Web Resources

Sonoran Desert: General Resources

• * http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/index.htm
  Our Living Resources: A Report on the Distribution, Abundance, and Health of U.S. Plants, Animals, and Ecosystems. This is an excellent source of information on selected Sonoran Desert species.
• The Nature Conservancy, IMADES, and Sonoran Institute. 2000. An Ecological Analysis of Conservation Priorities in the Sonoran Desert Ecoregion.
  http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/arizona/preserves/art6764.htm
• An Ecological Analysis of Conservation Priorities in the Sonoran Desert Ecoregion: Executive Summary - The Nature Conservancy - full text version (pdf, 1004 KB)
• Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - information on the desert
• Sonoran Desert - brief overview information from the Missouri Botanical Garden
• The Sonoran Desert - from DesertUSA
• Population and Conservation in the Sonoran Desert - a case study by The Nature Conservancy in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Atlas of Population and Environment
• Protect the Sonoran Desert -a site devoted to promoting the new Ironwood Forest National Monument, designated by President Clinton in 2000.

Demographics

• http://www.ourplanet.com/aaas/pages/case06.html
  "Population and conservation in the Sonoran Desert." An excellent discussion of population growth, population centers, natural increase and in migration. Places 1995 population of the region at approximately 5.5 million.
• 2000 U.S. Census figures at http://quickfacts.census.gov
  Useful sources for census information
• http://www.world-gazetteer.com
  Figures for both the U.S. and Mexico
• http://mywebpage.netscape.com/fcsklabrie/Sonora.htm
• http://www.virtualmex.com
  Demographic information for Mexico based on Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas

Economy

• http:///www.puerto-penasco.com/bizpp.html Puerto Penasco Mexico Online: Business, Investing and Property
  Provides information on business, the probable cost of property in different zones in the area, immigration permits, and stocks and bonds.
• http://www.puerto-penasco.com/nafta.html
  Puerto Penasco Mexico Online: Nafta Updates
  Brief discussion of the types of products made in maquilladoras in the city.
• http://www.mexicanshowroom.com/state/bajaCalif.html
  State & Regional Information The Mexican Textile & Apparel Showroom
  Provides basic geographic and economic facts about the State of Baja California.

Major Cities

• http://www.obregon.gob.mx/info.htm
  Dinamismo, Modernidad Y Progreso
  Contains pertinent information such as History, Universities, Organizations, and maps of the city of Obregon, Sonora (en Espanol)
• http://www.globalc.org/sister/mex.htm
  Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
  Brief overview of city
• www.iucn.org/bookstore/bulletin/2000/wc2/content/page5sonorandesert.pdf
• www.asu.edu/copp/morrison/public/APC98pdf#page=14
  Projected growth
• AZ pg. 30 of 199 on domestic migration. Executive summary of "State of the Desert Biome" on pg. 35 (solely in English)
• http://aria.arizona.edu/courses/ar/641/1999/ch6_files/ch6text.html

Rangelands

• http://ag.arizona.edu/agnic/policy/grazing.html
  Provides excellent overview of Public Lands Grazing including associated ecological, economic, and social debates.
• http://www.colorado.edu/geography/projects_research/range/brief%_geography.html
  Provides an excellent overview of the changing geography of the West. Discusses the effect that changing demographics and a new economic focus are having on extracting industries, including ranching.

• http://www.nwf.org/wildalive/pronghorn/bigpicture.html "Sonoran Pronghorn." Informative report on the history and characteristics of the Pronghorn antelope as well as discussion of threats and efforts to protect the species.
• http://www.npca.org/magazine/2001_issues/july_august/rare_endangered.asp "Desert Denizen: A single population of pupfish remains in a half-acre pond at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument." Description of the Quitobaquito pupfish and threats to its survival.
• http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/noframe/b178.htm "Common Ravens in the southwestern United States, 1968-1992." An excellent report on the potential threat the increase in the Raven population may have on threatened and endangered species.
• http://www.gf.state.az.us/frames/fishwild/ngame_a.htm "Harris's Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus)." Provides a description of and information on the distribution, habitat, and management needs of the Harris's Hawk. Although not listed as threatened or endangered, the species experiencing a significant decline in numbers.
• http://www.newcrops.uq.edu.au/listing/carnegieagigantea.htm "Listing of Useful Plants of the World: Carnegiea gigantea." Provides a bibliography of recent research articles on saguaros.
• http://www.gamebird-alliance.org/maskedpaper.html "Grazing and the Endangered Masked Bobwhite Quail in Sonora, Mexico." Well researched, thorough discussion of the effect cattle grazing on Masked Bobwhite populations. A history of cattle grazing in Sonora as well as consideration of negative consequences of bufflegrass invasion are included.
• http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/noframe/d169.htm "Disappearance of the Tarahumara Frog." Scholarly but readable report on the Tarahumara Frog which is no longer found in the United States but which has surviving populations in Sonora, Mexico. Threats to and potential recovery of the frog population are discussed.
• The Nature Conservancy, IMADES, and Sonoran Institute. 2000. An Ecological Analysis of Conservation Priorities in the Sonoran Desert Ecoregion. http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/arizona/preserves/art6764.html
• The Desert Lab on Tumamoc Hill.
  The site connects to scientific data bases on vegetation and on drainage basins where hydrologic, geomorphic, and biological data are being collected for the purpose of investigating climate change. http://www.paztcn.wr.usgs.gov/home.html
• The Arizona Desert Museum - Desert Info Bits: Desert Plants, Animals and Minerals
  http://www.desertmuseum.org/kidz/bits.html
• http://www.desertmuseum.org/desertinfo/sonora.html
• http://wwwl.sonorandesert.org/sandigo.htm
• http:///www.ourplanet.com/aaas/pages/case06.html
• http://www.desertusa.com/du_sonoran.htm
• http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/desert/sonoran.htm
• http://www.biologicaldiverstiy.org/swcbd/press/bordertowers.html "U.S. Border Patrol 'Panic-Towers' Plan Threatens Desert Wildlife and Wilderness on Cabeza Prieta National wildlife Refuge & Barry M. Goldwater Range." Discussion of potential impact of controversial proposed US Border Patrol towers along the U.S. Mexico Border.
• http://banwaste.enviroweb.org/html/stebbins_96 "The Desert Tortoise." Good general discussion, by a renowned zoologist, of the Desert Tortoise and its role as an indicator of the health of deserts, including the Sonoran Desert.
• http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/internati/int30gee.htm "Restoration of Masked Bobwhites in Sonora-Sonora, Mexico." Report on program to bolster wild population of Bob Whites.
• http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/WWW/esis/lists/e252015.htm "Species Topminnow, Gila." Scientific data on the endangered Gila topminnow.