Why Partner with a Zoo or Garden? Selected Lessons from Seventy Years of Regional Conservation Partnerships at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Zoos and botanical gardens (ZBGs) play a variety of roles in regional conservation partnerships, including their most common role as the ex situ managers of rare plant and animal populations. Using case studies from a 70-year history of conservation work at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona, USA, this paper illustrates these roles and the characteristics of ZBGs that make them versatile and effective regional conservation partners. ZBGs commonly play the role of conservation advocates, as discussed in the context of the establishment of protected islands in the Gulf of California. ZBGs also conduct field research, including the collection of long-term datasets, as exemplified by the establishment of the Ironwood Forest National Monument and a 40-year Sonoran Desert phenology database. ZBGs can be effective conveners of communities and conservation partners in regional-scale efforts, such as the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan and Cooperative Weed Management Areas. The paper also explores the challenges faced by ZBGs in sustaining their conservation work.