Sky Islands: A Study of Biodiversity
The Madrean Sky Islands are rugged and remote lands in the southwest known for having incredible biodiversity. There are over 7,000 species here, including more than half of North America's birds!
Just the San Pedro River, which is 143 miles long, has more types of animals with backbones than Yellowstone National Park. In a single day's walk, you can go from the desert to forests, passing through different habitats.
Most of the Sky Islands are part of the Coronado National Forest, which is the most diverse national forest in the U.S. It has more kinds of plants and animals that are at risk of disappearing than any other national forest.
The Sky Island region is in southern Arizona, southwest New Mexico, and northern Sonora. It's where 55 mountain ranges meet, creating a diverse habitat for over 7,000 species, including black bears, jaguars, lots of birds, and animals you won't find anywhere else on Earth.
This project is a visual study and documentation to capture the extreme biodiversity calling the Sky Islands of the Southwest home. To accomplish this work, I will be exploring some of the most rugged terrain in the southwest; some of it barely explored, some of it never explored. My aim is to capture the beauty and life of these incredible lands to raise awareness and build stewardship, which could eventually help lead to further protections of these important regions.
You can expect to learn about each Sky Island in the Madrean Sky Islands in great detail as I adventure through them on my Sky Island Traverse Long Route and the film following it titled My Sky Island Traverse.
