News
Mapping of San Pedro River shows no decrease in flow
Allison Gatlin/Wick Communications
The annual wet/dry mapping project of the San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona and Mexico revealed that despite the fact that the state has been plagued for many years by a long-running drought, there has not been any significant decrease in the water flow.
Rather, said Holly Richter, the upper San Pedro program director with The Nature Conservancy, during the past 12 years of the project, they've only noticed variability year to year in where the water flows.
"Some areas of the river are dry one year and wet the next," she said. "And some areas have a start and stop pattern that changes each year."
Last month, more than 100 volunteers turned out to help map more than 150 miles, more than any previous year, expanding into unmapped tributaries such as the Babocomari River and Aravaipa Canyon.
The benefit of this is the ability to have a greater understanding of the water system surrounding the river and its tributaries, Richter said.
By utilizing GPS units to mark wet and dry areas, The Nature Conservancy can focus water management efforts on the areas of the river that are in need of it the most, Richter added.
"Understanding the variability among different regions of the river and between different years helps in terms of understanding trends and where future water management projects could make the most difference," she said.
Several organizations partnered this year to help train volunteers on both sides of the border in how to identify different regions of the river as well as states of water flow.
Partners included The Nature Conservancy, BLM, Community Watershed Alliance in Arizona, and BIDA, Naturalia, CONANP and the Ajos Bavispe Reserve in Mexico.
Volunteering to help map the river also offers participants the chance to experience nature and wildlife that they otherwise wouldn't have been able to see, Richter said.
"Amazing to see the responses that volunteers have to the wildlife," she said. "It's like a day in the life of the San Pedro through a hundred volunteers' eyes."
Nicole Vasquez, a volunteer who mapped out five different sections of the river and its many tributaries, called the experience "refreshing."
"The highlight was climbing up Miller Canyon, and I mean climbing," she said. "I was totally exhausted and after bouldering up a section of wall, I was hit with the amazing aroma of many lemon lilies in bloom."
Kelly Tighe, another volunteer, was surprised to come upon a grouping of thousands of toads while she was mapping between Fairbank and St. David.
"It looked like a toad convention," she said. "No, it looked like an aerial view of the Jersey Shore on Fourth of July weekend. All that was missing were the beach towels, umbrellas and hot dog vendors."
The experience of seeing the toads crowded together in the pool of water gave her an appreciation of how necessary the river is to so many different types of animals.
"And it wasn't only the toads that were clinging to the pool," she said. "Many butterflies, birds and a bobcat print in the mud gave us a glimpse of how desperately important this water source is to so many creatures."
The annual wet/dry mapping project of the San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona and Mexico revealed that despite the fact that the state has been plagued for many years by a long-running drought, there has not been any significant decrease in the water flow.
Rather, said Holly Richter, the upper San Pedro program director with The Nature Conservancy, during the past 12 years of the project, they've only noticed variability year to year in where the water flows.
"Some areas of the river are dry one year and wet the next," she said. "And some areas have a start and stop pattern that changes each year."
Last month, more than 100 volunteers turned out to help map more than 150 miles, more than any previous year, expanding into unmapped tributaries such as the Babocomari River and Aravaipa Canyon.
The benefit of this is the ability to have a greater understanding of the water system surrounding the river and its tributaries, Richter said.
By utilizing GPS units to mark wet and dry areas, The Nature Conservancy can focus water management efforts on the areas of the river that are in need of it the most, Richter added.
"Understanding the variability among different regions of the river and between different years helps in terms of understanding trends and where future water management projects could make the most difference," she said.
Several organizations partnered this year to help train volunteers on both sides of the border in how to identify different regions of the river as well as states of water flow.
Partners included The Nature Conservancy, BLM, Community Watershed Alliance in Arizona, and BIDA, Naturalia, CONANP and the Ajos Bavispe Reserve in Mexico.
Volunteering to help map the river also offers participants the chance to experience nature and wildlife that they otherwise wouldn't have been able to see, Richter said.
"Amazing to see the responses that volunteers have to the wildlife," she said. "It's like a day in the life of the San Pedro through a hundred volunteers' eyes."
Nicole Vasquez, a volunteer who mapped out five different sections of the river and its many tributaries, called the experience "refreshing."
"The highlight was climbing up Miller Canyon, and I mean climbing," she said. "I was totally exhausted and after bouldering up a section of wall, I was hit with the amazing aroma of many lemon lilies in bloom."
Kelly Tighe, another volunteer, was surprised to come upon a grouping of thousands of toads while she was mapping between Fairbank and St. David.
"It looked like a toad convention," she said. "No, it looked like an aerial view of the Jersey Shore on Fourth of July weekend. All that was missing were the beach towels, umbrellas and hot dog vendors."
The experience of seeing the toads crowded together in the pool of water gave her an appreciation of how necessary the river is to so many different types of animals.
"And it wasn't only the toads that were clinging to the pool," she said. "Many butterflies, birds and a bobcat print in the mud gave us a glimpse of how desperately important this water source is to so many creatures."
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