Chiricahua Trees Course
Chiricahua Trees Course
October 4-10, 2026
Southwestern Research Station
Portal, AZ
Sponsored by the University of Arizona and the University of California in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History.
Purpose
The trees course is an introduction to the ecology, field biology, and utilization of desert adapted trees in landscapes. The goal of the course is to give attendees knowledge about how trees survive in nature and what lessons this teaches for their cultivation in urban and suburban landscapes. For those holding certified arborist credentials, we offer 30 CEUs for this course. This year the course focus is journaling for scientific discovery.
Structure of the course
The course starts each day with lectures, conducts field trips to various forest sites, and ends with evening seminars. Each evening (after dinner) keynote seminars, night field trips, and discussion time will extend the learning experience.
The Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) is a field station of the American Museum of Natural History and provides lodging (dorm style) and meals each day of the course. SWRS is located in Cave Creek Canyon approximately 5 miles from the town of Portal, AZ. It has miles of hiking trails and is extremely quiet and retreat-like. The cost of the course per day is less than most annual meeting hotel rates and includes lodging, program, and meals.
Registration
Course sign up is through the Southwestern Research Station. Cost: The course fee is $900 for a six-night stay. A $100 deposit is required to register for the course. Arrive at the SWRS on October 4 and depart after breakfast on October 10. Instruction begins after lunch on Monday and ends with evening lectures on the 9th. Early and late arrival/departure may be available for extra cost. For the course application and registration information, email Caitlin Clancy at swrs@amnh.org (520) 558-2396
SCHEDULE
Sunday
Travel and Arrival
• 3pm-5pm Reception at Downer Residence in Portal,
• 6pm Dinner at SWRS
Monday
• 7:30am Breakfast
• 8am-Noon SWRS. Time to explore the grounds and settle in.
• Noon Lunch
• 1pm-2pm Species diversity in the Chiricahua Mountains. Michelle Lanan
• 2pm–3pm An introduction to tree species found at SWRS. James Downer
• 3pm-5pm Intro to the SWRS Soil Landscape. Field tour of the station grounds and nearby creeks, canyons, and riparian woodlands. David Kelley/James Downer
• 6pm–7pm Dinner
• 7pm-8pm Sky Islands: Edaphic Alliances in the Chiricahua Mountains: Soils, Landforms, and Geology of the Chiricahua Mountains: How soils drive biological diversity. David Kelley
• 8pm-9pm Introduction to scientific journaling. Ruth Williams
Tuesday
• 7:30am Breakfast
• 8:30am-9:30am Drought adaptation strategies for trees in the Chiricahua Mountains. Ursula Schuch
• 9:30am-11am Lessons from nature: managing tree physiology in landscape environments. Linda Chalker Scott
• 11am-Noon Insects, ants, and other arthropods in trees of Chiricahua Mountains. Michele Lanan
• Noon-1pm Lunch at the station
• 1pm-4pm Granite Gap field trip. Trees in a desert environment: Drought, survival, and monsoon restoration. All instructors
• 4pm-6pm Free time
• 6pm-7pm Dinner
• 7pm-8pm Fungi in the Chiricahua Mountains and their relationships to trees and their ecology. Kevin Smith
• 8pm-9pm Cultural ecosystem services! What are they? Why do they matter? Kathleen Wolf
• 9pm Owl walk
Wednesday
• 7:30am Breakfast
• 8am-9am Raptors in Cave Creek Canyon Helen Snyder
• 9am-Noon Southfork of Cave Creek Canyon Walking Laboratory: Tree identification, geology, and landforms. Fungi in Trees. Fern diversity exercise. In the forest with Kevin Smith and other instructors.
• Noon-1pm Lunch at the station
• 1-2pm Dendrochronology, What it can tell us and what it cannot. Kevin Smith
• 3-5pm Arid land oaks—Identification and adaptations. Adam Black
• 6pm-7pm Dinner
• 7-10pm Ecology of cavity nesting birds in Cave Creek Arizona. Kassandra Townsend (Owl observation walk after the presentation)
Thursday
• 7:30am Breakfast. Pack lunch for all day field trip
• 8:30am-930am Tree reproduction Michael Eason
• 9:30am-Noon Field Trip to Barfoot Park. Conifer biology and taxonomy—Restoration of aspen and pine post Horseshoe II fire.
• Noon-3pm Fungi of Conifers. Birds at Elevation. Ferns and lower plants. Where are they now? Kevin Smith and all instructors
• 3pm-5pm Afternoon program TBA
• 6pm-7pm Dinner
• 7pm-9pm Human-Tree impacts Kathleen Wolf
• 9pm Owl walk
Friday
• 7:30am Breakfast
• 8:30am-3pm Trip to the Chiricahua Monument.
Wonderland of rocks and tree adaptations to rhyolite geology. All instructors
• 4pm-6pm Free Time
• 6pm-7pm Dinner
• 7pm-9pm Closing seminars TBA
Using Desert Adapted Tree knowledge in urban landscapes. All instructors An Evening Chautauqua.
Our Instructors
Dr. Arthur James Downer University of California plant pathologist and horticulturist emeritus. Past President of Western Chapter ISA and Research Chair, The Britton Fund.
Dr. Ursula Schuch is Professor Emerita and Cooperative Extension Specialist at University of Arizona. Woody plant physiology and desert plant horticulture are her specialties.
David B. Kelley is Principal Scientist and Certified Arborist at Kelley & Associates Environmental Sciences, Inc. in Winters, California. He has consulted on earth, agricultural, and environmental sciences for over 45 years across North and South America and other parts of the planet.
Dr. Kevin T. Smith is retired from USDA Forest Service, stationed in Durham, NH. Kevin is a recognized expert in responses of trees to injury, infection, and environmental change.
Adam Black is a lifelong plant enthusiast with a passion for the rare, unusual, and esoteric. Currently he is Assistant Curator and head of propagation at Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories
Michael Eason heads the Rare Plant and Conservation Department at San Antonio Botanical Garden. He has worked extensively throughout Texas, mostly on private lands and further afield in northern Mexico, California, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Dr. Michele Lanan is Professor of Practice, University of Arizona Department of Entomology. Her research involves how interactions with plants and microbes have shaped the evolution of ant morphology and behavior.
Kassandra Townsend is a Ph.D. candidate and research associate for HawkWatch International. Her research focuses on Owls in western states and in Cave Creek.
Dr. Linda Chalker Scott is Professor Emerita and Plant Physiologist at Washington State University.
Helen Snyder is a resident biologist in Portal, Arizona, who studies raptors in Cave Creek Canyon.
Ruth Williams is an arborist and consultant with a deep interest in lichens and primitive plants (mosses, liverworts, and ferns).
Dr. Kathleen Wolf is a Research Social Scientist emeritus at the University of Washington College of the Environment who studies human health and wellness response to trees and the urban forest
Expected Knowledge Outcomes
This field tree biology course is augmented with presentations about the ecology of trees and their ecosystems. The incredible Chiricahua sky island ecosystem provides the laboratory to illuminate the lecture topics. Attendees will study and experience the following, among many other subjects:
- How to use journals for scientific exploration
- Understanding of desert tree ecosystems
- The interconnected roles of birds, fungi, and trees
- The effect of landforms, climate, soils, and geology on tree growth
- How monsoon adapted trees may be used in landscapes
- Intense discussions with scientists in the field leading to personal revelations about tree biology
- Design in nature—how some very unusual plants grow well with each other
- The impact of tree ecosystems on human well-being
Information:
The University of California Division of Agriculture & Natural Resources (UCANR) is an equal opportunity provider. (Complete nondiscrimination policy statement can be found at http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/files/215244.pdf )
SOUTHWESTERN RESEARCH STATION
Location
Southwestern Research Station
Portal, AZ