Treesearch

Ecological condition of riparian habitats along the East Fork of the Gila River, Main Diamond Creek, lower South Diamond Creek, and Black Canyon Creek are all in very heavily degraded condition. Channel cross-sections show extensive entrenchment, high width-to-depth ratios, and numerous reaches where banks are sloughing into the stream, especially on the East Fork of the Gila River. Species of floodplain vegetation typifies degraded channel conditions. Absence of woody species disallows bank stabilization except where entrenched to large cobble. Data from channel cross-sections and...

Personnel on the Santa Fe National Forest used methodologies adapted from Bevenger and King (1995) to collect base line particle size data on streams within grazing allotments currently scheduled for permit reissuance. This information was used to determine the relative current health of the watersheds as well as being used in the development of potential alternatives to current grazing practices, where deemed necessary.

GIS was used to prioritize watersheds for treatment needs across the USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region. Factors in this analysis included soil condition, riparian habitat, population centers and mining sites.

The determination of the ecological condition of wetland and riparian habitats has been the focus of research by many scientists, because of the importance to understand the processes and related functions of these systems. Research on montane wetland and riparian systems has shown the relative importance of native aquatic plants in maintaining these systems in a functional condition. The presence or absence of key species is used as an indicator of the ecological condition, and desired ecological condition of wetlands and riparian habitats can be expressed in terms of the species compositi...

Riparian ecosystems in the southwestern United States provide valuable habitats for many living organisms including native fishes. An analysis of habitat components important to native fishes was made based on the literature, case histories, and unpublished and observational data. Results suggest a natural, surface water hydrograph and lack of introduced species of fishes being the two most critical habitat components delimiting sustainability of native fishes in the Southwest. Vegetation. channel characteristics and instream hydrological features (i.e. depth, velocity, and substrate) are...

Historically, wet meadow recovery projects have relied on heavy earth moving equipment to harden nick points and install gully plugs or terraces to trap and detain sediments. We experimented with a variety of simple hand-built structures fashioned of logs, rocks, geotextile fabrics and/or sandbags designed to disperse runoff, rewet surface and subsurface soils and stimulate the growth of wetland dependent vegetation adapted to erosion control and sediment detention. We utilized workers from a variety of labor pools to implement projects.

The Open Space Division manages seven thousand acres of riparian areas comprising the Rio Grande Valley State Park. In 1988. Open Space began experimenting with dormant stock cuttings. This paper contains methods and procedures for establishing dormant stock cuttings. Dormant stock cuttings will be referred to as "poles" in this paper.

In the lower Pecos Basin, an unusual coalition of conservationists, agriculture producers, business owners, and state agencies have joined together to save what is left of the once-naturally diverse Pecos River ecosystem. This organization is going to show a state-of-the-art, economical, effective, efficient, and environmentally safe method to control salt cedar and reestablish native riparian vegetation. The objectives of the project are to demonstrate native wetlands and wildlife habitat improvement through salt cedar management; to demonstrate effective. economical, and environmentally...

The management of seven thousand acres in the Rio Grande Valley State Park presents a unique management challenge and opportunity. The Open Space Division defines a riparian area as "any area of land influenced directly by permanent water". The influence of permanent water or water flows produces visible vegetation and visible vegetative characteristics on the affected land. The Open Space Division management practices are designed to avoid adverse and negative impacts as much as possible. Mitigation measures such as creating wetland, land donation (including beneficial land exchanges and...

Riparian habitats throughout the Southwest have been altered directly and indirectly by human activities. Many migrant songbird species specific to riparian communities during the breeding season are experiencing population declines. Conversely, the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) benefits from fragmentation of, and livestock grazing in and near riparian habitat. Brood parasitism by cowbirds may accelerate the process of local extirpation of small, remnant populations of migratory songbirds. Cowbird trapping programs have successfully reduced brood parasitism of the Least Bell’s...