Kendrick Wilson

On Sunday, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum turned 50. It's come a long way over the years. Its conservation emphasis has gained worldwide recognition, but the toughest fight is yet to come.

In the beginning, the Desert Museum was made of concrete bottom cages with chain-link fences. Nowadays, the cages are gone and the museum features mostly "natural-habitat" exhibits, which include artificial rocks and boulders, desert vegetation, and are open to the sky.

The recently completed Arizona Uplands exhibit uses "invisinet" fencing, which is nearly invisible to the human eye. A tour of the Arizona Uplands exhibit, hardly reminiscent of the museum's early days, is more like a hike in a biologically diverse desert than a trip to a museum. The museum's latest program involves free flight of raptors and roadrunners over the museum grounds.

Despite the museum's early cages, its focus never strayed far from conservation. Now recognized around the world, the museum has taught Tucsonans and visitors alike the value of our fragile desert environment. Most recently, the museum participated in a breeding program, which led to the reintroduction of Mexican gray wolves. The museum currently holds one of the largest collections of thick-billed parrots, which are extinct in the United States, and only a handful of flocks still live in Mexico. The success of public education programs on the importance of the Mexican long-nosed bat for pollination of saguaros is due in no small part to the museum's cave exhibit, featuring a diversity of bats that reside in the Sonoran desert.

The Desert Museum has made many great achievements in its 50 years, but the fight for conservation has just begun. Tucson's population has nearly doubled since the 1970s, and wildlife is constantly being displaced as habitats are bulldozed to make way for more houses. Developers hold more power than most Tucsonans would believe. Even on the local level, most politicians receive gargantuan campaign contributions from the area's biggest developers. Most local news sources rely on developer advertising and are hesitant to provide too much negative press. The unfortunate result is politicians telling environmentally conscious Tucsonans they plan to protect our desert environment, while voting to allow developers to maraud much of the land surrounding our city.

Pima County is currently moving forward with the Sonoran Desert Protection Plan, which would be one of the nation's first comprehensive ecosystem protection plans. Fragile and diverse ecosystems such as riparian areas, endangered species habitat, and cactus "forests" would be targeted for full protection, while many other areas would be targeted for partial protection. Development would be channeled to less biologically sensitive areas, such as Tucson's southeast side.

Developers, fearful that their profits and powers will be reduced, are adamantly opposed to the plan. They will spend money at rates unimaginable to defeat Pima County's only land use plan developed with the help of unbiased scientists.

Many people who are new to Tucson and the Sonoran Desert may be wondering why it is so important to protect it. Some people may never be convinced, but most who give this place a chance can feel how special it truly is. Sure, we have no beach, we don't have many trees and we have ungodly hot summers, but we do have the world's most beautiful desert, with strange and charming plants and wildlife. Maybe it takes the sight of a crowned saguaro against a signature desert sunset, seeing a herd of javelina hurrying across the road, or watching a covey of quail escort their babies across a desert trail, one parent on each end.

For those who do not feel the desert needs to be protected, plan a trip to the Desert Museum. If that isn't reason enough to begin fighting the developers' self serving agenda, I don't know what is.

And to the museum's staff and especially its animals, thank you for a wonderful 50 years! Now let's begin planning the next 50. The future of the Sonoran Desert is up in the air. But no matter what the future brings, I sincerely hope the Desert Museum will be a part of that future. We would be better for it.