We aren't waiting around for Santa to bring the gift of restoration! The Desert Defender elves have been working around the clock at the Rio Salado Audubon Center to get rid of invasive stinknet and make space for native wildlife 🐦‍⬛ If you see stinknet- pull it, bag it, and throw it away!

One month from today is our next CAZCA Speaker Series! Visit cazca.org/events to register for an exciting talk with Sky Island Alliance and McDowell Sonoran Conservancy on FotoFauna: A Wildlife Camera Project - Wednesday Jan. 22nd 10:00-11:30 at the Desert Botanical Garden/Zoom 🐏

The Presenter Submissions deadline for the 2026 CAZCA All Partners meeting has been extended to Monday, January 5th. The deadline for breakout group topic ideas is also January 5th.  Registration for in-person attendance closes Jan 28th  Registration for zoom attendance closes Feb 10th

The Desert Botanical Garden is offering a Scholarship funded through The Garden Club of America Award in Desert Studies to promote the study of horticulture, conservation and design in arid landscapes.  Award: $4,000 Application Deadline: 1/15/26 Apply: https://dbg.org/join-our-team/scholarships/

Registration for the 2026 CAZCA All Partners meeting is now live! 🎉 Register: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/6mfk6ca/lp/9783c31e-2422-471e-aa67-eb65fc1475ff  Presentation submissions: https://forms.gle/aPBjeGD4ZezEoTK18  Breakout Submissions: https://forms.gle/aStaku5kCTveWbZGA

American Conservation Experience in partnership w/ US Fish and Wildlife Service, is seeking 3 Members to assist the USFWS with invasive plant management duties at Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona Apply: https://usaconservation.applicantpool.com/jobs/1262233

Information is crucial to conservation 🧠 🏜️ Check out these resources about fire in the Sonoran Desert provided by our friends at Southwest Fire Consortium! 🌵🔥 #Arizona #AZ #SonoranDesert #Conservation #Wildfire #WildfirePrevention

Save the Date for the CAZCA All Partners meeting! Join us to learn, share, & connect with the community on this year's theme - Survive and Thrive: Adapting to a changing environment while conserving ecosystem health & stability 🌵 Scan the QR codes to submit presentations / breakout group topic ideas

Its not too late to register for our first presentation of the '25-26 CAZCA Speaker Series! Join us this Thursday Nov 13th to learn all about what the City of Phoenix is doing to embrace nature in urban living and how you can too! 🌵🌇 Register using the QR code or at cazca.org/events

Do you want to help protect our desert? 🌵 Do you want to spend some time outdoors and get your hands dirty? 💪 CAZCA is looking for volunteers to assist with our Plant Swap Program - scan the QR code or visit https://forms.gle/aGy6xLNXUq3AsbVw5 for more information and to sign up! We appreciate you!

We are so grateful for all this rain we've been getting but, make sure to keep an eye out for invasive species that are sure to be popping up! Swipe for a few of the most common culprits - if you see these guys start to pop up: pull and bag them so their seeds can't spread 🌵💪

Join the training on 10/26 to become a Trail Ambassador with Maricopa Trails and Parks Foundation! Be a steward of the land while getting outside- what's better than that?! 🌵  Find more information and register here: https://mtpf.ivolunteer.com/

Our social media team is out today, so we handed things off to a 6 year old. Please enjoy this drawing of a rare "sandcat" and get outside! 🌵 See you all Wednesday for our regularly scheduled programming 🫡 #AZ #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Conservation

Our 2025-2026 Speaker Series are just around the corner! Visit cazca.org/events to learn more and register- see you there! 😄 #AZ #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Conservation #Pollinators #Wildlife #InvasiveSpecies

🚨Job Alert 🚨 🌵Boyce Thompson Arboretum is hiring a Horticulture Manager🌵  Apply Here: https://recruiting.paylocity.com/Recruiting/Jobs/Details/3381068 #AZ #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Conservation #JobPosting #ConservationJob

Join Heather Finden w/ the City of Phoenix to learn about the benefits of incorporating water harvesting techniques in your own backyard💧 You can find more techniques & resources w/ the Central Arizona Urban Desert Landscape Guide - access the guide for FREE here: https://bit.ly/desertscape

Hmmm... what does City of Phoenix's Heather Finden (aka real life Leslie Knope) have in store for us?? Tune in this Wednesday (10/8) to find out! 👀  #AZ #Arizona #SonoranDesert #WaterHarvesting #WaterConservation

2 bills were introduced in the House of Reps bills that would reduce protections on over 1 mil acres in the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of Grand Canyon Nat.Monument & Ironwood Forest Nat. Monument Contact your reps to comment:  https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

Join the Trail Ambassador Program 🥾 with Maricopa Parks & Rec and Maricopa Trail and Park Foundation to play a crucial role in preserving our trails and creating a safe, enjoyable environment for everyone!  🌵If you can't make it on 10/4, you can register online at https://mtpf.ivolunteer.com/

The CAZCA Speaker Series lineup is set! Experts will discuss topics including nature as part of urban life in Phoenix, the Sky Islands FotoFauna wildlife camera network, and using fire to manage invasive plants. Register at cazca.org/events. See you there! #AZ #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Conservation

Can sheep help save our saguaros? The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum @desertmusem set sheep to graze on "A" Mountain as part of a plan to manage invasive buffelgrass, which increases wildfire risk. See the blog about grazing at desertmuseum.org #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Conservation 📸: ASDM/Gracie Heim

✨Star Party!✨ Tomorrow 9/20 head over to Oracle State Park (with the required park entrance fee) at 6pm to enjoy food by @labufadoratucsonaz and music by Fred Terry, then stargaze with @tucsonastronomy 7-9pm. Bring a chair and arrive early to secure a seat! #AZ #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Conservation

Tune in for tips on picking the perfect tree for your space with Ray from Desert Botanical Garden! 🌳 You can find more info to set your desert garden up for success with the Central Arizona Urban Desert Landscape Guide - access the guide for FREE here: https://bit.ly/desertscape

Saturday, Sept. 27 from 9am-12pm join City of Phoenix and Butterfly Wonderland at their Rio Salado butterfly garden to release butterflies, help clean-up, and remove invasive species from the garden. Check our events page or the flyer for more information. #AZ #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Conservation

Learn about Sonoran Desert native and low water use plants with Kaci from the City of Tempe! 🌵 Get more inspiration and guidance for gardening in the desert with the Central Arizona Urban Desert Landscape Guide - access the guide for FREE here: https://bit.ly/desertscape

Identify local butterflies and help scientists at a Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz! Sep. 20th, join Maricopa County Parks & Recreation and the National Recreation and Parks Association at one of 5 locations across the valley! Register at cazca.org/events #AZ #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Conservation

The pollinators are coming! Get ready for the Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz in a free virtual butterfly workshop, then put your identification skills to the test while documenting species for science! Learn more and register at cazca.org/events #AZ #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Conservation

The National Forests will be impacted by the USDA reorganization plan. Read the plan and make your voice heard. Read here: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sm-1078-015.pdf ). You are encouraged to comment by emailing [email protected] The comment period open through 8/31/25.

Adorable toads and frogs seem to appear out of nowhere during monsoon rain in the Sonoran desert. Check these tips for spotting them in your neighborhood: 🐸Walk slowly, they hop fast! 🐸Listen for their sounds! 🐸Look closely, they can camouflage! 📸: Ella M #AZ #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Conservation

Saturday, August 23rd you can be part of the first Science Fair & Research Night at Desert Botanical Garden! Check out the latest in plant science, meet young researchers, see behind-the-scenes, and more! Check out @dbgphx for event and ticket info. #AZ #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Conservation

Friendly reminder to sign up for the upcoming Wonderful World of Composting Webinar 8/21 3:00-4:00pm 😀🪱Register to get the zoom link at cazca.org/events 🤩 #Arizona #AZ #SonoranDesert #Conservation #Compost

This past Saturday (8/9) was the beloved Smokey the Bears 81st birthday! 🎂 The iconic mascot first appeared in the USFS messaging in 1944, educating Americans on prevention of unwanted, human-caused wildfires to help project our wildlands 🐻 Always do your part to aid in wildfire prevention!

Its the first Monday of the month which means its time for another Text of the Month! Katy Kelleher poetically writes about the beautiful smells of the southwest in her essay "Scent Makes a Place" to start August out on a mindful note 👃😌 Read here:

Did you miss the first 2 installments of CAZCA's Summer Education Series? Fret not! Recordings of "Micro Pollinator Gardens" 🐝 with the City of Tempe's Kaci Fankhauser and "AZ Water Conservation" 💧 with the City of Phoenix's Heather Finden are on the @centralazconservationalliance YouTube Channel!

Join us for the final installment of the CAZCA Summer Education Series! Rafa Crevoshay will be presenting on the wonderful world of compost 🪱 Afterwards you'll be prepped with all the info to create your own high-quality compost & give your garden beds a boost! 🌱 Visit cazca.org/events to register

Google Earth image of social trails created in the Deem Hills Recreation Area. Social trails are unofficial paths created by repeated traffic when people choose to go off trail which can cause all kinds of environmental degradation-Always make sure to stick to the trails when recreating outdoors!

Happy Monday! Please enjoy this video of a couple of sun-bathing turtles at Canyon Lake 🥺🐢 Spotted while mapping invasive fountain grass (pictured behind the turtles) around the lake, in partnership with Tonto National Forest 🌲🌵 #AZ #Arizona #Conservation #SonoranDesert

CAZCA toured the Tempe Transportation Center's rooftop garden-part of the city's Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified projects. This building is one of the first buildings of its kind in the nation to be submitted for LEED Platinum certification to the U.S. Green Building Council!

Heather Finden w/ the City of Phoenix will be talking about water conservation in our urban desert community & how to adopt water-saving solutions in your own home using Green Stormwater Infrastructure The webinar will be on 7/16 from 3-4 pm AZ Visit cazca.org/events to register & get the zoom link!

Visiting the lakes and rivers are a great way to cool down this summer, but to remember to clean up after yourself and your pets, including 💩! Our parks are facing smaller staff sizes so make sure to leave it better than you found it to keep our public lands clean! 🛶

Check out this paper discussing a study published in Global Change Biology that found California Hummingbirds beak sizes are changing in response to feeders, increasing the range they're found in 😲Read more here:

This land is your land; this land is my land... so lets work together and keep our land safe from wildfire and air pollution by forgoing fireworks this 4th of July! 🎆 #AZ #Arizona #Conservation #SonoranDesert #IndependenceDay #PublicLands

Does anybody have a guess as to who these adorable little paw prints could belong to..? 🐾 Location: Mcdowell Sonoran Preserve 🌵 #AZ #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Conservation

The Urban Desert Landscaping Guide has been released! 🌵 The guide covers native & low water use plants for gardening, invasive species of central AZ, and much more! Find an e-copy of the guide here: https://bit.ly/4hMoiIL #SonoranDesert #Conservation #AZ #Arizona #NativePlants #Xeriscaping

The "One Beautiful Bill Act" currently with the US senate, this Act would make more than 250 million acres of public lands across the US eligible for sale. If you live in AZ and want your voice heard call Senator Mike Kelly (202-224-2235) and Senator Ruben Gallego (202-224-4521).

The CAZCA team joined Tonto National Forest to remove invasive apple snail eggs along the Salt River! Apple snails can alter wetland habitats in AZ through competition against native species for food & space. Happy to help conserve our #SonoranDesert (& be on the river during a workday)! 🌵🐌

Join CAZCA for our Summer Education Series! 3 webinars from June-August covering topics on conservation in AZ 🌵 Visit cazca.org/events to learn more and register- we hope to see you there! 😃 #SonoranDesert #Conservation #AZ #Arizona

It's #PollinatorWeek & we love any excuse to celebrate these lil hero's responsible for so much of life on earth 🫶🐝🦋🦇Help support Sonoran Desert health by using native plants for our bees, moths, ants, flies, wasps, beetles, birds, bats, lizards, & mice! 🌼 #Conservation #SonoranDesert #NativePlants

Today is #WorldBeeDay and it's a great time to remember how just vital native bees are to our food systems. Did you know? Native bees pollinate 75% of flowering plants, including fruit and vegetable crops that are important to a healthy diet. Learn more: biodiv.us/4k35Ugv

The updated Regional Open Space Strategy (ROSS) is published! The ROSS delivers a connected & well-managed plan that realizes the benefits of open space for people, environment, & economy to ensure that our beautiful Sonoran Desert endures & thrives!Check out the full 2025 ROSS here: bit.ly/2025ROSS