The pace has really picked up lately! In addition to my
normal field work and assignments, I have been participating in some of the
courses that the Prescott Students are taking here. Currently, there is a group
of 10 students here who are studying introduction to Natural History and
Conservation of the Gulf
of CA. I have gotten to
help out with teaching some of their field work, but more importantly, I am
able to tag along on their field trips! It has been great for me because I get
to learn more about the area and visit places I normally wouldn’t be able to
(free, woohoo).
Last week we went on a 3 day camping trip to Estero Sargento. Sargento is a negative
estuary (no regular freshwater influx) which is located in the territory of the
Com' Caac (Indigenous tribe in Sonora). In order to visit there, we had to
go with a guide. Alfredo, a Com' Caac elder, has been working
with students from Prescott
for many years. As a member of the Counsel of Elders, he feels it is his
responsibility to share information about his tribe and the land. He came with
us along with his wife and two grandchildren. He answered our questions and
talked about the ways of his people, the threats to the environment, and the
changes to his community occurring from development. His family holds the
traditional knowledge about plants and he described many medicinal uses to us, but
he was also able to talk about the natural history of the animals.
While
I can’t explain the experience in such a short blog, I will say that Sargento
made my list of most beautiful places. I slept under the stars on the beach and
woke up to the birds feeding in the golden shimmer of the sunrise. It was
incredible to be surrounded by such distinct ecosystems. On the one side you
have harsh, dry desert with sprawling mountains, then you have the ocean,
dunes, and mud flats, and finally the channels with white, black, and red
mangroves. There were so many things to discover. I hope I have the chance to go back and appreciate it more.
Unfortunately,
the trip had a somber cloud hanging over it. Despite the beauty of the place,
and its importance as a protected area and nursery for so many creatures, it is
still being exploited. Estero Sargento is one of the very few remaining estuaries
closed to shrimp trawling because the land is actually owned by the Com'
Caac and
not the Mexican government. There were 11
illegal shrimp trawlers fishing in the estuary when we were there!
Apparently, they are paying off the Com' Caac governor to be there.
Additionally, there is a 4 lane highway being built through their territory
which is largely opposed by the Com' Caac people, but again, the top
players are being paid off. And finally, we saw at least 8 dead Green Sea
turtles (which are legally protected) that had been hunted. While there are protections in place, there is just so much corruption. Sometimes
conservation work just seems like you are up against too many negative forces,
but it was inspiring to hear from Alfredo that he opposed all of these things
and was worried for the future of his land and his grandchildren.
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| Tepupa Mountain |
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| The class hearing stories |
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| crazy sand dunes |
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| my room |
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| the morning view |
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| Snowy Egret |
