Articles

Buffelgrass has become well known as an invasive exotic species, but many other dangerous exotics threaten parts of the southwest and have garnered much less attention. One in particular comes to mind from my experiences: Sahara mustard (Brassica tournefortii). This mustard has an affinity for sandy or bottomland soil in the middle and especially lower elevation Sonoran Desert. It has spread rapidly across large areas of southwestern Arizona and southeastern California.

In June I trekked with a friend to the top of the Sierra El Pinito, a good-sized range just Southeast of Nogales. The Sierra El Pinito nudge their way into the pine forest community at 2230 meters, high enough to compete for serious Sky Island status in Sonora. They are just South of the border from the Santa Ritas and Patagonias on the US side, but because of the the political boundary they are a world away when it comes to fire suppression and natural fire regimes.

Sky Jacobs | October 1, 2008

Watching a stake-bed cattle truck squeeze by on a dusty backroad in Sonora is pretty run of the mill experience working in Sonora. This one just happened to be loaded to the brim with about 2 tons of marijuana, carefully packed in sealed bales, but not hidden by tarp or even tied down. My friend had to squeeze himself up to the edge of our truck to let it by on a rarely used 2-track.