@desertmuseum: When you think of Arizona, you probably don't think of the ocean. However, the Gulf of California—also known as the Sea of Cortez, is part of the Sonoran Desert region and home to many species that are vital to both the marine ecosystem and our desert ecology! 🌊 ✏️ Visit our Desert Diaries blog to dive deeper into the importance of the Gulf of California at the link in our bio. AND if you're interested in learning even more, you can also join us this Saturday for World Oceans Night as part of our Cool Summer Nights series. Tune into lectures on the Ecological Health of the Gulf of California and solutions to the coral reef crisis all while enjoying our animals and gardens after dark!🪸

Desert Byrne :

When I think of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, I think of the many hundreds of thousands of gallons of fresh well water used to make the saltwater for the stingray exhibit, the stingray holding reserve pool in the Olsen building, and the Warden aquarium. I also think about the fact that hundreds of thousands of gallons of saltwater waste from water changes (these happen daily to every other day) are dumped into the once-pristine Sonoran desert below the filter building, killing and damaging the vegetation along that drainage route. Then I think about the new interactive exhibit that also uses a lot of ground water, and the museum’s dichotomous, perhaps hypocritical message to their public about responsible water use and conservation. It seems that this ‘world renowned’ institution has irresponsibly deviated from its mission statement, and touts itself as something it simply is not any longer. I can’t help but wonder if the new director has any idea regarding the blatant misuse of our most valuable desert resource, water, and the statistics that support it, starting with it takes 2-3 gallons of fresh water to make one gallon of saltwater?