You may have seen emails orpostcards that invite you to join us forMeet The Monument. But what is Meet TheMonument? Meet the Monument is a one-dayevent that introduces the Ironwood ForestNational Monument (IFNM) to the public andallows you to come out and experience thisnational treasure in your own backyard.

The Friends realize that there are many people inthe greater Tucson/Marana area who have noidea what the Ironwood Forest is, or where it islocated. As one of our nation’s newest nationalmonuments, the rugged and scenic beauty of thearea safeguards some of our rarest flora, fauna,and culturally significant history, and we want toshare it with you!

The Proclamation that created the IFNM in 2000cited the presence of the endangered NicholTurk’s head cactus and Lesser long-nosed bat; theDesert bighorn sheep as the last viablepopulation indigenous to the Tucson Basin; theirreplaceable and abundant cultural sites, datingback 5,000 years; and the highest density ofIronwood Trees recorded in the Sonoran Desert;as reasons to set this parcel of land aside forprotection.

Meet the Monument is a fun, interactive eventthat introduces the area and its unique,undeveloped character to the people of the OldPueblo and surrounding areas. The most recentevent on November 16, 2013, was the third held,with attendance tripling that of last year’s eventto around 300 people.

Working with the Bureau for Land Management(BLM) and local hiking clubs, the first event washeld under the shadow of Ragged Top Mountainin April 2012. It was designed to bring people outto the desert, give them several options toexperience it first-hand, and introduce them tothe Friends group that is committed topreserving and protecting this special place.

Third Annual Meet the

MonumentEvent a Success!by Gordon Hanson, Event Chair,Board of Directors

continued next page

GREAT NEWS! Friends of Ironwood Forest Honor Dove MountainHikers with Young Cage Volunteer of the Year Award… see page 4 for article

Meet The Monument crew left to right: Jim Avramis, GordonHanson, Gaile James, Gary Borax, Richard Muzzy, Ray Kuhn, GeneMcCormick, Lahsha Brown, and Peter Anderson. This year we hadnew directional banners right off the interstate at Marana andSandario Roads. Thank you to our business sponsors who helpedmake these signs possible: Rusty Lizard Press, Cactus HuggersPhotography, David Livingston Printing, New Moon Lounge andGrill, Cynthia Williams – Long Realty.

Friends of Ironwood Forest 2

Meet the Monument continued from page 1

Meet The Monument is structured to be a learning experience, not afestival. There are no vendors and we pack out everything we bringin. To ensure security, BLM law enforcement sweeps the area a fewdays prior to the event. Building on the success of past events, wehave expanded the learning and hiking experiences in subsequentgatherings.

This year former and current faculty members from the Universityof Arizona and other local experts gave short lectures on the flora,fauna, natural history, cultural history, and recreation opportunitiesof the Monument, then led short walkabouts into the desert toillustrate what they had just talked about. One presenterconcentrated on the trees of the Monument, one on the cacti of theregion, and another discussed the bighorn sheep and what wasbeing done to protect and propagate this fragile population in theMonument. In addition to these “sit and get” presentations, a retiredUniversity of Arizona professor set up a display of live herpetologysamples, discussed the creepy-crawlies of the Monument, and gaveus all a chance to relate up-close-and–personal to Gila monsters,snakes, and lizards.

For those interested in longer forays into the desert, several optionsto experience the desert “their way” were available to choose from.Two professional landscape photographers led several hikes into thesurrounding area at the base of Ragged Top Mountain and provided

Friends of Ironwood Forest is a localnon-profit organization that worksfor the permanent protection of thebiological, geological, archaeological,and historical resources and valuesfor which the Ironwood ForestNational Monument was established.The Friends provide critical volunteerlabor for projects on the Monument,working with the Bureau of LandManagement and many otherpartners, and to increase communityawareness through education, publicoutreach, and advocacy.

Friends of Ironwood Forest Board of Directors

Gaile James, President, MaranaGordon Hanson, MaranaBill Thornton, TucsonJim Avramis, MaranaTrevor Hare, TucsonCynthia Williams, Tucson

Lahsha Brown, Executive Director

Contact us at:738 N. 5th Avenue, Suite 114Tucson, AZ 85705

520.628.2092

lahsha@ironwoodforest.org

www.ironwoodforest.orgNewsletter design by Julie St. John

We set a new record for the Ironwood Forest National Monument — there were over 300people who attended Meet The Monument! Thank you to our hike leaders Drew Milsom,Gary Borax, and Ries Lindley. Thank you to the awesome line-up of speakers that were abig hit — Frank Rose, Bob Schmazel (pictured above), Joe Sheehey, Ed Moll, Sally Ziegler,Dr. Paul Fish, Felipe Molina, and Gary Borax. Thank you to the walkabout leaders — RoyceBallinger, Murray Bolesta, Allan Morgan, and Mary Ellen Flynn. Thank you to all the greatvolunteers who made the event possible.

www.ironwoodforest.org 3

instruction on how to photograph the desert. Hikeleaders from the U of A Ramblers and two localMarana hiking clubs teamed up with localnaturalists to point out plants, bushes, and trees ofinterest on 8k and 5k jaunts around Ragged Top andWalcott Mountains. A bird-watching specialist fromthe Tucson Audubon Society led a birding walkalong the washes close to Silverbell Road and 14species of birds were sighted within the two-miletrek.

A retired professor of herpetology from theUniversity of Nebraska, along with a volunteerenvironmental education ranger at SaguaroNational Park, led a natural history hike for thosenot inclined to a longer walking challenge. Thearchaeologists who did the original field survey ofthe Monument in the 1980s were on hand to discussthe cultural pre-history of the area and displayedartifacts from some of the local archaeological sites.And again, this year the event was closed with aYoeme (Pasqua Yaqui) Deer Dance ceremonial.

This year’s Meet the Monument event will be heldon November 15, 2014 and will continue to build onthe successes of past events. Volunteers are neededto help ensure the event is enjoyable. Please reservethis date on your calendar and plan to join us foranother chance to experience first-hand theIronwood Forest National Monument.

April 09, 2014: The day our state unites to build a better tomorrow.

Please mark your calendar,

OR SCHEDULE YOUR DONATION

TODAY, for April 9, 2014 at

www.azgives.org and show

your support for the Ironwood

Forest National Monument!

Arizona Gives Day is a day when people all over Arizona go online inone 24-hour period to make donations to nonprofits they care about.Last year, over 800 nonprofit organizations raised just over $1 million.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated to the Friends ofIronwood Forest on Arizona Gives Day last year. Your generosityhelped us gain a spot in the top six small nonprofits with the mostdonors statewide. This was a great achievement and thanks to yoursupport, we received a $1,500 cash prize.

Will you help us again this year? Arizona Gives Day is on April 9, 2014.With your help, we aim to double the number of individual donationsmade from 70 to 140. Our goal for Arizona Gives Day is to raise $5,000in one 24-hour period. To do this, we need your help.

New this year, you can schedule your donation in advance of ArizonaGives Day. Yes, that’s right. You can go online today to www.azgives.organd schedule a donation to be processed on April 9, 2014.

Meet the Monument continued

Meet The Monument Botany Hike participants, led by Gary Boraxand Ries Lindley.

Friends of Ironwood Forest 4

Dove Mountain Hikers honored with Young Cage Volunteer of the Year Award

The Friends of Ironwood Forest are extremelypleased to name the Dove Mountain Hikers as theYoung Cage Volunteer of the Year award winners for2013. The Board of Directors unanimously voted torecognize this group which has selflesslyvolunteered its time to protect the preciousresources of the Ironwood Forest NationalMonument.

At the end of February, the Friends were able tohonor the volunteers at a potluck/barbeque dinner.This award is given to those volunteers whocontribute to making our world a better place for allspecies. In this way, the Friends hope to carry on thespirit that was the life’s work of Young Cage.

Young was schooled as an aeronautical engineerand led a long and distinguished career as a UnitedAirlines captain. In retirement, he twice served asPresident of the Tucson Herpetological Society, wason the Board of Directors of the Friends ofIronwood Forest, and was an accomplishedphotographer. He was an avid naturalist andherpetologist and had traveled most of the world(Africa, South America, Australia, Central America)in search of amphibians and reptiles.

His optimism and enthusiasm for the natural andhuman worlds was evident from the moment youmet him. Young was especially gifted at publicpresentations and combined his stunningphotographs and humor to educate thousands ofnewcomers to life in the desert. Young was one ofthe most generous and caring individuals you couldever meet and was known for his leadership,thoughtfulness and humanity in all that he did.

In May of 2012, Young entered hospice and passedaway at the end of the month. On May 15, 2012,Young was given the second-ever Volunteer of theYear award from the Friends. At the same time, weannounced that the award was going to be namedin his honor. The Young Cage Volunteer of the Yearaward continues to carry on a legacy of recognizingthose extraordinary contributions that are made byvolunteers. The previous recipient was Gary Boraxin 2011.

This year, the award was given to individualvolunteers with the Dove Mountain Hikers, as wellas several individuals who have contributed insignificant ways towards protection of the IronwoodForest National Monument.

Thank you, Young CageVolunteers of the Year:

Peter Andersen, Jim Avramis, BillBinkert, Jeff Blackburn, Gary Borax,Don and Camille Braun, Kathy Church,Barb Farr, Leslie Glass, Gordon and LinHanson, Ron Ireland, Beth Kane, RayKuhn, Jim Maben, Gene McCormick,Drew Milsom, Allan Morgan, RichardMuzzy, Ed Nigl, Jim Phillips, DianePrater, Barry Stevenson, Jack andMarge Taylor, Don and Audrey Weber,and Cynthia Williams

Volunteers install barriers to keep people from driving in washes of Ironwood Forest National Monument. Left to right, Al Mezzano (Bureauof Land Management Park Ranger), Ed Nigl, Kathy Church, Gary Borax, Richard Muzzy, and Jim Avramis. Photo courtesy Jim Avramis.

www.ironwoodforest.org 5

Briggs and Pat AckertJay and Mary Lou AdlerWilliam AdlerJohn AlanisCarlyn AlexanderDabney AltafferJim AmbroseFlorence AndersonBarry ArmstrongRobert AshbaughKirk AstrothSergio Avila and Jenny

NeeleyJim and Marilyn AvramisRoyce BallingerMackenzie BantaJean BarchmanEd and Linda BartlettPeter BazzoniDeron BealVanessa BechtolPete and Betty BengtsonEvelyn Carswell-BingJeff Blackburn

Murray BolestaMichael Bookman and

Maria PlatiaRodney and Connie BoorseGary and Carol BoraxKay BotelMolly and Erin BrannonSteve and Lindy BrighamJudith BronsteinBetsy BuffingtonShawn BurkeJonathan BurtonCactus Huggers

PhotographyDennis CaldwellCarianne CampbellSusan CarberryCarolyn ChilcoteKathy ChurchJoseph CiaramitaroBill and Beth ClarkGlen and Marion CollinsRobert and Valerie ConfortiChuck and Louise Conrad

Georgia ConroyConservation Lands

FoundationStephen Joel CoonsB.J. CordovaLes and Bonnie CoreyGail CorkillBeverly CosperSteve CoxScott and Betty CramJohn CrowCSX TransportationKevin DahlStephen DarlingDavid S. Livingston

Printing and PromosWill and Linda DeBoerArthur and Pamela DetersMark DimmittWilliam and Denise DuPontDon and Carol EagleLarry and Judy EastAndrea EberzRichard and Anne Edwards

Ted and Rose EmeryCharlotte EngvallGrace EvansNancy EvansButch FarabeeFarmers Investment

CompanyKaren FarufiaGloria FennerHolly FinstromDaniel FischerLillian FisherPaul and Vicki FlemmMary Ellen FlynnTeresa FoleyJulia FonsecaBob FosterJoseph and Patricia FranneaDavid and Diana FreshwaterFred FruchthendlerJohn and Linda GarrettMary GaverthJudith Gehman

Our work would not be possible without your support. The Friends of Ironwood Forest rely on the generous donations of our supporters. Thank you to

everyone who has made our work possible! The following individuals, businesses and organizationsprovided financial or in-kind support from February 21, 2013 through March 5, 2014.

Thank you for your donations!

continued next page

Ironwood Forest Desert bighorn sheep photos from Silverbell Peak wildlife camera at watering tank. Photo courtesy Joe Sheehey/AZGF.

www.ironwoodforest.org 6

Jim and Debby GessamanJoseph GiordanoLeslie GlassBruce and Vivianne GoldFred GoodsellLucinda GraceMatt GriffithsDiana HadleySally HammondGordon and Lin HansonMarilyn HansonDavid Hardy Sr.Trevor HareBetty HazzardDonald and Marilyn HellerPeter and Pattie HellmannRon and Marian HillRoger and Margaret HinkleDavid HodgesMary Hoover and Vaugn

SmithTodd and Suxanne HorstPeter and Evelyn HubbellRobert HuebschThom HulenRobert and JoAnne

HungateDianne HustonTom and Gaile JamesFrederic and Gayle JandreyFrank and Jennifer

JenningsClaudia JohnsonJan JohnsonScott JonesBeth KampschrorBeth KaneAdelina KempnerJeff and Kathleen KennedyLinda KimuraMegan KissellBart KoehlerCarl and Sharon KoprowiczSue KozacekGary Kozel

Norman DresgeMark and Mika LambertCurtis and Meg LarsonKathi LaTourretteAaron LeifheitLong Realty, Cynthia

WilliamsPhil and Pam LopesFred Lupton, Jr.John and Rosita LutzelJim and Sharon MabenKristine MaishWanda Wynne and Craig

MarkenRoss MarkwardtLarry MarshBill MartinBeau McClurePatrick and Rachel

McCuskerUna Song and Bobby

McEnaneyShelia McFarlinJames and Carole McLeanRoger McManusMichael and Linda McNultyBecky McSwain

Douglas and ChristinaMcVie

Matthew McWenieWilliam and Sally MeadowsBob and Ann MelingTrudy MertensMET FoundationCharles MilesSaralaine MilletSusan MosdellDino and Elizabeth Murfee

DeConciniDanielle MurrayJohn NevinsNew Moon Lounge and

GrilleRobert Newtson, Friends of

Saguaro National ParkEd and Carol NiglBrian O’DonnellKatharine OlmsteadScott and Erin OlmsteadTrica Oshant-HawkinsBarnes and Terry ParkerMichael and Karen PayneRon PelechLeslie Perez

Dennis and Carol PetersonGary and Susan PetersonRobert and Vicki PetersonPaul and Judy PetersonLiz PettersonRoger PfeufferJim and Marcia PhillipsLorel V. PicciurroAlburt PiferLollie B. PlankDale PogorelskiDiane PraterClive ProbertLiz Storer and Luther PropstMichael QuigleyShelley RasmussenDiana RaymondSam RichardTed RichardsonMike RitzJanet RobertsonBill and Alice RoeStan RossBrit RossoMike and Susan RothCatherine Rowlette

Thank you for your donations! continued from page 5

Over 40 volunteers joined us on National Public Lands Day, Sept. 2013, to improve wildlife habitat onthe Ironwood Forest National Monument. Thank you to the Tucson Soaring Club for hosting thevolunteer brunch at El Tiro Gliderport. Photo courtesy BLM.

www.ironwoodforest.org 7

Remote Cameras, Installed by Volunteers in 2013, Document the

Monument’s Rich Wildlife

Rusty Lizard PressDanielle SandsedtAmy SchlossbergChuck SchrollJerry and Shanna SchuddaAudrey SearsJoe SheeheyMatthew SheldonEmma Si NaePaul and Diane SimmonsJohn and JoAnne SkillicornEmmett and Carol SmelserEldon and Jean SmithJaye SmithJoan SmithJulie St. JohnMary StadelGeorge and Claire StahlerBarry and Sandy StevensonKristen SuzukiVirgil and Erica Swadley Jr.Diane SzollosiMichael TamarackDonna TangCharles and Anne TatumBill and Sue ThorntonAnn TousleyTrico Electric CooperativeJ.T. and M.J. TurnerVirginia Vander VeerKen VenturaA.J. VonarxNancy WallJohn WallinDon and Audrey WeberChristi WedigMeg WeesnerBill Astle and Karen WileyLynn WillardCharles WilliamsPatricia WilliamsBill and Beth WoodinDavid YetmanLoraine ZagulaElaine Zielinski

Thanks to volunteers and AZGF, a new camera was installed at the watering tank for big hornsheep on National Public Lands Day, Sept. 28, 2013. With water being so scarce, the camera caughtother species utilizing this source, including deer, javelina, quail, coyotes, rabbits, fox, and even abobcat. The bobcat’s visit is at 4:18 in the afternoon, when the temperature was 106°F.

Friends of Ironwood Forest 8

Early in 2009, Matts Myhrman and Ned Brownnoticed a group of saguaros with strange patternsof growth constrictions along a desert wash nearTucson, in close proximity to a copper mine.Hoping to at least determine the geographicaluniqueness of these saguaros, Myhrman began tocontact friends particularly familiar with “SaguaroCountry,” local saguaro researchers, and seriouscactophiles, including Bill Thornton. By accretion, theregradually developed an informal, eclectic group ofindividuals who share an interest in documenting theexistence and characteristics of these saguaros and intrying to determine the cause(s) of their aberrance. Thisarticle is based on field information gathered, andspeculation indulged in, by members of that group.

Although we know now that others had noticed theseunusual, morphologically aberrant (MA) saguaros priorto our “discovery,” we have encountered no mention ofthem in literature, nor have we found anyone who hadchosen to study them further. In the interest of brevity,we will henceforth take the liberty of referring to them as“our” saguaros.

THE NATURE OF THE ABERRANCE

Growth constrictions, normally attributed to meristemdamage from frost, sunburn, or insects, are well knownto cactus fanciers. Scar tissue develops at the point ofinjury. After a new tip emerges, usually somewhat offcenter from the original tip, normal growth resumes. Theplant is disfigured, but usually not seriously injured.Proper care can prevent growth constrictions incultivated cacti. Wild plants are on their own.

Growth constrictions in our saguaros appear unique inthe sense that each attempt by the plant to produce anew meristem is somehow aborted. In some cases, anaborted meristem will produce several separate newbuds, each of which will then be aborted. In rare cases,

when this separation/abortion process continues, it willresult in a cluster of meristems and an atypical, compactform. Some of the affected meristems will build up aseries of nominally spherical “beads,” ranging in sizefrom that of a large grapefruit to a golf ball. In some casesas many as five of them will form a “tower” with thebeads getting successively smaller as the tower grows.Rarely, a bead will be disc-shaped rather than spherical.As for degree of aberrance, we have observed acontinuous spectrum from those with a dense cluster ofseverely growth-constricted meristems to those withonly a small amount of aberrance. Despite diligentobservation during our fieldwork, we found no evidenceof morphological aberrance within any other plantspecies at our sites.

LOCATIONS AND GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT

We have now found our saguaros in three locations.What we will refer to here as Location 1 includes portionsof three desert washes which lie very close to oneanother. The upper end of these washes is truncated bymaterials generated by the same large, open-pit coppermine. One wash has a continuous stretch of our saguarosabout 2.9 km (1.8 miles) long, and is unique in that thisstretch extends all the way up to the base of the mineoperation. It also has the greatest number of oursaguaros, which we estimate to be well over a hundred.In the second wash, they occur along a stretch of about

Weird Saguarosby Bill Thornton and Matts Myhrman

Reprinted with permission from Cactus andSucculent Journal, a publication of theCactus and Succulent Society of America. Vol.82, No. 5, September – October 2010. Edits byLahsha Brown, Friends of Ironwood Forest,2014. Authors article references availableupon request.

One of three locations in central and southern Arizona where thesesaguaros with strange patterns of growth constrictions are knownto occur. This population is visible off of Silverbell Road, on the west(back side) of the Silverbell Mountains, near the boundary of theIronwood Forest National Monument. Photo courtesy Allan Morgan.

www.ironwoodforest.org 9

0.45 miles (0.72 km). In the third wash, we have foundonly a few individuals.

In the wider parts of all three washes, the great majorityof our saguaros are found either in the bottom of thewashes, on their sloping sides, or barely up ontothe essentially flat terraces that flank thewashes. In one case, however, ananomalous patch of our saguaros extendsaway from the wash for several hundredyards.

Location 2, discovered more recentlyby group member and long-timesaguaro researcher, Ray Turner, lieson the steep, southeast-facingslope of Sentinel Peak (aka “A”Mountain), a large hill just westof downtown Tucson. The slopeconsists primarily of basalticboulders overlaying soil derivedfrom the weathering of volcanicformations. In contrast toLocation 1, no mining hasoccurred at or near this site.Here, our saguaros aredistributed without regard forthe few small, shallowdrainages, and arguably exhibita lesser degree of aberrancethan those at Location 1.

Location 3 came to the attentionof coauthor Thornton whonoticed saguaros with our MAcharacteristics during the telecastof a college football game. An on-site investigation in January, 2010,revealed that virtually all saguaroson a hill immediately east of SunDevil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona,show varying degrees of aberration. Inthis regard, Location 3 differs markedlyfrom Locations 1 and 2, where our saguarosare interspersed among normal ones ofsimilar height.

PROBABLE UNIQUENESS

The uniqueness of any natural phenomenon is rarelypossible to establish with absolute certainty. However,based on our communications with many people from avariety of disciplines who are intimately familiar with the

natural history of the Sonoran Desert, we have growingconfidence that the three locations described above areunique in having our type of MA saguaros.

POSSIBLE CAUSES

Frost-induced growth constrictions arecommon in young saguaros, especially in

the northern portion of their range andat higher elevations. Younger plants

have a greater surface area inproportion to volume and are

more susceptible to frost damage.Mature saguaros are usuallyaffected only by hard freezesthat occur at infrequentintervals. The pattern ofgrowth constrictions on oursaguaros would require arepeated series of localizedhard freezes that affected arelatively small percentageof plants. Not likely!

Sunburn can cause growthconstrictions whentransplanted cacti are notproperly acclimatized.Obviously these saguaroshaven’t been transplanted,so we can probably rule outsunburn as a likely cause.

Meristem damage fromsunburn should not be

confused with epidermalbrowning, a condition that

affects saguaros and othercolumnar cacti and that

develops gradually over time. Atpresent we are not aware of a

relationship between epidermalbrowning and MA growth, but this is

an area for further research.

The tender, growing tips of cacti are ofteneaten by insects; e.g., our native Pinacate

beetle. However, in over fifty years of cactusobservation and cultivation, Thornton has never seen

a saguaro meristem obviously eaten by insects. While

continued page 10

These morphologically aberrant saguaros appear to have uniqueand strange growth constrictions. Photo courtesy Allan Morgan.

this does not totally eliminate insect damage as apossible cause, we would have to ask why these saguaroswould have been affected while others nearby were leftuntouched.

As the usual causes of growth constriction do not seemlikely, what’s left? There appear to be two possibilities:

1. A pathogenic, genetic, or environmental factor, orcombination thereof, that renders these saguarosmore susceptible to frost, sunburn, or insect damagethat in turn causes the repeated constrictions.

2. A new or previously undiscovered cause of growthconstriction that directly affects relatively fewsaguaros in localized areas.

A “crest gene” that requires an external trigger to expressitself, may be common in cristate cacti. These cacti,including saguaros, have a well-documented tendency toconcentrate in “hot spots.” Existence of hot spotssuggests a localized environmental factor that has yet tobe positively identified. Do our saguaros offer a parallel?We seem to have identified a hot spot near a large coppermine and warm spots on hills that have never beenmined. Do other such hot spots exist? Where are they,and what factors might they share in common with ourknown locations?

Friends of Ironwood Forest 10

Weird Saguaros continued from page 9

Dear Friend,

Every day Friends of Ironwood Forest ismaking a difference by working to protect theIronwood Forest National Monument. Nowmore than ever, your investment means theworld to us.

Join us on April 9, 2014, Arizona Gives Day,and help us continue to protect and raiseawareness of this national treasure in ourbackyard.

Your donation of $10 or more on ArizonaGives Day helps conserve some of our rarestflora and fauna, and extraordinary landscapesfor current and future generations to enjoy.The Ironwood Forest National Monumentsafeguards the Tucson region’s last remainingpopulation of native bighorn sheep, therichest stand of Ironwood Trees everrecorded, historic and culturally importantareas, recreation opportunities, and the wild,undeveloped landscapes that oncecharacterized our beautiful Sonoran Desert.

We are counting on you! Please mark yourcalendar on April 9 and help us spread theword. You can set up your donation pledgetoday at www.azgives.org.

Thank you.

Could a pathogenic, genetic, or a localized environmental factor becausing the aberrance? Photo courtesy Allan Morgan.

When Gene Joseph observed a similar pattern of growthconstrictions on Trichocereus pachanoi at hiscommercial nursery, plant pathologist Jerald Wheelersuggested calcium deficiency as a possible cause. Desertsoils are rarely lacking in calcium, but high levels ofmanganese have been thought to inhibit some plants’ability to utilize available calcium. To initiate explorationof this “thread” at the first location, a single tissue samplewas taken from an MA and a non-MA saguaro. Analysisrevealed a level of manganese in the former more thandouble of that in the latter. Only further analyses willdetermine whether or not this difference is consistent. Ifso, why would plants in relatively close proximity to eachother concentrate widely varying levels of manganese intheir tissue?

Chemical analysis of several soil samples has not yetbeen completed. Could levels of soil manganese vary at acomparable rate, or is something else causing oursaguaros to take up more manganese? If soil in thevicinity of our saguaros does contain elevated levels ofmanganese, the nearby mine and the area’s long historyof copper production suggest a possible source.

Although, as mentioned above, no mining has everoccurred at Sentinel Peak, there has been one activitythat could have introduced manganese into thislocation. For at least the last forty-four years, on theFourth of July, fireworks displays have been staffed onSentinel Peak. In recent years this staging has beenlocated in a parking area adjacent to the uphill end of thepatch of our saguaros. We havelearned that modern fireworksuse manganese dioxide tobrighten the display, and thatmanganese is a component offireworks fuel. Although thelinkage seems tenuous, it isreinforced by the presence of oursaguaros on “stadium hill” inTempe. As with Sentinel Peak, thesite has not been mined, butfireworks displays at Sun DevilStadium have occurred.

Regarding the possible direct orindirect role of pathogenic,genetic, or environmental factorsat both locations, we are activelyseeking collaborators to explorepossible connections. Regardless

of the cause(s) for the aberrance we observe in oursaguaros, it would also be very interesting to know whenthe aberrant growth began and whether the date ofinitiation is the same for all of them. We have learnedrecently of a technique that enables the dating ofsaguaro spines back to about 1954. This raises thepossibility of using spines, from just below where theaberrant growth starts, to date the beginning of thatgrowth. We hope to interest the developers of thistechnique in becoming involved in our investigations.

www.ironwoodforest.org 11

Author and Friends Board Member Bill Thornton would like to knowif you’ve spotted any saguaros or other cacti with thesecharacteristics. Please send photos and locations to Bill atcactusworld@msn.com. Photo courtesy Allan Morgan.

Yes! I would like to supportFriends of Ironwood Forest

by becoming a member!

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Please make checks payable toFriends of Ironwood Forest

738 N. 5th Avenue, Suite 114Tucson AZ 85705

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Inside..... Third Annual Meet the Monument Event a Success! 1

April 09, 2014: The Day Our State Unites to Build a Better Tomorrow 3

Dove Mountain Hikers Honored with Young Cage Volunteer of the Year Award 4

Thank You for Your Donations! 5

Remote Cameras Document the Monument’s Rich Wildlife 7

Weird Saguaros 8

Curious about what's going on at the Ironwood Forest National Monument?

Visit our website at www.ironwoodforest.org and sign up for email updates. Feeling social? Like the Friends of Ironwood Forest on Facebook.

Photo courtesy Arizona Game and Fish Department.