An Introduction to the History, Geology, Flora, and Fauna of the Dragoon Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona. Presented by J. Douglas Ripley
One of the “Lesser Sky Islands” of southern Arizona, the Dragoon Mountains of southeastern Arizona possess an incredible history, geology, flora, and fauna. Since retiring to Cochise County in 2008, Doug Ripley and his good friend, well known Arizona botanist Jim Verrier, have been studying the Dragoon Mountains with an emphasis on compiling a floristic catalogue and eventually publishing a comprehensive flora of the area. In this talk, Doug will present an introduction to the mountains by summarizing the work he and Jim have accomplished to date using photos taken during their field work.
About our speaker:
A native of San Francisco, California, Doug holds BA and MA degrees in biology from San Francisco State University and a PhD degree in plant ecology from Oregon State University. He was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program and served as an Air Force officer for 22 years with assignments within the US and gloablly. Doug applied his extensive knowledge of botany in managing the Air Force natural and cultural resources conservation programs. Following retirement from active military duty he joined the federal civil service where he continued to be involved with the management of natural resources conservation for other branches of the military. Since retiring from the civil service, he and his wife Arlene have settled in Southeastern Arizona where he volunteers for local environmental organizations such as The Nature Conservancy and the Arizona Native Plant Society where he currently serves as the State President.
