Utah Issues
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Volunteer with the Grand Canyon Trust and help us extend our reach and positive influence on the ground.
We need your help with gathering browse data, documenting grazing impacts, and conducting beaver habitat surveys, biological inventories and springs assessments.
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Protecting water sources on southern Utah’s three forests
In the past hundred years, the Southwest has warmed nearly 70 percent more than the rest of the country. Warming is expected to continue over the coming decades. Consequently, water is becoming an increasingly important commodity for native vegetation, wildlife, and local communities. Remarkably little is known about the location and condition of springs on the Colorado Plateau, which are important sources for the region’s streams and rivers.
Currently, most of the springs on the three forests are either piped at their source for livestock watering troughs and cattle ponds or they are trampled by livestock. And yet, as the headwaters of many creeks and streams, springs are capable of supporting a diverse array of native species, many of them endemic to particular areas. Many form wetlands downslope, an all-too-rare feature on the forests. These, too, are generally heavily grazed and trampled, limiting their ability to serve as sponges for recharging aquifers.
2009 springs assessment
Recognizing the importance of springs on the Colorado Plateau, the Grand Canyon Trust is embarking on a 3-year project to assess their condition in southern Utah’s three national forests.
In 2009, we will inventory and assess numerous springs throughout the summer. Our work will provide critical information for forest supervisors about the condition of springs on their forests. We will also propose restoration objectives for the damaged springs.
This work also contributes to the current Forest Service process for developing a rapid assessment protocol that it can implement throughout the national forest system.
Your donations and membership dues make our research, monitoring, and restoration work in Utah possible.
