The Alliance Insider
In this Issue: April Speaker Series, Hub Resource Library, events, project updates and more
Speaker Series: Conservation Corridors with SALT
The conservation of natural areas in Arizona require planning and involvement for the community. How does one go about doing this? Join us on Apr. 15 from 4 – 5pm to learn.

The mission of the Superstition Area Land Trust (SALT) is to conserve the natural Sonoran Desert open space surrounding the Superstition Wilderness Area (SWA). SALT’s challenge has always been that AZ State Trust land borders much of the southern boundary of the SWA, and that region is in the path of development of Greater Phoenix. This talk will review the active discussions and considerations of how best to protect and fund these important lands.

Our speaker, Charlie Goff, is the current President of SALT. He also chairs the Pinal Partnership Open Space and Trails Committee and serves on the Pinal County Open Space and Trails Department Advisory Commission.
Progress and Updates
CAZCA Hub Resource Library

We are working on building a library for reports, summaries, datasets and maps produced by our partners. Grey literature is a source of knowledge that is often hard to search, access and use in our work.

We want to provide a platform for sharing of knowledge within and surrounding our Alliance. Are there reports you want to share? Learn how to submit them below.
Celebrating Earth Month

We're joining forces with Boyce Thompson Arboretum and Wild Arizona for an exciting month full of learning.

All of April we will explore different topics of the Sonoran Desert like its unique biodiversity, invasive species and following the official theme for 2021 "Restore the Earth", we will learn about restoration in the desert. Also check out DBG's Earth Day Toolkit, which will have new content each week throughout April.
Share your Partner Initiatives

Support the CAZCA Collaboration Hub, share any projects or work you or your organization may be doing on habitat connectivity, restoration, invasive species, environmental education, outreach or collaboration and support efforts to grow awareness of regional initiatives

To contribute, please complete this 5 minute survey.
April is Citizen Science Month

In addition to Earth Day, we also celebrate Citizen Science Month in April.

SciStarter and ASU invite the community to participate in a citizen science project to help document flowering plants and pollinators on ASU’s Phoenix-area campuses. Join in and celebrate too!
Invasive Species Working Group Update
Thank you to our two co-chairs of the Invasive Species Working Group, Mary Fastiggi and Willie Sommers!

The invasive species working group has met to continue the discussion and planning for a regional invasive species coordination strategy, including new potential partners, research, outreach and more.

If you are involved or interested in invasive plant species and their management, we invite you to join this working group. Please contact Mary at mary@mcdowellsonoran.org to join.
CAZCA Project Updates
Welcome New Defenders!

We are excited to welcome the Arizona Sustainability Alliance and the City of Tempe as our newest partners to the Desert Defenders program! Both have training and prepared volunteers to start mapping and removing invasive plants.

We look forward to their progress in gathering data and helping control the spread of invasive plants in their areas!
April EcoQuest: Lookin' Sharp

This April find and map as many cactus (Family Cactaceae) as possible! Which plants are associated with the desert more than cactus?

These prickly icons are found all over metro Phoenix, from parks to street medians. Observations from this EcoQuest can provide a look into species distribution and occurrence. This could inform urban population genetic studies and provide insight into cactus biodiversity.
Sonoran Insiders 2020

Social media creates opportunities to elevate awareness of responsible recreation, public lands and conservation. Our Sonoran Insider Ambassador project wrapped up a successful first year and we'd love to share this amazing model. Watch the Sonoran Insiders presentation to hear about our successes and lessons.

Watch all the other partner presentations from the All-Partners Meeting here.
Share Your Events

We know there are many wonderful events and opportunities happening in the area. As we adapt to virtual gatherings this past year, we invite you to share your upcoming events with us.

Fill out the simple form below and we will share your events and opportunities through our website and on social media.