This week on Arizona Illustrated, experience the sights, sounds, and solace of nature in Arizona.
The Bighorn Sheep
The Bighorn sheep population in the Santa Catalina mountains north of Tucson began to decline in the 1920s until the herd disappeared in the 1990s. A reintroduction effort began in 2013 and now the herd consists of about 80 sheep. They have survived urban growth, habitat loss, and even a fire that shares its name, The Bighorn.
Nature’s Hot Dog
Butterflies are essential pollinators in our ecosystem and their existence is now being challenged by climate change. Entomologists at the University of Arizona have enlisted citizen scientists to track migrations and to better understand how butterflies and other pollinators react to environmental changes.
Like a Mountain
Aldo Leopold, considered by many to be the father of wildlife ecology, started his career in Springerville, Arizona. He worked for the Forest Service and his time there influenced his writing and thinking for decades.
The Saguaro Census
The saguaro cactus is a beloved and celebrated symbol of the Sonoran Desert, it also happens to be a protected species, one that is now being counted as part of the Saguaro Census 2020. Every ten years, park rangers, conservationists, and volunteers gather in Saguaro National Park to undertake the count.
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