Jonathan Hanson
Well-known member
We recently had the chance to assist with a biological survey in Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental, 120 miles or so south of Douglas, Arizona.
A group of about 40 scientists in 15 vehicles headed to a remote property owned by the Catholic church, with the intent of cataloging plants, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and arthropods. Roseann and I were along to initiate a survey of the large mammal population, using track counts and automatic trail cameras, and also to provide 4WD support. Chris Marzonie was along in the BajaTaco Tacoma, to provide an extra pair of eyes for tracking and a higher level of 4WD expertise than our own. His traveling tequila and bacanora bar had no bearing on the decision to include him.
Here's Chris's truck near Huasabas:
The road into the mountains was rough enough to necessitate marshaling in a couple of spots.
When a pouring rain hit and turned the road to a muddy torrent, things got even more interesting. One old Tacoma temporarily fried its clutch, but got underway again after cooling down. Eventually we all made it to the little group of tin-roofed mud-adobe buildings perched on a steep hillside amid towering pine trees. Various entomologists, botanists, ornithologists, and other ists got to work immediately, and soon established new range extensions for several species. (The previous expedition by the same group, into the Sierra el Tigre, actually recorded new species.)
The terrain was stunning, and rains had filled every watercourse. Most tracks were washed away, but our trail camera caught grey fox, opossum, and deer. We're convinced if we could plant several cameras for a month or so we'd record ocelot here, and probably jaguar as well.
Four days was way too short, even though a massive amount of data was captured in that time. The way out was easier; we had to pull one fallen oak tree off the road, but that was it.
There's a complete article about the expedition available as a PDF download here:
http://www.conserventures.org/terra/
It includes an audio clip of one of the participants playing a 300-year-old violin in a 300-year-old mission church. It will give you goose bumps.
Oh - we only came across a single drug shipment, a heavy covered truck on the paved highway, watched over by a fellow with a rifle we spotted on a hill. We left him alone; he left us alone . . .
A group of about 40 scientists in 15 vehicles headed to a remote property owned by the Catholic church, with the intent of cataloging plants, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and arthropods. Roseann and I were along to initiate a survey of the large mammal population, using track counts and automatic trail cameras, and also to provide 4WD support. Chris Marzonie was along in the BajaTaco Tacoma, to provide an extra pair of eyes for tracking and a higher level of 4WD expertise than our own. His traveling tequila and bacanora bar had no bearing on the decision to include him.
Here's Chris's truck near Huasabas:
The road into the mountains was rough enough to necessitate marshaling in a couple of spots.
When a pouring rain hit and turned the road to a muddy torrent, things got even more interesting. One old Tacoma temporarily fried its clutch, but got underway again after cooling down. Eventually we all made it to the little group of tin-roofed mud-adobe buildings perched on a steep hillside amid towering pine trees. Various entomologists, botanists, ornithologists, and other ists got to work immediately, and soon established new range extensions for several species. (The previous expedition by the same group, into the Sierra el Tigre, actually recorded new species.)
The terrain was stunning, and rains had filled every watercourse. Most tracks were washed away, but our trail camera caught grey fox, opossum, and deer. We're convinced if we could plant several cameras for a month or so we'd record ocelot here, and probably jaguar as well.
Four days was way too short, even though a massive amount of data was captured in that time. The way out was easier; we had to pull one fallen oak tree off the road, but that was it.
There's a complete article about the expedition available as a PDF download here:
http://www.conserventures.org/terra/
It includes an audio clip of one of the participants playing a 300-year-old violin in a 300-year-old mission church. It will give you goose bumps.
Oh - we only came across a single drug shipment, a heavy covered truck on the paved highway, watched over by a fellow with a rifle we spotted on a hill. We left him alone; he left us alone . . .
