Part natural history, part call to conservation, and part love song, this evocative and informative excursion into the Sonoran Desert along the U.S.-Mexico border brings to life the beauty of a sparse and seductive terrain.

This first effort to assess the condition and stewardship of the Bureau of Land Management's 26-million-acre NLCS spotlights the difficulty of stretching limited staff and funding to adequately protect a diverse American treasure.