(ALL RIGHTS GRANTED TNC) View of Escudilla Mountain. Fall colors heighten the natural beauty of forest and meadow in the White Mountains, one of Arizona’s last wide-open spaces and where TNC works to protect the headwaters of three major Arizona rivers: the Salt, Gila, and Little Colorado and their greenbelts – riparian habitats critical for wildlife and water quality – as well as restore healthy forests within the largest ponderosa pine community in the world, save rare and unique wildlife and plant species, and control non-native, invasive species, such as crayfish, Arizona. © Betsy D. Warner/TNC

Aerial view of the Parks West restoration site overseen by TNC. Taken March 16, 2020.

Conservancy staffers, Dale Turner and Amanda Rebore, helping to map the Sabn Pedro River in Arizona. They use a GPS unit to denote the end of the water flow on the LowerSan Pedro River. They hiked through the Conservancy’s San Pedro Preserve.

Our Approach to Science

The Nature Conservancy’s conservation science program in Arizona engages stakeholders and expertise in applied science and policy to develop new information, ideas, and tools that can help solve some of our most pressing challenges affecting people and nature

Explore Our Science

Future Forests

We are working with partners and stakeholders to accelerate the pace and scale of forest restoration for a healthy Arizona

Mapping the Status of River Streams

Wet/dry mapping provides a low-cost, river-wide snapshot of hydrologic conditions for rivers with interrupted perennial surface flows.

Our Science in Action

Forests

Future Forests

Accelerating the pace and scale of forest restoration for a healthy Arizona.

Rivers & Water

Wet/Dry Mapping

Snapshot of hydrologic conditions for rivers with interrupted perennial surface flows.

Rivers & Water

Arizona Rivers & Water

Achieving sustainable water management.

Deserts & Grasslands

Las Ciénegas Adaptive Management

Collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management at Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area.

Conservation

Natural Infrastructure

Developing a natural infrastructure dataset by integrating studies on wildlife habitat and open space.

Conservation

Ecoregion Assessments

Conservation of biodiversity across western North America.

Forests

Southwest Forest Assessment Project

Restoring ecosystems throughout Arizona and New Mexico’s National Forest.

Deserts & Grasslands

Southwest Grasslands

Assessing the state of Arizona’s grasslands.

Explore Our Science

Nov 2021

Papers

Arizona, Colorado River Basin, Western U.S.

Forest

USDA ARS, Western Water Assessment

Elizabeth Payton, Joel Biederman, Marcos Robles

Snowtography: Snowpack & Soil Moisture Monitoring Handbook

The Nature Conservancy, in collaboration with the Western Water Assessment and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, has produced a snowtography handbook to support resource managers, researchers, and practitioners seeking to understand how the arrangement and density of trees, or the size and sev[…]

Nov 2021

Papers

Arizona

Climate Change

Forest

USGS

John. B. Bradford, Robert K. Shriver, Marcos D. Robles, Lisa A. McCauley, Travis J. Woolley, Caitlin A. Andrews, Michael Crimmins, David M. Bell

Tree mortality response to drought-density interactions suggests opportunities to enhance drought resistance

A future of hotter temperatures and less precipitation under climate change could increase tree mortality under drought conditions in dry forests across the western U.S., causing large-scale tree die offs. Restoration projects that reduce densities of overgrown forests can result in lower competit[…]

Oct 2021

Papers

Riparian-aquatic

San Pedro River

Dale Turner, Holly Richter, Brooke Bushman

Wet/Dry Mapping Instructions and Data Forms

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.[…]