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LONG-BILLED CURLEW
The logo for the Peñasco Estero Conservation Fund shows the silhouette of a Long-billed Curlew, a large shorebird, common in our wetlands throughout the year. This species is considered near-threatened by the Mexican endangered species act, and is a species of special concern in the United States, due to range-wide declines. If you visit one of northern Sonora’s wetlands, you’ll be sure to see these graceful birds dotting the mudflats, probing their long, down-curved bills into the burrows of shrimp and crabs. Although we see them throughout the year, most of the population flies north to the Great Plains of the United States to breed in late spring, early summer.
EARLY FISHERIES: Totoaba & Shark
At the end of World War II, the U.S. government assisted the Mexican government to pave Highway 8 from Lukeville, Arizona south to Puerto Peñasco, Sonora. International markets opened. Boat building became an important industry because of easy access to materials in the U.S. War time research identified shark liver oil as an important source of Vitamin A. By the 1950’s shark fishing and industrial shrimp fisheries were booming, making Puerto Peñasco one of Mexico’s most productive ports. Fishing was so successful in these spawning grounds that whole populations were decimated. The totoaba became the first marine fish to be listed as endangered and it received full protection in Mexico in 1975. Shark species were decimated here and throughout the world.
ECHINODERMS
Echinoderms, a group including sea stars, sea cucumbers and urchins, are the most diverse and populous marine species. They play key roles in deep and shallow seas - eating algae, breaking down rocks, aerating the seafloor, and as generalist predators. In the tidepools near Rocky Point, the most common echinoderms you’ll find are sunstars, brittle stars, pencil and purple urchins.
SCHOOL GROUPS AT CEDO
“CEDO is a great place for class trips – not just for the diversity of life in the nearby tidepools – but also for the community experience it creates for students. When students cook together, work together, enjoy a bonfire and then sleep out under the stars there are lots of opportunities for positive interactions. CEDO also provides an opportunity for students to see conservation and research in action, by interacting with visiting researchers and CEDO staff. It is a very special and beautiful place – it’s not everywhere you can count on seeing eight phyla of intertidal invertebrates, catch beautiful sunsets and regularly see dolphins!”
- Dr. Katrina Mangin
Marine Ecology Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona
CEDO & SMALL BUSINESS
Because we believe that small businesses and local ownership are key to social and environmental well-being, we support local ecotourism initiatives near Peñasco. At oysterfarms in Estero Morúa CEDO has promoted the ‘El Barco’ restaurant, with an education mural, as well as ‘Kayaks Noemi’ a kayak rental initiative. NaturArte, is a broader project, aimed at developing and connecting ecotourism efforts along a wetland corridor.
INTERNS
Since its inception in 2000, CEDO’s field education internship has provided interns with “direct experience of the ‘heart and spirit’ of CEDO's mission” as well as practical experience in outdoor education. Interns also benefit from interactions with CEDO staff, and visiting students and researchers. One former intern raves about the “opportunity to immerse myself in the absolutely gorgeous landscape of the Sea of Cortez.”
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