Conservation in Action: Tom Van Devender
Can you share a few memorable moments of your surveys of the Sky Islands?
The MABA Expedition to the Sierra Bacadéhuachi in 2011 was to a beautiful mountain area, and the group stayed in adobe buildings in Rincón de Guadalupe, an old retreat for Catholic priests. I remember crossing an open mountain ridge in a summer thunderstorm with lightning and hail falling; teaching the caretaker family about snakes and moths; Tarahumara barking frogs and pine toads around the building; and herpetologist Robert Villa playing a classic gypsy concerto on his 1700s violin in the 1600s church in the town of Bacadéhuachi. I remember finding tiny, dark red-brown scorpions in pine needles on a rainy night on top of the Sierra la Mariquita that turned out to be a new, undescribed species. I remember finding rain click beetles in the Sierra Aconchi and Sierra la Púrica in 2013 that were in named Scaptolenus paltingi in honor of MABA entomologist John Palting. And I remember the thrilled expression on herpetologist Dale Turner’s face after finding a Ditmar’s horned lizard in the Sierra la Púrica.
What is the most difficult or demanding thing about your work?
Organizing the MABA Expeditions is a complicated bilingual/binational task that involves landowner permissions; inviting scientists, professors, and students; coordinating with agency biologists; scouting trips to work out logistics; selecting campsites and inventory areas; and processing observations and images for the MABA database. Raising funds for each MABA Expedition is an ongoing challenge. GreaterGood fully funded expeditions to the Sierra la Púrica in 2013, and the Sierra Huerfana in 2014.
How do the plants and animals you study stand to benefit from having the Sierra de Huérfana protected?
When the Sierra la Huérfana Area Natural Protegida is established, the protection levels for habitats and all species of plants and animals will increase. A notable species in the range is the palma de la virgen (Dioon sonorense) — endemic to Sonora and the northernmost cycad in the world.
On a personal level, what would it mean to you to see the 32,000 acres of the the Sierra Huérfana protected?
New protected natural areas are not established very often. It is exciting for me personally and for Sky Island Alliance as a conservation NGO to have a role in protecting the biodiversity of the Sierra Huérfana.
You can help make the protection of Sierra de Huérfana a reality by contributing to our limited-time Gift That Gives More. This time-sensitive initiative is dedicated to helping Tom and his team of scientists get the funding they need to preserve 50 square miles in and around Sierra de Huérfana forever.
