ASC is proud to be involved with John Davis, TrekWest, and the Wildlands Network to bring awareness to the importance of protecting wildlife corridors.  John will travel 5,000 miles from Mexico to Canada on foot, bike, horse, and many other forms of transportation to inspire others to protect these important wildlife thoroughfares.  Along John's journey he will be collecting data for several ASC projects including Roadkill Observations, Wildlife Observations, observing ptarmigan, and the Pika Project.   This post was retrieved from http://trekwest.org/blog/log-5-lost-treasures-of-the-sierra-madre/ on February 21st, 2013.

NACO,  AZ  —   If  John Davis thought  that  the  dignitary-­‐like reception he received from wildlife corridor  enthusiasts in Sonora and Chihuahua was thrilling, he’ll be equally pleased when he reaches the U.S.-­‐Mexico border at Naco, Arizona on February 28. His crossing at one of the U.S.’s most heavily walled‐off and obstructed wildlife pathways will feature many partners from both countries carrying a 200-­‐foot-­‐long banner featuring the jaguar, followed with a traditional blessing ceremony by Yaqui tribal members.

“I’m hoping the fact that I can’t  just hike from one country to the other without running into a 16-foot-­high steel barricade will highlight the plight of animals trying to follow their traditional pathways across the border,” said Davis. “I know the wall is there for a reason, but when you try to keep people out with solid barriers, you also cut off wildlife movement.”

Karen and Markus are world travellers and avid adventurers.  They are backpacking through Argentina and Chile for the next few months and recording observations for the Wildlands South America Biodiversity Inventory.  They recently hiked through Isla Navarino and recorded observations there.  For more on their trip, visit their website 
http://2enroute.blogspot.com/.

It was morning in the forest, sunlight filtering through gaps in the old growth lenga stand, when we heard the drumming. Markus and I paused on the trail, pulling out camera and binoculars respectively, and looked around for the source. Then we saw it: a brilliant, feathery red crest and large, stout bill hammering forcefully against the trunk of a large, old tree. Little chunks of bark sailed through the air and landed on the forest floor nearby. Woodpecker!

Woodpeckers are a favorite guild of birds for both Markus and I, and Feb. 8th on the northern boundary of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares was the first day we saw them here in Patagonia. As we dropped our backpacks and walked into the forest, we heard several of the birds calling to one another and soon saw a second woodpecker fly in and alight on a nearby tree. This one lacked a red crest but had an equally striking and unusual curly-cue of black feathers curving from the top of its head. It was the female Carpintero Gigante (Magellanic woodpecker), chattering back and forth with the red-crested male. As luck would have it, we saw 9 of the birds that day. We traversed 30km from a campsite in the national park to the Argentinian border post north of Lago del Desierto across a mosaic of habitats and land-use designations, from forested national park, past private forests and more open (hot, windy) ranchlands, and along the shore of the mountainous Lago del Desierto rimmed by glaciers and their meltwater cascades spilling off of the southern ice cap--and at several points, always in open old-growth forest habitats, we heard the tell-tale drumming and chattering of the woodpeckers. We probably spent a good hour or more of time and several hundred photograph attempts on observing the birds that day!

ASC is proud to be involved with John Davis, TrekWest, and the Wildlands Network to bring awareness to the importance of protecting wildlife corridors.  John will travel 5,000 miles from Mexico to Canada on foot, bike, horse, and many other forms of transportation to inspire others to protect these important wildlife thoroughfares.  Along John's journey he will be collecting data for several ASC projects including Roadkill Observations, Wildlife Observations, observing ptarmigan, and the Pika Project.   This post was retrieved from http://trekwest.org/blog/log-5-lost-treasures-of-the-sierra-madre/ on February 21st, 2013.

From eastern Sonora over Sierra Madre crest into western Chihuahua


As the truck ground down the sinuous mountain road, and its headlights came into sight, Cindy Tolle barked an order: make bat wings around the fire!  When Cindy Tolle gives an order, you quickly comply, for she is not one to worry needlessly.  Cindy is a climbing guide with scores of first ascents to her name, plus dozens of years of traveling and living in remote parts of Mexico, so we dared not gainsay her command but quickly stood in a semi-circle around the side of the fire nearest the road, hoping the unexpected visitors were not drug-runners and would not see our humble campfire.  Three old trucks and as many nervous hours later, we decided any passers-by were probably as afraid of us as we of them, not narcos out to eliminate anyone in their way, and we retired quietly to our tents, under bright stars by the Arroyo Cueva, on the west side of the Sierra Madre.

I’d come to this point by four-wheel drive car with trip leader Cindy Tolle, founder of the Tutuaca Mountain School (tutuaca.org, which is raising funds to acquire and restore lands in Tutuaca watershed); engineer David Nelson, who kindly provided the safety vehicle; and filmmaker Ed George, who has fit into the trek so well, he is now part of the team (and will continue joining us periodically throughout this trek, if we can procure funds for a full documentary).

Irina Muschik is a wildlife biologist from Germany who has been East through Russia interviewing wildlife researchers for her project, Greentrousers.  She has been collecting data for several ASC projects including Pika Monitoring and Roadkill Observations.  Irina was recently interviewed for the Photocase blog.  During the interview below, she describes what inspires her to connect with wild spaces and collect data.  This interview was originally published on 1/16/2013 here. 

“Sometimes, you have to take one step back, in order to move forward”, writes our photographer Irina in the account of the first part of her travels through Eastern Europe, Russia and North- & Central Asia last year. After a short break, she will continue her journey this spring. Travel destination this time: Alaska. Read more about her travels in our interview.

Hi Irina, tell us a little bit about yourself! Who are you and what do you do?

I grew up as a real country kid in Westphalia, Germany. For a long time, I didn’t want to leave home. That’s why I decided to start training to become a digital media designer in the neighboring place after I finished school. And that’s also how I came to join Photocase back then. But working in a small and very conservative advertising agency soon didn’t offer any future perspectives for me any more so I decided to start over. At that time, someone gave me the advice to become what I dreamed of as a kid, which was (apart from the wish of becoming an artist) animal ethologist. This was the job title of Heinz Sielman, whose nature documentaries I loved when I was a kid. Without further ado, I studied biology in Bochum and my childhood dream really came true! In my final thesis I studied the domestic behavior of raccoons in the Müritz National Park. The study of wild animals and/or nature conservancy is definitely where I see my professional future. That’s where I feel at home.

ASC is proud to be involved with John Davis, TrekWest, and the Wildlands Network to bring awareness to the importance of protecting wildlife corridors.  John will travel 5,000 miles from Mexico to Canada on foot, bike, horse, and many other forms of transportation to inspire others to protect these important wildlife thoroughfares.  Along John's journey he will be collecting data for several ASC projects including Roadkill Observations, Wildlife Observations, observing ptarmigan, and the Pika Project.  

John Davis’s TrekWest began with a resounding TrekWest lauch ceremony in Hermosillo, Sonora and a day-long send-off fiesta hosted by the tiny village of Sahuaripa at the southern edge of the vast Northern Jaguar Reserve. Following these festivities, he spent the first six days of his historic conservation journey alternating between hiking and riding horseback through some of the toughest terrain he may face on his 5,000-mile international trek to promote wildlife corridor protection.

“I’m honored to have been received almost like a dignitary,” said Davis of the outpouring of public support he’s received. “Even though I have to rely on an interpreter to deliver my message of Say Yes to Wildlife Corridors, the wonderful people of Sonora have had no trouble grasping the importance of healthy and connected wildlife habitat. And once they’re engaged they realize that there are connectivity projects they can support right here in Sonora.”

Davis’ TrekWest partners in Sonora, including Mexico’s best-known conservation organization, Naturalia, and Northern Jaguar Project, which manages the 70-square-mile jaguar reserve, played a huge role in generating local excitement and interest in the adventure. “Naturalia’s regional director, Juan Carlos Bravo, was treated like a conservation rock star,” says Davis, who was joined by scores of bicycle riders as he left Hermosillo heading for Sahuaripa, where a community fiesta organized by Northern Jaguar Project flooded the streets with young students holding drawings of that region’s fabled icon of the wild.

The send-offs were quickly followed by Davis’ first miles on the trail of TrekWest, a week of hiking and riding horseback through some of the most difficult terrain he has ever encountered.  Riding horseback with a group of local residents in a traditional “cabalgata” procession, he immediately experienced what he says was “one of the scariest 10 minutes I’ve known,” passing through dense, head-high thorn scrub along the steep side of a canyon on a fortunately surefooted packhorse. “Any misstep could have been disastrous,” said the adventurer, who admitted he hadn’t ridden in more than 15 years.

But Davis’ challenges, which were punctuated by sightings of coveted jaguar and ocelot tracks, were not over, as the trekker had to wade the cold, swift, chest-deep water at the confluence of the Aros and Bavispe rivers— carrying his backpack above his head —  before exiting the jaguar reserve. Once out of the reserve and into more hikeable terrain, Davis realized for the first time the value of the beautiful handcrafted Zuni jaguar fetish he carried in his pocket for good luck.

Davis next joins partners from Tutuaca Mountain School and Cuenca los Ojos for the trek east across the rugged Sierra Madre Occidental into Chihuahua, and north to the U.S.-Mexico border at Cajon Bonito to view the corridor fragmentation posed by miles of border security infrastructure.

For more information about TrekWest visit trekwest.org where Wildlands Network’s petition promoting protection of wildlife habitat corridors can be signed, and where Davis’ regular blogs, posts and tweets can be seen along with TrekWest trail maps, photos, and more.

Eric Leifer is currently leading a canyoneering expedition to explore some of Hawaii’s most remote and pristine places. Deep gorges formed by creeks on the eastern flank of Mauna Kea and Mount Kohala on the island of Hawaii represent untouched habitat, cut off from the surrounding environment and people. Human development has resulted in the destruction of much of Hawaii’s natural habitat and dangerously impacted its native plant and animal populations through the introduction of invasive species. Leifer and his team are interested in documenting the course of these creeks and the unspoiled habitats through which they travel. Lacking the scientific background to harness the full potential of their expedition, the team reached out to ASC.