Let's see if this crew is still patrolling by late May. It gets terrible hot down there. A vehicle with good AC and stocked with lots of water is a must. It's easy to get lost out in the desert so they better have good two-way communication, too. Most people lead with one foot when they walk and that's why they end up going in circles when they lose their bearings.
I hate to disabuse you of your fanciful notions, but nothing you said applies to this situation.
This project ends at the end of April, this isn't the kind of desert you get lost in, nobody is going to travel more than a mile off a paved highway, their communications will probably put most local LEOs to shame, and I believe most teams are going to have at least one local with them.
I'm not saying what you said about desert survival is wrong, just that none of it applies to the MMP volunteers.
Not all that tough to keep your bearings around there:
sun rises in the east, sets in the west.
To the west are the Whetstone Mtns,
to the east are the Dragoons, and
to the South are the Huachucas.
See? Don't hardly even need a map.