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Abstract
The Upper San Pedro River Basin in southeastern Arizona is well known for its avian diversity; however, water use by Sierra Vista, Fort Huachuca, and agriculture in the basin threatens to lower its water table. This, in turn, could alter vegetation in the basin in a way that would negatively impact habitat currently supporting nesting of the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (
Empidonax trailii extimus) and foraging for a large number of resident and neotropical migratory birds during the breeding season and migration. We determined the range of potential Alternative Future growth patterns for the basin (Alternative Futures) and compared them for their relative impacts on a suite of environmental parameters including hydrology, biodiversity, and landscape vegetation pattern. The intent is to inform decision makers of which potential Alternative Future would have the greatest and least impacts on those parameters. This paper has been adapted from
Alternative Futures for Changing Landscapes: The Upper San Pedro River Basin in Arizona and Sonora by Steinitz et al., published by Island Press, 2003 (800-828- 1302).
Parent Publication
Citation
Steinitz, Carl; Anderson, Robert; Arias, Hector; Bassett, Scott; Flaxman, Michael; Goode, Tomas; Maddock III, Thomas; Mouat, David; Peiser, Robert; Shearer, Allan. 2005. Alternative Futures for Landscapes in the Upper San Pedro River Basin of Arizona and Sonora. In: Ralph, C. John; Rich, Terrell D., editors 2005. Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration in the Americas: Proceedings of the Third International Partners in Flight Conference. 2002 March 20-24; Asilomar, California, Volume 1 Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191. Albany, CA: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: p. 93-100
