Tucson Broadband • Entered by Andrea Hoerr on May 6, 2025
BioBlitz at Rosemont Barrel Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains
March 23, 2025
Participants and Hours
| Pre Planning hours | 50 |
| Post Admin hours | 200 |
| Activity Hours | 4 |
| Participants | 6 |
| Total Hours | 274 |
Key Issue: Public Lands Health & Protection
Activity Type: Stewardship (monitoring, sampling, planting, etc.)
Key Partners: Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection, Sierra Club, Sky Island Alliance
Landscape/area: Coronado National Forest (AZ) (1718945 acres)
Measurable Outcomes
Outcome 1: Trail/land monitored (9257089 sq feet)
Outcome 2: iNaturalist observations (523 samples)
Outcome 3: Event Attendees (43 people)[/if 1231]
Short Description of Activity
Conducted a BioBlitz at the Rosemont/Barrel Canyon area that is directly above an ancient aquifer. This area will be impacted by the estimated 4 billion gallons of water which will be used per year for the next 20+ years. 43 people attended and we captured over 500 observations. No endangered or threatened species were identified at this point. This summer there will be an effort to capture observations of birds that are only
in the area during the monsoon season such as the Western Yellow-Billed Cuckoo. https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/rosemont-barrel-canyon-bioblitz
Reflection/Evaluation
Goals:
• Identify any rare, threatened or endangered species that are adjacent to Copper World mine
• Create community awareness for people who care about our Sky Islands being destroyed
• Generate a groundswell of opposition to future gambits by Hudbay (Canadian mining company)
• Engender delight in this glorious part of our State!
It was an enormous effort for Dre Hoerr and Pima County Master Naturalist friend Dave DeGroot who were the organizers. It would be great to do a follow up BioBlitz in the fall, but we need more leaders to step up. The call went out to the participants and there may be interest.
There are ripple effects still coming in. Just last week, a couple of researchers at the University of Arizona reached out with questions and ideas for future projects they can sponsor.
Photos/Uploads
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Photo Captions
1. Executive summary of the findings of the BioBlitz. This summary was mailed to dozens of local politicians, coalition partners and other concerned parties.