Madrean Discovery: Save the Sonoran Sky Islands

Mesa Tres Ríos Sky Island is a remote, wild area in Northern Mexico where mountain lions, black bears, endangered thick-billed parrots, and neotropical river otters live. The neotropical river otter has seen significant habitat loss in South and Central America largely due to logging and pollution. This sweet creature shows relatively little fear of humans—leaving them particularly vulnerable to poachers. Today, they’re on they endangered species list. A small group of river otters call the Mesa Tres Ríos home — which is why it's so important for us to protect them and their habitat now, before they're gone forever.

In August of 2018, a group of over 50 biologists from Mexico and the United States will visit the Mesa Tres Ríos on a groundbreaking expedition to collect a biological inventory of this unstudied location and the rare and exotic creatures that live there. The area is just north of the conversion of three rivers and is the wettest part of the Sonoran Sky Island region. Over the course of a week, this group will collect records of plants and animals and create a detailed biological inventory that will be used to protect this incredible land.

Madrean Discovery Expeditions, a signature program of GGO, is ready to do what we can to protect endangered species and environments. Twice a year, a uniquely qualified group of scientists, land managers, students, photographers, and more, split roughly equally between Mexican and North American nationals, embarks on a multi-day expedition to one of the understudied Sky Island mountain ranges in Sonora. This information is then stored in an open-source database for the world to share, study, and use to preserve these unique ecosystems forever.

This important work can only happen with your help. Your support will allow more work to be done, more records to be collected, and ultimately, more plants and animals protected.

About Madrean Discovery:

Madrean Discovery Expeditions is a Signature Program of GreaterGood.org whose mission is to explore, study, and protect the Madrean Archipelago in Sonora, Mexico. All biodiversity observations made during the expeditions to these unique ecosystems are stored in an open-source database, used for conservation, research, and education.