San Pedro River Wet-Dry Maps (January 2012)

The San Pedro River wet/dry mapping dataset is a community effort to track the river’s health by monitoring the persistence of surface water during the driest time of each year. It is created by recording the end points of every wet section of the San Pedro River during June each year. Maps depict the wet portion of the San Pedro River.

Policy Options for Water Management in the Verde Valley, Arizona (August 2011)

Central Arizona’s Verde River is a natural resource that is critical to the regional economy, environmental sustainability, and quality of life. The river’s future is uncertain, however, as there are still unresolved issues over how we grow while sustaining a healthy river. This report examines possible futures for the Verde River within the Verde Valley and provides information for stakeholders and decision-makers on the river’s resources, economic value, and tools for promoting sustainable water management. The report also summarizes three water management case studies from around the western U.S. that characterize the range of water management options that communities have adopted.

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Wet/Dry Mapping: Using Citizen Scientists to Monitor the Extent of Perennial Surface Flow (February 2011)

Published in Environmental Management, this article describes a simple method for monitoring the flow status of interrupted perennial streams, with the example of a 12-year effort on the San Pedro River. We found that surface flow increased for parts of the river, apparently due to conservation actions, while other parts were stable or may have declined. The data allowed us to map areas with surface flow in every year, totaling 32% of the river length through the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA). These maps show areas with high year-to-year variation in flow length, which indicate changes in local groundwater conditions and may provide early warning of ecological changes.

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Wet/Dry Mapping Instructions and Data Forms (April 2011)

Example wet/dry mapping instructions and data forms used for the San Pedro wet/dry mapping effort. For more information, see our wet/dry mapping page.

Managing Changing Landscapes in the Southwestern United States (January 2011)

This regional assessment examines the impacts of temperature change from 1951-2006 on natural resources in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. It documents that warming has already affected habitats, watersheds, and species in the Southwest, by influencing the timing of seasonal events or amplifying the impacts of natural disturbances such as wildfire and drought. The report concludes that to begin adapting to climate change, natural resource managers should reevaluate the effectiveness of current restoration tools, modify resource objectives, learn from climate-smart adaptive management and monitoring, and share information across boundaries.

Arizona Statewide Freshwater Assessment GIS Data Package (December 2010)

Includes 4 GIS datasets mapped to 1:100,000 scale stream-based hydrography for Arizona, including 1) the habitat for 33 native fish species, 2) former and current perennial surface flow for Arizona’s rivers, 3) the distribution of threatened and endangered species (ESA) that require aquatic or riparian habitats, and 4) Wild and Scenic River designations. Updated Dec 2010.

Wastewater Effluent: Biological Impacts of Exposure and Treatment Processes to Reduce Risk (November 2010)

The Nature Conservancy commissioned a scientific literature review on impacts to aquatic organisms from exposure to municipal wastewater effluent. The review also covers the effectiveness and costs of available treatment technology for reducing exposure. The review was prepared by Dr. David Quanrud of the University of Arizona and Dr. Catherine Propper of Northern Arizona University. The executive summary provides an overview of the report’s major findings, including the best practices identified in the scientific literature for treating effluent.

The First Five Years of the White Mountain Stewardship Project (August 2010)

The White Mountains Stewardship Project on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona was designed to reduce the impacts of wildfires on communities, improve wildlife habitat, and help stimulate employment in the wood products industry. A multi-party monitoring board was convened to design a program for evaluating project effectiveness. This report summarizes results from five years of data on economic, social, administrative, and ecological indicators and provides recommendations for improving program effectiveness moving forward.

Sustainable Water Management in the Southwestern United States: Reality or Rhetoric? (July 2010)

Published in PLoS ONE, this study used four scenarios to explore the potential effects of alternative growth and water management strategies on river flows. Under the base population projection, we found that rivers in seven of the 18 study watersheds could be dewatered due to municipal demand. Our approach provides a low-cost method to identify where alternative water and growth management strategies may have the most impact, and demonstrates that such strategies can maintain a continued water supply for both people and the environment.

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Grasses of Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (June 2009)

This user-friendly field guide can help people of all skill levels identify 50 native and exotic perennial grasses, plus several annual species. This guide grew out of citizen science involvement tracking grassland health at the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area in southeastern Arizona. Some species illustrated here occur across the West; others are local specialties.

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Integrating science and policy for water management (April 2009)

This chapter, from Ecology and Conservation of the San Pedro River (edited by J. Stromberg and B. Tellman), provides an in-depth treatment of the collaborative effort of scientists, agency representatives, non-governmental organizations, elected officials, and other stakeholders and the role of adaptive management in addressing water policy and management issues in the Sierra Vista subwatershed of the upper San Pedro River.

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Assessment of Biodiversity Values for the Expanded Kofa Complex in Southwestern Arizona (February 2004)

Documents biodiversity values for a large Sonoran Desert landscape, the Expanded Kofa Complex, including land managed by the BLM, the U.S. Army at Yuma Proving Ground, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. This report describes and maps natural communities that merit conservation focus, and provides data on species of particular concern.

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San Pedro River Watershed Maps (October 2008)

Series of 4 map exhibits illustrating conservation-related data on the status of this internationally-recognized desert river and riparian corridor. Maps include both the U.S. and Mexico portions of the San Pedro watershed depicting the following themes: Conservation Investments; Riparian Ecological Condition; Current and Formerly Perennial Stream Reaches; and a Water Budget.

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Arizona Natural Infrastructure Composite GIS Dataset (May 2008)

GIS data set that integrates 10 local, state, and regional datasets which identify open space lands and sensitive biological lands. This data set is a composite or simplification of the source data sets – the boundaries of all individual data layers have been dissolved into one composite data layer. Note: We did not integrate wildlife linkages data from 2 of the studies in this composite layer because we are awaiting to obtain permission from the source agencies.

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Ecological Implications of Verde River Flows (February 2008)

Verde Flows report cover

Presents a literature review and results of a May 2007 workshop where 35 subject experts from 16 agencies and institutions synthesized the state of knowledge for central Arizona’s Verde River. Report describes the river’s ecosystem, including its hydrology, geomorphology, riparian, and aquatic habitats, and fish and wildlife species – and how components would respond to changes in surface- and groundwater flows.

State of the Las Ciénegas NCA, Part III: Condition of Riparian Habitats and Channel Geomorphology (February 2008)

Presents information on the condition of riparian habitats and compares these with objectives established in BLM’s Resource Management Plan. Includes 1) an analysis of data collected between 1990 and 2006 on the condition of the NCA’s riparian forests and stream channel geomorphology, 2) an ecological state-and-transition model that describes relationships between habitat types and disturbance forces, and 3) a review of monitoring protocols with options for making monitoring more informative and efficient.

 

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Ecoregional Assessment Geodatabase for Western North America (January 2008)

GIS data set that aggregates the information from 19 ecoregional assessments across western North America packaged as a personal geodatabase for use with ArcGIS 9.x and Microsoft Access software products. Note: this data set replaces the six-ecoregion geodatabase formerly posted on this site.

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Habitat Mapping and Conservation Analysis to Identify Critical Streams for Arizona’s Native Fish (November 2007)

Describes the methods used to develop a GIS dataset for 33 native fish species in Arizona, presents results of some analyses using the data, and describes the data’s utility for the conservation of native fish. This is a preprint of an article published in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, Vol. 17: 737-748 (2007).

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State of the Las Ciénegas NCA, Part II: Gila Topminnow Population Status and Trends (July 2007)

This study analyzed 15 years of data on the endangered Gila topminnow (Poeciliopsis occidentalis occidentalis) to determine the population status and trend at Las Cienegas. We also tested alternative monitoring protocol to provide managers with more timely and reliable information on topminnow populations.

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Rivers and Water Management in the Southwest (June 2007)

Describes challenges for managing water resources in the Southwest, and recommends actions to improve ecologically sustainable water management. Published in May/June 2007 issue of Southwest Hydrology.

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Historical Range of Variation for Potential Natural Vegetation Types of the Southwest (June 2007)

Descriptions of the Historical Range of Variation or Variability (HRV) characterize the change over time and space in the condition of the Southwest’s major vegetation types and the ecological processes that shape those types. HRVs enable land managers and the public to understand the drivers of change in our region’s major vegetation types.

Southwest Forest Assessment Project Peer Review Process (October 2006)

All of the reports and data sets developed for the Southwest Forest Assessment Project were subjected to external peer review to ensure conformance with the Forest Service’s Science Consistency Review Standards. This report includes a complete list of the resource professionals who reviewed the various components of this project.

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Ecosystem Diversity Reports for National Forests in Arizona and New Mexico (August 2006)

Ecosystem diversity reports were developed to support the Forest Service’s need for information on the species and ecosystems that occur on National Forests in Region 3. The reports contain data summaries and analyses of a variety of regional datasets. Each report is packaged with an introduction and chapters describing methods and data sources.

Participatory Learning on the San Pedro River: Designing the Crystal Ball Together (July 2006)

Published in the July/August 2006 issue of Southwest Hydrology, this paper outlines the key building blocks for sustainable water management in the upper San Pedro River. It describes the role of the public–private consortium - the Upper San Pedro Partnership, the development of information and scientific tools to help answer key questions and identify tradeoffs in water management alternatives, and the importance of cooperation, collaboration and commitment of scientists, stakeholders and elected officials.

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Overview: Ecoregion-Based Conservation Assessments of the SW United States and Northwestern Mexico (July 2006)

Provides an overview of ecoregional assessments and the process used to create a standardized, cross-ecoregional dataset for six ecoregions within and adjacent to Arizona.

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What is the Southwest Forest Assessment Project? (June 2006)

Brief overview describing a collaborative effort between The Nature Conservancy and U.S. Forest Service Region 3 in Arizona and New Mexico, a project designed to develop scientific information for forest plan revisions and to help in the restoration of ecosystems.

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Historical Fire Return Intervals for Arizona and New Mexico (May 2006)

Synthesizes the scientific literature on historical fire return intervals associated with the major vegetation systems across Arizona and New Mexico. Included is a crosswalk table for use with the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project’s land cover dataset and three ArcGIS layer (.lyr) files that enable the user to mimic the report graphics.

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Report on the Biological Planning Process for Livestock Management at Las Ciénegas (May 2006)

Jointly authored by BLM and TNC, this report summarizes the monitoring information used and decision-making process for the 2005-2006 grazing plan at Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area. The report details how BLM, with input from partners, advisory teams, and the grazing permittee, are using upland monitoring data and pasture reconnaissance to make grazing management decisions.

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U.S. Forest Service Region 3 Species Database (May 2006)

Provides an up-to-date, searchable excel database on the species that occur on Region 3 Forests in Arizona and New Mexico.

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Biotic Communities of the Southwest GIS Layer (January 2006)

TNC developed a digital version for the whole of David E. Brown and Charles H. Lowe’s 1981 map. Previously, GIS representations of this map were only available for its Arizona and New Mexico portions. Users: please note the relatively coarse source scale of the paper map (1:1,000,000) when using this digital version for analyses. A layer file (.lyr) which mimics the familiar color scheme of the paper map is also provided.

Huachuca Area Fire Partners Fire Management Plan (November 2005)

The Huachuca Area Fire Partners, an alliance of public and private groups in southeastern Arizona, came together to restore and manage fire activities over a 500,000-acre area that includes the Huachuca Mountains and surrounding grasslands. The Fire Management Plan provides a framework for landscape-level fire management — its goals include collectively implementing fire management projects that participants are unable to accomplish on their own and managing fire across jurisdictional boundaries.

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Lessons Learned: Sonoran Desert Ecosystem Initiative (October 2005)

The document summarizes the lessons learned from The Nature Conservancy and Sonoran Institute’s multi-year collaborative project with the Bureau of Land Management and Department of Defense at the Sonoran Desert National Monument and Goldwater Training Range.

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State of the Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area, Part I (July 2005)

Summarizes work completed to assist the Bureau of Land Management in the development and implementation of a science-based adaptive management and monitoring program to evaluate progress toward objectives established in BLM’s Resource Management Plan. Includes 1) an analysis of data collected between 1995 and 2004 on the condition and trend of the NCA’s grasslands, 2) a review of monitoring protocols, and 3) an outline of the adaptive management process implemented by BLM in 2004/2005.

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Conservation Elements of and a Biodiversity Management Framework for the Sonoran Desert National Mon (June 2005)

Developed for the BLM and Dept. of Defense, this report summarizes the results of The Nature Conservancy’s characterization of important biodiversity elements and the Sonoran Institute’s analysis of socioeconomic information for the Monument and surrounding environs. The data and analyses demonstrate the importance of coordinated management among the various public, private, and tribal land managers surrounding the National Monument as a mechanism for protecting the objects for which the Monument was designated.

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Interbasin Groundwater Flow at the Benson Narrows, Arizona (March 2005)

Describes research indicating groundwater is moving through the floodplain alluvial aquifer at Three Links Farm, and that most of this water originates from the Upper San Pedro River Basin. Published in March/April 2005 issue of Southwest Hydrology.

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The Impacts of Livestock Grazing in the Sonoran Desert: a Literature Review and Synthesis (February 2005)

Prepared for the BLM, this review includes a synthesis of the scientific literature on the impacts of livestock grazing and grazing management strategies for the Sonoran Desert. Also included are reviews of plant community dynamics, biological soil crust ecology, and grazing-vegetation interaction theory as they relate to an understanding of grazing impacts and strategies.

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The Lower San Pedro River—Hydrology and Flow Restoration for Biodiversity Conservation (May 2004)

Describes The Nature Conservancy’s flow management approach to increasing water supply for riparian vegetation, based largely on results from hydrologic analyses indicating that retiring agricultural pumping at key locations increases water availability for riparian vegetation. Paper presented at USFS conference, May 11-15, 2004.

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Watershed Improvement Using Prescribed Burns as a Way to Restore Aquatic Habitat for Native Fish (May 2004)

Documents efforts by TNC and BLM to test a model that prescribed burns can be used to improve watershed conditions and aquatic habitat conditions. Study documents pre- and post-treatment results for the response of grasslands and for populations of the threatened Gila chub (Gila intermedia). Paper presented at USFS conference, May 11-15, 2004.

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Grasslands Assessment GIS Data (December 2004)

A GIS data set depicting the results of a two-year study to delineate grasslands and evaluate their ecological condition in Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northern Mexico. This study was completed with the assistance of resource professionals from U.S. and Mexico universities and public agencies.

An Ecological Assessment of the Bureau of Land Management’s Current Fire Management Practices (March 2004)

This study reviews BLM’s fire management plans for Arizona, assessing the accuracy, standardization, and ecological relevance of current Phase I fire management areas. This second report documenting the results of TNC’s Arizona Grassland Assessment also makes recommendations for revisions to BLM’s fire management areas based on fire ecology and other considerations.

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Ecoregional Conservation Assessment Reports (1999-2004)

Original reports summarizing the results of the six ecoregional conservation assessments completed for the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico by The Nature Conservancy and partners.

An Assessment of the Spatial Extent and Condition of Grasslands in AZ, NM, and Northern Mexico (January 2003)

This report is the first of two studies completed by TNC and partners to delineate the spatial extent and ecological condition of grasslands in central and southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northern Mexico. This report covers the 30-million acre Apache Highlands Ecoregion.

See also An Ecological Assessment of BLM’s Current Fire Management Practices and Arizona Grasslands Assessment GIS Data for related reports and data.

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Conservation Elements of and a Biodiversity Management Framework for the Barry M. Goldwater Range (October 2001)

Developed for Luke Air Force Base and Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, this report provides the results from TNC’s site conservation planning process for the Barry M. Goldwater Range (BMGR) in southwestern Arizona. The identification of conservation elements, and their subsequent use in the development of management goals, land management categories, and management standards, serves as a biodiversity management framework that can be incorporated into the BMGR’s Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan.

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