Integration of Science and Community‐Based Conservation in the Mexico/ U.S. Borderlands

Abstract: Ranchers, conservationists, and researchers in the Mexico–United States borderlands have implemented a community‐based conservation program that relies on monitoring and peer‐reviewed science. Their collaboration with the Malpai Borderlands Group supports large‐scale, long‐term studies, but—perhaps more importantly—it helps assure that science effectively addresses local concerns. Conservation programs are organized around understanding and maintaining the processes that sustain arid landscapes, including fire and herbivory (by both cattle and native species), and understanding how they interact with climate. Sustaining ecosystem processes in the face of climatic variability requires a sound foundation of monitoring and research and a good working relationship between people and organizations with diverse goals and interests. This collaboration between ranching, research, and conservation communities demonstrates that these groups, working together for mutual benefit, can reach scientific and conservation goals unobtainable by any one group on its own.