From surveying lizards to studying rails and leading community hikes, three alumni share how the Salton Sea Leadership Program helped open doors to conservation work.

On a warm October morning, I joined biologist Kevin Manajerro and researcher Melanie Davis to load the truck with field gear before heading to a survey site overlooking the Salton Sea. The temperature had already reached 90 degrees, and it was only 7:00 a.m. After unloading our gear, we traversed the desert landscape with two distinct mountain ranges in view—the Orocopia Mountains to our right and the Santa Rosa Mountains to our left. Following six transects (set routes used to survey an area), we searched the ground for tracks and scat left by the Flat-tailed Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma mcallii), a small reptile with multiple adaptations for camouflage that help them minimize their shadow . Spotting the lizard brought a moment of excitement: it was the first documented at the site since Kevin began participating in the surveys.…