The Overland Society recently assisted a team of scientists and volunteers with the El Tigre Expedition in northern Sonora, Mexico. The expedition was part of the MABA program (Madrean Archipelago Biodiversity Assesment) headed by the Sky Island Alliance based in Tucson, Arizona. The project is a tri-national effort involving people from the U.S., Mexico, and France with a goal of studying and documenting a 70,000 square mile region of the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico containing the “sky island” mountain ranges which are home to rich and diverse eco-systems that are unique in the world.
Click here to see the El Tigre Expedition slideshow at chrismarzonie.com
The Sierra El Tigre is one such sky island in northern Sonora associated with the western flanks of the massive Sierra Madre mountain ranges where tropical and temperate climates intersect. They don’t call it “El Tigre” for nothing; this is the land of the jaguar, ocelot, and mountain lion. Aside from a large mining operation in the early part of the 20th century, the range is mostly unpopulated and remote. Only a couple previous scientific expeditions have been undertaken in these mountains and as a result, they are largely understudied. The data collected for the MABA program will be used by several agencies (including those among the Mexican government) to inventory and manage the resources involved.
Overland Society volunteers Dale and Shirley Durham, and Chris Marzonie, assisted the group by providing 4WD transport for gear and people, extra fuel and water, technical support for 4WD logistics including trail repairs and guidance through technical road sections, photographic documentation, navigation and computer mapping support, and general assistance where needed.
The MABA group included several staff from Sky Island Alliance, CONANP (Comision Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas - Mexico’s agency for national parks and preserves) along with volunteers from the University of Sonora and the University of Arizona, and two photojournalists from Sonora Es magazine.
The trip was a great success with many mammal, bird, insect (and even a few reptilian) specimens noted, and over 700 plant species observations and 500 plant collection specimens. According to Tom Van Devender, the project manager, this was the first major plant inventory in the Sierra El Tigre since the University of Michigan expedition led by Stephen S. White in 1938-41.
To learn more about this important program, visit the MABA page at Sky Island Alliance or watch the MABA video. You can also read the full El Tigre Expedition report.
