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Abstract
The extent of riparian habitat in the southwestern United States during the past 100 years appears to have been reduced by modern land development, urban expansion, and a general increase in human populations (Finch 1996; Shaw and Finch 1996). Thousands of acres of river flood plain along the Rio Grande and Colorado rivers have been cleared for agriculture, construction of housing, and industrial development. River channels have been diverted and contained by dams, levies, and other water control structures in order to provide irrigation and drinking water, and to protect this investment in development from the destructive forces of periodic flooding (Tellman and others 1997; Wozniak 1995). Additionally, livestock grazing and the suppression of fire in upland ecosystems have detrimentally affected the overall conditions of riparian habitat (Thibault and others 1999).
Parent Publication
Citation
Periman, Richard D.; Kelly, Jeffrey F. 2000. Chapter 4: The dynamic environmental history of southwest willow flycatcher habitat: A survey of changing riparian conditions through time. In: Finch, Deborah M.; Stoleson, Scott H., eds. Status, ecology, and conservation of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-60. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 25-42.
