A Call To Action

Although I mostly grew up in Los Angeles, the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona, was where I really found out who I was. It was there I got to do field research for the first time. Where I found my love for lizards and ecology.

My nursery, the home of thousands of people, and countless wildlife is being threatened. I’m calling yall to action!

By October 9th, please comment here and tell the US Air Force NO to modifying the Tombstone Military Operations Area (MOA). You can read the Air Force’s full proposal here.

To comment - https://www.arizonaregionalairspaceeis.com/comments/

The proposed changes include:

1.      Establishes a 100 foot above ground level (AGL) flight floor for fighter jet maneuvers

2.      Authorizes thousands of additional low altitude combat training flights, including supersonic

3.      dramatically increases the number of flares and chaff (a radar countermeasure involving the dispersal of thin strips of aluminium, metallized glass fiber, or plastic) released over millions of acres of federal public lands

This week, you're searching for Sceloporus virgatus, the stripped plateau lizard. Their northern most range is the Chiricahua Mountains.

If you live close to an airport or have ever been near a plane at take off and landing, you know just how disruptive the noise can be at lower altitudes. Now imagine a plane going faster than the speed of sound at 5,000 (alternatives 2&3) or 10,000 (alternative 4) feet above ground level. It would be devastating for the people and wildlife that call the area home.

If it wasn’t convincing enough that the thousands of people currently residing in the Tombstone MOA home, these are your natural lands that the Air force plans to pollute with sound and debris.

This was the first official #FindThatLizard challenge. Let me know when you've #FoundThatLizard!

The chihuahuas are part of the Madrean Sky Islands, a world-renowned biological hotspot. A unique ecosystem where mountain ranges (islands) are separated by vast deserts seas. However, before the deserts, species were able to migrate from one mountain range to another. Somewhere between about 2.6 million to about 11,700 years ago, during the Pleistocene Epoch, fluctuation in climate caused the lower elevation areas to become inhospitable to many species. Those who could not survive took refuge in the mountains. Now separated by time and desert seas, some of these species became new ones, endemic (only found on) their respective mountain island. The Madrean Sky Islands are home to over 7,000 species of plants and animals.

Let’s protect the people and our wildlife. Please leave a comment to the US Airforce letting them know how important this area is!

1. Tell the Air Force that expanding military combat training over rural communities and tribal and public lands is not acceptable.

2. Tell the Air Force it should restrict its lower elevation and supersonic flights, and other combat training, such as dropping chaff and flares, to the Barry M Goldwater Range where it’s already happening.

3. Tell the Air Force it must not shift the burden of risk to rural and tribal communities in southern AZ and southwest NM.

Although the striped plateau lizard has been exposed by me in this reveal photo, let's not have them exposed to air and debris pollution by the Air Force!

Finally support Peaceful Chiricahua Skies in their effort to protect this important habitat! You can read the brief they prepared here. Sign their petition here.