PHOENIX — Editor's note: The above video aired when the census began.
A first-of-its-kind survey has documented more than 8,000 saguaros in the Valley with the help of citizen volunteers. And the survey results show many of the cacti are damaged.
The survey, started back in May by the Desert Botanical Garden, aimed to find out just how at-risk saguaros found in the Valley's urban sprawl are compared to other saguaros in the desert wild. The survey relied on more than 300 everyday people that signed up to volunteer and collect data through the DBG Saguaro Census initiative through the free iNaturalist app here.
Around 1,000 of the more than 8,000 saguaros recorded in Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa Gilbert, and Chandler were damaged, the garden said in an Instagram post. Researchers will now start taking samples to find out how at-risk the Arizona icon is.
The garden was getting numerous reports of people noticing saguaros looking a little stressed, especially in urban areas.
“They were seeing entire plants falling," Dr. Tania Hernandez, New World Succulents Cactus Scientist at the Desert Botanical Garden, previously told 12News.
In response, researchers started a database to help keep track of the health of the cacti population in commercial and residential areas.
More than 300 residents have reportedly volunteered to help researchers by offering their saguaros for sampling. The garden did not give a specific date as to when the sampling phase would be completed.
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