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The Sky Island Restoration Cooperative (SIRC) is a bi-national community-based collaboration of government and non-governmental organizations, private landowners, ranchers, students, volunteers, scientists, and restoration practitioners.

Our hope is that by combining our energy and knowledge, we can improve restoration activities, outcomes, and awareness across the Madrean Archipelago and nurture an understanding of the importance of biodiversity for human well-being. Identifying restoration research and resource needs, the SIRC is a vehicle for information-sharing, training, and project implementation. Our cooperative builds bridges across institutional, administrative, and cultural boundaries to create effective regional restoration strategies

Our interdisciplinary, multi-agency, binational group was invited to contribute an article to an International Society for Ecological Restoration Newsletter (SERNews) this February. Here is the citation:

Norman, L.M., Girard, M.M., Pulliam, H.R., Villarreal, M.L., Clark, V., Flesch, A.D., Petrakis, R.E., Leibowitz, J., Tosline, D.J., Vaughn, K., Wagner, T., Weaver, C., Hare, T., Perez, J.M., Lopez Bujanda, O.E., Austin, J.T., Campbell, C.F., Callegary, J.B., Wilson, N.R., Conn, J.A., Sisk, T., Nabhan, G.P., 2022. A shared vision for enhancing ecological resilience in the U.S. - Mexico borderlands: The Sky Island Restoration Collaborative. Society magazine (SERNews) 36, 19–27.

https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ser.org/resource/resmgr/sernews/sernews_36-1/sernews_vol36_iss1_vf.pdf

We shared a beautiful video release therein, describing some of our shared missions and history together (the cinematography is exceptional! 😍)

Click here for the 5-min. trailer (tease!)

Click here for the full 20 min. video:

Check out some of the amazing research we’ve done and published together in this special issue, “Case studies of a grassroots binational restoration collaborative in the Madrean Archipelago Ecoregion[NLM1] ” of Air, Soil and Water Research:

Editorial: Combining the Science and Practice of Restoration Ecology—Case studies of a Grassroots Binational Restoration Collaborative in the Madrean Archipelago Ecoregion (2014-2019). Air, Soil and Water Research, 14, 117862212110094. By Norman, L. M., Pulliam, H. R., Girard, M. M., Buckley, S. M., Misztal, L., Seibert, D., Campbell, C., Callegary, J. B., Tosline, D. J., Wilson, N. R., Hodges, D., Conn, J. A., & Austin-Clark, A. V. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/11786221211009478

 

  • Preliminary Assessment of Carbon and Nitrogen Sequestration Potential of Wildfire-Derived Sediments Stored by Erosion Control Structures in Forest Ecosystems, Southwest USA. Air, Soil and Water Research, 14, 11786221211001768. By Callegary, J. B., Norman, L. M., Eastoe, C. J., Sankey, J. B., & Youberg, A. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/11786221211001768
  • An Approach for Creating Site-Specific Planting Palettes to Support Pollinators in the Sky Islands. Air, Soil and Water Research, 13, 1178622120950269. By Campbell, C. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/1178622120950269
  • Impacts of Riparian Restoration on Vegetation and Avifauna on Private and Communal Lands in Northwest Mexico and Implications for Future Efforts. Air, Soil and Water Research, 13, 1178622120938060. By Flesch, A. D., & Esquer, A. (2021). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1178622120938060
  • Wildfire Risk and Hazardous Fuel Reduction Treatments Along the US-Mexico Border: A Review of the Science (1986-2019). Air, Soil and Water Research, 13, 1178622120950272. By Laushman, K. M., Munson, S. M., & Villarreal, M. L. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/1178622120950272
  • Wildlife Use of Drainage Structures Under 2 Sections of Federal Highway 2 in the Sky Island Region of Northeastern Sonora, Mexico. Air, Soil and Water Research, 14, 1178622120988721. By Manteca-Rodríguez, M., Félix-Burruel, R. E., Aguilar-Morales, C., Bravo, J. C., Traphagen, M., & Larios, E. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/1178622120988721
  • Ecosystem Services of Riparian Restoration: A Review of Rock Detention Structures in the Madrean Archipelago Ecoregion. Air, Soil and Water Research, 13, 1178622120946337. By Norman, L. M. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1177/1178622120946337
  • Mapping Perceived Social Values to Support a Respondent-Defined Restoration Economy: Case Study in Southeastern Arizona, USA. Air, Soil and Water Research, 13, 1178622120913318. By Petrakis, R. E., Norman, L. M., Lysaght, O., Sherrouse, B. C., Semmens, D., Bagstad, K. J., & Pritzlaff, R. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/1178622120913318
  • Contemporary Fire Regimes Provide a Critical Perspective on Restoration Needs in the Mexico-United States Borderlands. Air, Soil and Water Research, 13, 1178622120969191. By Villarreal, M. L., Iniguez, J. M., Flesch, A. D., Sanderlin, J. S., Montaño, C. C., Conrad, C. R., & Haire, S. L. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/1178622120969191
  • Borderlands Earth Care Youth Institute Restoration Work in the U.S./Mexico Borderlands. Air, Soil and Water Research, 14, 11786221211015962. By Weaver, C. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/11786221211015962

 

To subscribe to the SIRC list-serve contact Laura Norman.

 

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