Madrean sky islands, North America

The steep mountains, sheltered canyons, and grassland valleys of the Madrean Sky Island region of southwest United States and northwest Mexico is one of the world's most biologically diverse, temperate forest regions. A two-century legacy of mining and ranching has entailed significant impacts on the region's biodiversity, and today alterations due to climate change are already having visible impacts on species, ecosystems, and ecological connectivity. These changes, coupled with the global change drivers of increased urbanization and border security activities, will necessitate adaptive and forward-thinking strategies to conserve the region's biodiversity and to maintain connectivity across the border. The social, economic, and political challenges of straddling a border between two very different countries spotlight the need to foster both the institutional and scientific capacity for developing transborder conservation strategies that are adaptive to climate change.