number of hands on projects such as ORV damage rehabilitation, bat mine surveys, and frog surveys.
I have also tabled to spread the word. SIA is involved in protecting the sky Islands of southern Arizona and wildlife corridors with Mexico. The chance to work in the field has strengthened my commitment for land protection by seeing the positive effects of my efforts. This is a stronger bond than just contributing money.

The Sky Islands Alliance (SIA) is a major player in the conservation of some of the most important ecosystem services providers of northwestern Mexico and southwestern USA. The persistence of the ecosystems in mountains sorrounded by a desert sea, not only assures the maintenance of biodiversity and human culture, but guarentees the most important commodity of desertlands: water. Throughout its work, SIA has promoted research, conservation, management and sustainable use of these unique ecosystems for now 20 years. SIA has influenced my academic work and has steered the way I perceive research and conservation to such degree that I have ended writing research papers directly isnpired by its activieties. Its involvement with research scientists as well as with the inhabitants of remote ranches up in the mountains truly reflects SIA's mission of working across a transversal section of the society to achieve conservation, restoration and sensible development of the region ecosystems.

Sky Island Alliance is one of the most important environmental forces in Southern Arizona and the region. They are very creative, knowledgeable, constructive, and approachable in their environmental projects. They are easy to work with, both from a government agency client perspective and for their cadre of volunteers and members.

Their projects demonstrate experience and professionalism in approach. I am familiar with SIA as a field contact for the Bureau of Land Management, and also as a volunteer in a few Forest Service projects. The project leaders are always good communicators with government staff and volunteers alike, and they make projects fun!

I worked with SIA on several projects in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. I was struck by their adherance to BLM regulations while carrying out restoration and protective work, which required excellent working knowledge of environmental law.

i took SIA's 5-day mammal tracking workshop in 2008 and volunteered with them on several occasions. They have top notch scientists working for them and do a great job of getting the general public actively involved and excited about conservation. They do so many different things from science to policy to education, they seem to be covering so many different bases in conservation, an approach I think is necessary to effectively make a difference for preserving wildlands and wildlife. If I could suggest anything it would be for some staff members to get additional training in professional public outreach and ethics so they can rise above some of the petty politics that exists between different conservation organizations in the area. However, I would say again that overall they are doing an outstanding job and I'd love to see them win more support for their efforts in preserving the Sky Islands.

Great enviro group for S AZ. Now I am writing more blah blah b/c they won't let me click on Submit. Grrr....

I have been volunteering at the office and have gone on many of their outdoor landscape restoration volunteer weekend trips. The staff are the best of their field and the work they do is not only protecting and conservation the Sky Island region but they are active in restoration, which many nonprofits don't do as much of.

I first learned of Sky Island Alliance when I visited Southern Arizona 7 years ago. Several SIA staffers worked on a mountain lion track count project at Saguaro National Park for which I was volunteering. I was impressed by their knowledge, vision and passion for the Sky Islands -- and also by their very "doable" plan for preserving the area with the help of the community. I live on the East Coast, but I continue to support the SIA and the work they're doing to keep the unique and biologically diverse Sky Islands area healthy.

The mountains of Southern Arizona are a unique ecology, differing from the dry valley floor. The Sky Island Alliance multiplies the impact of various agencies working to protect the birds, animals and plants in the mountains. Cooperation in education, advocacy and research is a way to maximize the work of all.

I first learned about Sky Island Alliance as an undergrad in college. I was looking for a class project combining my interest in wildlife research and photography. Over coffee I met with two SIA staff, Mike and Sergio, to talk about my ideas, and we set up a date to go out in the field setting remote camera traps for a mountain lion and jaguar study... a turning point for me and the best weekend of my life. In the course of three days of rough hiking and great food, I saw my first lion tracks. In the evening, watching the sun set over the rugged mountains - jaguar country - I felt a powerful connection to the land and the people who were working to protect it. I returned home sore, tired, scratched and bloody, and knowing exactly what I wanted to do for my life and career. I continued to volunteer with the organization for the next two years with wildlife tracking, jaguar conservation and Wilderness designation, eventually getting a part-time job with SIA doing Wilderness outreach for the Tumacacori Highlands in 2008. Today, I work full time as a wildlife biologist for Sky Island Alliance and am gearing up to take on a position as their Wildlife Linkages Program Coordinator. It all began with good people doing good work to protect and restore a region special for its great biodiversity, and special to me as my home. There is a great sense of camaraderie and scientific work ethic with this small organization, which relies on volunteers and big ideas to achieve conservation action in a region that spans four states in two countries. I greatly admire this organization and the work it does.