1020 W. Starr Pass nonprofit org Tucson, AZ 85713 US postage open 8-5 Tue-Sat PAID Tucson, Arizona permit no. 337 Desert Survivors NURTURING AND PEOPLE SINCE 1981

SPRING 2017

Executive Director’s State service contract, which was brought into line with the new minimum wage law Report through an increase in the payment rate for Group Supported Employment Ser- First things first; I want to thank every- vices. We thank our leaders in State Gov- one who participated in the “State ernment for understanding the importance VISIT OUR WEBSITE of the services we provide to especially desertsurvivors.org Tax Credit Campaign” for Desert Sur- vivors. The response was greater than deserving members of our community. anticipated, and the drive brought in MEMBERSHIP $50/yr It is important to reiterate that the wages : about $50,000! The best part is that Program -newsletter semiannually of our special workers are not paid by participants in this campaign should -10% off purchases government contract funds. All wages for Services get their money back, in the amount all year our special workers are paid by revenue -members’ day sale entry of their donation, credited to them generated by their tasks in the plant Update from the State taxes they owed. I nursery and trail work in combination with especially enjoy that part. I pray that DIRECTORY: contract funds and private donations. the good fortune bestowed upon our These special people are paid for the agency by our members and friends Richard Bechtold SPRING hard work they perform 250 days a year, continues in the years to come. Executive Director in all types of weather and conditions. Thank you so much. 609-8333 Plant Sale We are extremely proud of their conscien- Workers engaged in Jim Verrier As you know, minimum wage in tious and productive work to make the the Vocational Program Nursery Director at Desert Survivors Arizona increased from $8.05 to March 11-18, nursery the showcase of Sonoran Desert 791-9309 contribute to daily tasks $10.00 per hour on January 1. It flora that it is. at our plant nursery. 2017 Karen Wilson will continue to increase over the next As I begin my twenty-third year of service Director of Programs few years to $12.00 an hour. This I am writing my spring newsletter article in January this year, because I am getting ready to visit my 884-8806 advancing the mission of Desert Survi- is a challenge to Desert Survivors family in chilly England. We will be celebrating my mum’s 90th birthday, and she will be meeting her vors, I take pride in what we do and I am that we accept with the satisfaction two great-grandchildren from Tucson for the first time. The New Year is getting off to an amazing start grateful for being part of it. I look for- of knowing it will be a little easier for my family, both in Tucson and in England. My Desert Survivors extended family is also getting a ward to getting up every day to implement DESERT SURVIVORS is for minimum-wage workers to make good start. our mission with the amazing employees a unique human service ends meet financially. First, the United States Department of Labor has implemented a law that was signed by President agency founded in 1981 MEMBERS SALE of our agency. Obama. The law is called the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). “WIOA is landmark in and for the Tucson The wages of our Vocational Program Sat & Sun, March 11-12 I hope to see you all at the plant sale. If legislation that is designed to strengthen and improve our nation’s public workforce system and help community. Desert Survi- special workers are paid through & Tues - Sat you need anything from Desert Survivors, get Americans, including youth and those with significant barriers to employment, into high-quality vors is a nonprofit orga- funds from plant sales, contract funds March 14-18 please call me at 520-609-8333. I am jobs and careers and help employers hire and retain skilled workers.” [excerpted from https://www. nization combining the through Natural Resources Parks at your service. God bless everyone. doleta.gov/wioa/] Obviously, this law is wonderful for people with disabilities. It helps provide for appreciation and pres- and Recreation of Pima County, and 20% off everything them to be treated as equal citizens, to be given opportunities in employment like other citizens. Sadly, ervation of the Sonoran member and private donations; we people with disabilities—a minority group in our nation and throughout the world—have often suf- Richard M. Bechtold Desert with innovative will be working to increase all three GENERAL PUBLIC SALE fered abuse and discrimination. This is certainly not the case here at Desert Survivors. Executive Director and effective services to of those revenue sources in order to Tues. - Sat, 8-5 The WIOA legislation also assures that agencies like Desert Survivors are following the regulations enhance the lives of peo- keep up with the wage increases for March 14-18 and are being fair to all of our employees. Desert Survivors welcomes this oversight, as we pride ple with disabilities. Cut-out photo, top: Lycaenid species of them. Regular staff wages for our 10% off to general public butterfly on linaria flower buds. ourselves in treating all employees fairly, equally, and without any kind of discrimination. We teach, Center, Hibiscus coulteri photo by LMBrewer. design: LMBrewer/Bailiwik, Ink; Vocational Program are paid by a continued on page 3 Featured Plants Spring 2017

Asclepias linaria Asclepias currassavica “gold” Dalea bicolor var. orcuttiana Stenocactus vaupelianus (pineleaf milkweed) (tropical milkweed) (fragrant dalea) (no common name) Milkweeds were once considered a full So where is this plant actually native? It who stumbled upon a large Dalea species are nested within the Stenocactus are native to Chihuahua, Mexico, and family, but are now classified as a subfamily is most clearly native to South America, population of them there while doing Papilionoid group of the bean family this species hails from Hidalgo. Small and globular, within the dogbane family (). but whether it is native to other parts of biological research. Although it is (Fabaceae). Fragrant dalea is native to they are notable for their distinctive wavy multitude This particular Asclepias has a broad tropical America is less clear due to its use not clear whether they are actually Baja Sur, Baja Norte, and Isla Tiburón in of ribs, and are ideal for container gardening. geographic range from central Arizona as a cultivated ornamental and larval host native in that location, we are the Sea of Cortez. It also thrives in a small Individuals typically do not exceed five or six inches south to Oaxaca, Mexico. A montane plant for the (Danaus taking a casual approach until more range along the western coast of Sonora in diameter. They are cold hardy to at least the mid Stenocactus vaupelianus species, its preferred habitat includes rocky plexippus - Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). information is available, and offering between Guaymas and El Desemboque 20s. Flower color is variable, ranging from pink slopes, canyons, and ridgetops in mostly When plants are cultivated in ideal our Alamos germplasm for sale. Be (not far north of Isla Tiburón). Fragrant to yellow to pale green. Stenocactus vaupelianus sunny exposures, and it grows in many of climates, they can quickly escape into wild aware that researchers (Satterfield et dalea can grow to four or five feet in requires better drainage than some of its sister Program Services: our sky islands, typically between 3,500 areas, which muddies our understanding al. 2014) found that cultivation of height or width in these habitats, but taxa. It is uncommon in cultivation, and we will be continued from back page and 5,500 feet elevation. Nectar from its typically reaches approximately three offering fewer than a dozen of these plants, so take feet in southern Arizona, presumably advantage of the opportunity if they interest you. flowers is consumed by a plethora of native below: Monarch on Asclepias linaria below: Asclepias currassavica train, and mentor our employees mitigated by our occasional hard freezes. Our sale specimens are over five years old. butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. in order for them to meet their full developmental potential and, hopefully, move on to competitive employment either here at Desert Survivors or at other nurseries or landscaping jobs in the community. At Desert Survivors, we have always strived to make everyone who walks through our gate feel welcomed, supported, recognized for his or her individual talents and abili- ties, and is treated with equal respect—from the CEO down to the newest employee, as well as Gambelia juncea every customer who shops here.

Some of the many insects supported by of the species’ native range. Genetic tropical milkweed in the southeastern These plants do very well in Tucson, but Gambelia juncea Desert Survivors is truly a fully (Baja bush snapdragon) this plant include: queen butterfly (Danaus studies, which could clear up this mess, United States had changed migratory can freeze to the ground during extreme integrated nursery. gilippus - Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae); are not currently available. A recent flora patterns and caused an increase in winters like that of 2011. Previously categorized in the figwort family Our crews continue to maintain flesh-colored lerina tigermoth (Lerina of the municipiality of Temascaltepec monarch fatalities associated with (Scrophulariaceae), this species is currently placed Like all species of Dalea, this one is a and improve the Santa Cruz incarnata - Lepidoptera: Noctuidae); (approximately 50 miles west-southwest infection by a protozoan parasite in the plantago family (Plantaginaceae). Its genus major butterfly larval and nectar host. River Park through our contract milkweed tussock tiger moths (Euchaetes of Mexico City) listed A. curassavica (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha). This study name has also changed; it was formerly known Butterflies that oviposit their larvae on the with Pima County, as well as the elegans, aka elegant pygarctia, and E. as occurring in the -oak woodland initially generated panic and concern as Galvezia juncea. An evergreen , Baja flowers include Reakirt’s blue (Echinargus plant stock and campus of Des- antica - Lepidoptera: Noctuidae); tussock and pine forest in this region between about the safety of cultivating tropical bush snapdragon is native to the peninsula of Baja isola [Hemiargus isola] - Lycaenidae: ert Survivors. These jobs benefit tiger moth (Pygotenucha terminalis - elevations of 5,500 and 9,500 feet. The milkweed, but the problem can be easily California, Mexico, and to coastal Sonora between avoided by trimming plants back in the Polyommatinae); southern dogface our work crews and enhance Lepidoptera: Noctuidae); milkweed longhorn authors (Rojas-Zenteno et al. 2016) did Puerto Libertad and just north of Guaymas. The winter if they don’t go dormant. The same (Zerene cesonia - Pieridae: Coliadinae); the community at large with beetles (Tetraopes annulatus and T. linsleyi not list this species as being cultivated or plants bloom periodically from spring through can be said of monarch-friendly native and the gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus desert-adapted and beautiful - Coleoptera: Cerambycidae); cobalt intentionally introduced in this area. But fall, producing red tubular flowers relished by milkweeds that might stay active longer - Lycaenidae: Theclinae). Its flowers also plants—grasses, small perenni- milkweed beetle (Chrysochus cobalintus - an earlier publication (Ramirez-Davila et hummingbirds. Bush snapdragon is somewhat in the season due to climate change and provide an attractive nectar source for a als, , trees, and cacti we Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae); large milkweed al. 2013) focused on tropical milkweed drought tolerant, can handle full sun, and tolerates warming/shorter winters in our area. diversity of native bees, as well as honey grow for members and friends bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus - Hemiptera: populations in the municipalities of poorly drained soils. It is best planted in a warm bees (Apis mellifera). Another attractive who come here to green their Lygaeidae); and milkweed aphid (Aphis Temascalepec, Malinalco, and Valle de Well, that wasn’t much of a sales pitch, microclimate, as it is somewhat frost sensitive, with attribute of this plant is the uniquely lives and beautify their yards. nerii - Hemiptera: Aphididae). The pineleaf Bravo, indicating that this plant is widely but it’s a good opportunity to discuss damage resulting when temperatures drop to the fragrant foliage. Species in this genus milkweed is unusual in its conifer-like cultivated in these areas. this beloved and controversial plant. mid 20s. Be careful not to overwater in poorly Thank you all for your support. typically have scented leaves, and this foliage (thus its common name) and in drained soils, as it will increase the chance of root Happy spring, everyone. See you The provenance of our Desert Survivors variety of Dalea bicolor releases a strong ideal conditions will grow into a four-foot rot. These plants grow quickly and can reach up to at the sale. specimens is from wild locations outside and fruity aroma when you brush against wide shrub. Plants require well drained soil; three feet tall. without it they typically perish within six to of Alamos, Sonora; these gold-flowered All photos this issue by Jim Verrier the foliage. Its flowers, however, are Jim Verrier Karen Wilson nine months. plants were brought to us by a customer unless otherwise noted. odorless. Director of Plant Nursery Director of Program Services

2 February 2017 Desert Survivors Desert Survivors February 2017 3