About a month ago I met a lady at the Green Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Expo, she is the Program Coordinator for the Santa Rita Experimental Range located in Florida Canyon on the northern slope of the San Rita Mountains. If you're not familiar with what the Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) is, it's about 80 square miles of rangeland administered by the Arizona State Land Department in cooperation with the US Forest Service, and dedicated to the study of rangeland management, a topic if paramount importance in the Western US.

Established in 1902, this area is the world's oldest continuously studied rangeland. Being interested in all things "Southern Arizona," I asked to be added to their e-mail list for info and updates. Through this exchange I learned about a program they offer called "Science Saturdays," and signed up for a presentation at the site by US Forest Service Archaeologist William Gillespie.

The presentation was titled The Human Dimension, A Look at the History of People on the Santa Rita Range. I've got to say it was one of the most interesting presentations I've attended in a long time, as he chronicled the lives of all those who have inhabited the area from the nomadic tribes that roamed the area BC, to 20th century Ranching Families. The beauty of the program is that they offer a different topic and speaker each month, and it's located in one of the most spectacular settings in our area.

I suggest you make a day of it, attend the presentation (usually 9 - 11 am), pack a lunch and hike Florida Canyon, as numerous trailheads are accessible from site. SRER is managed by the UofA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, more information and a schedule of up coming topics is available at their website. Check it out!