Desert Speaks

Sea Of Cortez: Marine Sanctuary: Preserving Desert

Loreto Marine Park was established in 1996 to preserve the delicate ecosystems in the Sea of Cortez. In this episode host David Yetman, a group of international researchers and scientists from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum explore Catalina Island, a biological reserve within the park. This island is home to terrestrial plants and animals that have been so physically isolated that they have altered genetically and become new species. Here, there is a rattlesnake species with no functioning rattle, a columnar cactus sporting a trunk almost ten feet around and a barrel cactus reaches a height of over ten feet. The park faces huge challenges, including over fishing, overpopulation, and the need to educate the expanding human population about the distinct natural values of the Gulf and Baja California.