Restoration Initiatives

Assessing conditions in springs and seeps

Springs comprise some of the most rare and ecologically diverse habitats in the Southwest. We are coordinating with the Forest Service and the National Park Service to assess the condition of springs across the ranches and identify opportunities to improve riparian and aquatic habitats in these areas.

Introduction

On the Colorado Plateau, water sources such as springs, seeps, hanging gardens, and natural lake and pond ecosystems are some of the rarest and most critical habitats for wildlife species and serve as a keystone for biodiversity across the region. These habitats are also subject to significant stresses associated with human and livestock use, mining, agriculture, and drought.  Because these small ecosystems are so critical to biodiversity on the Colorado Plateau, and because they are also some of the most threatened, we are initially focusing resources on identifying water sources that are degraded from human and livestock use and initiating restoration projects to improve conditions in these areas.

Approach

n 2005, we partnered with the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council to complete an initial assessment of water sources that included the compilation of an historical land use account for the eastern Arizona Strip,  acquisition of water resource distribution and ecological data, an aerial reconnaissance of the Paria and Kaibab plateaus to identify previously unrecognized water sources, and conducted field site visits to  variety of  water source types to develop a database of available hydrologic and biological data associated with water sources. The information was used to provide an initial assessment and recommendations regarding water resources inventory, management, priorities, and protocols.

We are currently working to identify aquatic and riparian systems that may be impacted by our livestock operation, including those water sources that are extracted and transported for livestock and facilities use and those surrounded by riparian areas that are accessible to livestock, where trampling of riparian vegetation can occur. As these are identified, we are performing more comprehensive assessments of aquatic and riparian conditions.  We will evaluate the relative importance of individual water sources in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem services (using several criteria) and identify opportunities to decrease the impacts of the livestock operation and improve conditions using one or several strategies, including building fences that allow passage of wildlife but prevent livestock from trampling and damaging sensitive areas, leaving some or all flow at the source as water for habitats and wildlife, monitoring, maintaining, and repairing flow capture mechanisms and piping sources, removing non-native species, restoring and reseeding native vegetation at sites with degraded riparian areas.

Future Work

Following our initial water resources assessments relating to livestock, we will coordinate with the land management agencies to assess and monitor vegetation, water quantity, and water quality in springs and other water sources that exist across the Kane and Two Mile landscape.