University of Arizona
Sense of Place
Geos. 195D
Mt. LemmonMt. Lemmon, all the way to the top, is one of the great sites and natural history trips of Tucson.
Catalina Gneiss
- Sabino's a gneiss canyon: This April 17, 2011, Arizona Daily Star article covers the taffy-like gneiss rock at the bottom of the Catalinas.
Babad Do'ag Vista Possibly to be Encroached Upon by Trophy Homes
- 8/1/10: 8 hillside homes may harm views in Catalinas. Large luxury homes are being considered for right near Babad Do'ag Vista, our first stop on the Mt. Lemmon trip.
- 8/8/10: Letter to the editor. The vox populi, with an impassioned viewpoint.
User Fee to Drive the Highway
A user fee is charged to drive the Mt. Lemmon Highway and stop to hike and/or picnic or do whatever to enjoy the mountain. There are various pros and cons to user fees. Some recent voices on this subject:
- 9/13/06: U.S. judge's ruling could end forest user fees. This is about our very own Mt. Lemmon Highway user fee.
- 9/16/06: Ruling to halt forest fee will be appealed. Ever the appeals system at work.
- 9/17/06: Clear ruling needed on rec-area user fees. An op-ed piece asking for a ruling from the courts.
- 9/21/06: Letter to the editor. More voice of the people, more impassioned viewpoint.
Piñon Pine-Nut Muffins 1 cup (~6 oz.) piñon pine nuts, ground ½ cup wheat flour ½ cup water 3 tablespoons honey 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt Combine dry ingredients. Add water and
honey and mix well. Pour into greased
muffin tins. Bake for ½ hour @ 350º F.
Makes 24 bite-sized muffins (or ~6 big ones).From: Niethammer, Carolyn. 1974.
American Indian Cooking: Recipes From the Southwest.
University of Nebraska Press.Gordon Hirabayashi Prison Camp
An abandoned prison camp is located on the highway just above Molino Basin. It's named for Gordon Hirabayashi, who passed away in early January, 2012. See his obituary here.
Sky Islands of the American Southwest
The Sky Islands of the American Southwest are very biodiverse.
Global Change and Stacked Ecosystems of the Sky Islands
Arizona is rightly known as the "Grand Canyon State," but Baja Arizona could be just as reasonably dubbed the "Sky Island State." The Catalina Highway allows a close-up look at Sky Island biogeography, namely, stacked ecosystems. With changing elevation, ecosystems themselves change, from Sonoran Desert down low, to Madrean mixed woodland in the middle, and to Rocky Mountain subalpine forest on top.
- 3/27/07: Heat Invades Cool Heights Over Arizona Desert. This New York Times article suggests that it is already warmer up the mountains of southern Arizona.
- 4/6/07: Study Predicts Dust-Bowl Southwest. This study suggests that stacked ecosystems would be in danger from global warming, if it really truly continued warming up here.
- 2/15/09: Persistent Hiker Discovers Plants Blooming at Higher Elevations Than Ever Before. This AZ Daily Star article observes that plants are already blooming at higher elevations now than 20+ years ago. Evidence of warming?
- August 2010: Forest Management and the Grand Carbon Debate. This issue of Forestry Source has three op-ed essays on using forest management to control carbon emission to the atmosphere. Essential reading.
Fire on the Mountain
A large fire called the Bullock burned parts of Mt. Lemmon in 2002, and other parts were burned in 2003 in the Aspen fire.
Aspen burn area up close, 2007. Photo credit — Jayme Kelter
Aspen burn area up close, 2010. Photo credit — Paul Sheppard
- 5/14/07: Former FS chiefs say fire costs eating budget. This article, printed in The Missoulian (Missoula, Montana) decries the real costs of fire suppression. Fighting fires is now a large percentage of the USFS budget.
- 9/19/11: Catalina Mountains conifers on the way up after '03 fire. Forest ecosystems of the Catalinas are, in fact, recovering from the 2003 Aspen fire,
Coronado National Forest 2010 Forest Plan
The Coronado National Forest is currently revising its forest plan. A draft version is available here. Public comment is now open on this. Feel free to exert your new-found sense of place and comment.
"Ladder fuels?" Photo credit — Paul Sheppard
Snow on the Mountain
It snowed the day of the April 2007 SOP trip, and just before the April 2010 trip. Unusual, but not unheard of, even for Southern Arizona.
2007: Palisades Ranger Station, ~8,000 ft. elevation. Photo credit — Paul Sheppard
2010: The top, ~9,100 ft. elevation. Photo credit — Paul Sheppard
Team Photo, 2011: Middle Bear
Photo credit — Paul Sheppard
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