We’re still enjoying our beautiful stay at the Santa Rita Experimental Range! The weather has ranged from around 40 degrees in the mornings to a balmy 75 in the afternoon. After a chilly Iowa December, it feels amazing to be outside in shorts and t-shirts. This Saturday, we spent our day visiting two very different locations. One was very much a wildlife haven, the other a man-made complex of environmental concerns.
Our first stop, after breakfast, was a tour of the local Asarco Copper Mine. The mine is a pit that stretches for nearly two miles south of Tucson, more than a mile and a half across, and three-quarters of a mile deep. Because of the lighter color of the tailings (waste products from mining piled into hills around the mine) compared to the surrounding desert dirt, the mine is a conspicuous scar on the landscape, viewable even from our current home at the field station.
This visit was even more uncomfortable for many of our members because of the environmental impacts that we’ve learned it causes on the land surrounding it. Excluding the simple matter of the sheer amount of habitat it destroys, the mine also threatens surrounding areas with dust storms from the tailing piles (potentially carrying dangerous heavy metals along with rock particles), and requires large quantities of water to continue operating, which comes directly from the Colorado river. Although it was a very informative visit, as one member of our group put it, we, as a group of very environmentally conscious college students, were likely not the target audience of the tours.
The second part of our day was much more inspiring, however, as we traveled to Saguaro National Park for a quick picnic lunch before heading to the Sonoran Desert Museum. This museum isn’t so much a museum as a large zoo carefully integrated into natural desert habitat. Animals here, including javelinas, coyotes, Mexican gray wolves, insects, birds, and other native species are housed in large outdoor enclosures filled with natural habitat, trees, and cacti. Gravel trails surrounding the enclosures, and large exhibits featuring native plants give the feeling that you’re simply walking through the desert and seeing the animals in the wild, although the obvious popularity of the museum speaks otherwise.
One highlight of this adventure was the raptor free flight program put on by volunteers and trainers. Two species of birds were shown; the Gray hawk, and a family of five Harris hawks. The volunteer narrating the experience did a fantastic job explaining many biological concepts about the birds, including where they come from, how they evolved, and how they survive and hunt in the harsh desert environment without using jargon or scientific terms. He, and other volunteers in the park clearly knew a lot about the animals and were obviously passionate about protecting them and sharing them with the public.
Another highlight was the hummingbird aviary, which housed five different species of native hummingbirds, and is the only aviary in North America to breed these hummingbirds. Being able to get feet or inches away from these tiny aerial acrobats was an incredible experience, especially since we get so few of these species up north.
Overall, we’ve been learning a lot, and having many new experiences in our time here! As we begin working on our research projects, we’re excited to put our knowledge to use in order to more deeply study the ecosystems surrounding us in this beautiful area of the country.
