welcome to the sonoran desert. i mean, this climate does not feel very desert-y.johnny devenanzio (voiceover): and with 100 reptile, 2,000 native plant, 60 mammal, and 350 bird species calling this desert home, its wildlife is as varied as its weather. jessica moreno: we have black bear, cottontail rabbits, pygmy owl, javelina, mountain lion, cougar. johnny devenanzio (voiceover): but as urbanization tears through this 120,000 square mile region-- you have the mountains and the wildlife juxtaposed with sprawling urban communities for highways, freeways, that sort of thing. johnny devenanzio (voiceover): it's up to conservationists like jessica moreno to ensure that the desert remains a safe haven for our four-legged friends. as we grow and build more roads, we're going to lose the wildlife. and as soon as you start to lose species like that, the health of the entire ecosystem fails. and that impacts our air quality, and it impacts our water quality, and other things that we actually really rely on. johnny devenanzio (voiceover): so in an attempt to prevent this an

when he was nine, javier migrated through guatemala, mexico and the sonoran desert. his debut poetry collection on, accompanied, explores the impact of the war and immigration on his family. zamora has been a stegner fellow, stanford and a radcliffe fellow at harvard and holds fellowships from the national endowment for the arts and the poetry foundation. welcome. our illustrious group. a lot of work, a lot of water, high. the books. we love that. what's up, miami? yeah. i haven't been back since the pandemic, so it's like, thank you for inviting me back. it's been great. and incredible career. and lee, i feel so honored to be here. i just a lot of gratitude. that's because i finally out exactly where i needed to be. if i some if you saw me this morning when i was trying to find where i needed to be, i was a very grumpy. i was like, what is this many people? but honestly, what a beautiful community event that so many people. miami, this is such an incredible cultural event, the city of miami. and i'm so glad that it remains such an important part of your city. so kud