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Saguaro National Park

National Parks Traveler Episode 40: Counting Cacti, An Off-Season Visit To Cumberland Island

The Saguaro Census at Saguaro National Park
How is the health of saguaros at Saguaro National Park? While there's concern that one day Joshua trees might no longer grow in Joshua Tree National Park, or that Glacier National Park might lose its rivers of ice, what about Saguaro National Park and its iconic cacti? Kurt Repanshek travels to Saguaro National Park to discuss the decadal survey of saguaros with park biologist Don Swann. Erika Zambello heads to coastal Georgia for an off-season visit to Cumberland Island National Seashore.

Counting Cacti At Saguaro National Park

Take saguaros out of Saguaro National Park, and you’d lose more than the park’s namesake cactus, one that gives skyward structure to the vista here. You might strain to catch the drumming of the Gila woodpecker, fail to catch an elf owl peering out from its cavity nest, and not know where to look for Lesser long-nosed bats. All these creatures rely on the saguaro for food and shelter. Realizing those possible losses to this Sonoran Desert landscape begs the question, "How are the park’s saguaros doing?"

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