Project ABSTRACT15.963: southwest border resource protection programsam.GOV link: click here for the SAM.GOV assistance listingthis program provides financial assistance to educational institutions,…

Project ABSTRACT15.963: southwest border resource protection programsam.GOV link: click here for the SAM.GOV assistance listingthis program provides financial assistance to educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, tribes, and local and state agencies to improve resource stewardship, achieve international cooperation, provide meaningful interpretation and conduct scientific research, which will lead to increased appreciation and understanding of our shared natural and cultural heritage along our international border with mexico. The purpose of the TRI-national sonoran desert symposium is to convene researchers, land managers, and other stakeholders to share information on the research and documentation of natural and cultural resource challenges and solutions, especially those involving multiple agencies, and that cross the border of the U.S., mexico, and the tohono oodham nation. The symposium is four days long and includes a day of educational fieldtrips throughout the bioregion (southern arizona, northern sonora, MX and on the tohono oodham nation) followed by three days of plenary sessions, workshops, panel discussion, and speakers. Simultaneous interpretation is provided to facilitate communication among spanish and english speakers throughout the event. All the land management agencies in this bioregion: organ pipe cactus national monument, cabeza prieta national wildlife refuge, barry m. Goldwater range, sonoran desert national monument, and the pinacate biosphere reserve in mexico, as well as the tohono oodham nation are engaged in documenting natural and cultural resources and attempting to preserve them. University faculty are engaged in extensive research, and nonprofit agencies are adding volunteer energies on the ground and helping to disseminate critical information. This important research and these preservation projects lead to increased appreciation and understanding of our shared natural and cultural heritage along our international border with mexico only if they culminate in multi-national information sharing and education. Indeed, such education and information sharing is critical to the long-run success of protecting both natural and cultural resources. The TRI-national symposium serves a vital role in building and maintaining this type of collaboration.