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1 Society for Ecological Restoration SW Chapter

Annual Conference 2016 Conference Program

2016 Conference Program

6:30 - 8:30

8:00 - 8:45

8:45 - 9:00

9:00 - 9:45

ROOM A: Endangered Species ROOM B: Erosion Control Structures

9:45 - 10:10

Drake: Consequenses of disturbed landscapes to

desert tortoise populations when habitats are not

restored or protected

Gomez-Sapiens: Effects of the minute 319 environmental

flows on established riparian vegetation in the Colorado

River Delta, Mexico: A close-up view

10:10 - 10:35

Bloodworth: New distribution of the tamarisk beetle

(Diorhabda spp.) in the Lower Colorado River Basin and

implications for future riparian restoration

Hammer: Restoration of burned and unburned

watersheds of the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, using

loose rock erosion structures

10:35 - 11:00

11:00 - 11:25

Bunting: Quantifying erosion control structures effects on

surface inundation and soil moisture in arid ephemeral

streams

11:25 - 11:50

Tosline: Impacts of grade control structure installations on

hydrology and sediment transport as an adaptive

management strategy during climate change

11:50 - 12:15Wilson: Vegetation response to watershed restoration in

southeastern Arizona

12:15 - 1:45

ROOM A: Planning and Plant Materials ROOM B: Springs and Aquatic Ecosystems

1:45 - 2:10

Williams: Suggested practices for dryland restoration

planning, implementation, and monitoring in the arid

southwest

McMaster: Lower Portal Road Spring Habitat Improvement

Project

2:10 - 2:35

Esque: Assessing native plants for seed collections,

growers, and restoration specialists for rehabilitating

disturbed Desert Tortoise habitat

Manville: The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and

conservation of aquatic endemics in the Mojave Desert

2:35 - 3:00

Copeland: Spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation

treatments in the Southwest: variability and trends

with implications for restoration success

Winkel: Ecological restoration at the Las Vegas Springs

Preserve

3:00 - 3:25

3:25 - 3:50

Weber: Covering more ground: Meeting the challenge

of native plant materials development at the scale it

demands

3:50 - 5:00

Workshop: Implementing the National Seed Strategy

on a Regional Scale: Case Study - The Madrean

Archipelago

5:00 - 7:00

Early Arrivers Meet & Greet at the Gordon Biersh Brewery

TUESDAY, Nov 8th

WEDNESDAY, Nov 9th

EVENING NETWORKING

Reception at Divine Café (hors d'oeuvres + cash bar): Meet your peers with the Cross-

Watershed Network!

BREAK

Tour of Springs Preserve

XWN Workshop: Peer to Peer Interactive Session with

Examples from the Virgin River

Orr: Tamarisk, birds, beetles, fires, and floods: riparian

restoration on the Virgin River

Registration - Coffee and Continental Breakfast

Welcome (Norman and Campbell)

Featured Speaker: Scott Abella "Restoring America's national parks in an era of global

change"MORNING CONCURRENT SESSIONS

AFTERNOON CONCURRENT SESSIONS

BREAK

Lunch & Scott Abella book signing



8:00 - 8:45

8:45 - 9:00

9:00 - 9:25

9:25 - 10:00

10:00 - 10:25

ROOM A: Riparian Restoration

10:25 - 11:00

Grabau: Modeling shallow groundwater for support of

riparian areas in the Colorado River Delta

11:00 - 11:25

Norman: Quantifying geomorphic change at

ephemeral stream restoration sites using a coupled-

model approach

11:25 - 12:15

12:15 - 1:25

ROOM A: Riparian Restoration ROOM B: Forests and Soils

1:25 - 1:50 Clark: Water harvesting in arid lands Warren: Passive restoration of biological soil crusts

1:50 - 2:15

Jones: Fountaingrass control initiative: An education,

control and restoration program for an invasive weed

Remke: A missing link in plant restoration? How soil

organisms buffer against stress and enhance artificial

planting of Pinus ponderosa

2:15 - 2:40

Eckberg: The Las Vegas Wash: A multi-agency

stakeholder process to protect and enhance a key

ecological and hydrologic resource

Stropki: The changing landscape of the Manzano

Mountains following four large wildfires

2:40 - 3:05

Bunting: Assessment of streamside herbaceous and

riparian woody vegetation along the lower Santa Cruz

River, year 4

Lightfoot: Tree thinning effects on wildlife in pinyon-

juniper woodlands of the Manzano Moutains, New

Mexico

3:05 - 3:30

3:30 - 3:55

3:55 - 4:20

4:20 - 5:00

THURSDAY, Nov 10th

FRIDAY, Nov 11th: FIELD TRIPS!

Registration - Coffee, Continental Breakfast, Morning Mingle

Welcome Back; Announce Chapter Election Results

MORNING CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Wrap up Discussion: Raffle; Announce student awards; Field trip information

Johnson: Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative

Poster Session

Munson: Restoration Assessment and Montoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS)

Butterfield: Prestoration: Using species in restoration that will persist now and into

the future

BREAK

Lunch - Featured Speaker: Lesley DeFalco: An Integrated Approach for Rehabilitating

Degraded Mojave Desert ShrublandsAFTERNOON CONCURRENT SESSIONS

THE BIG PICTURE

Gonzalez-Olimon: Community engagement and restoration in the Colorado River Delta

ROOM B:

Workshop: Central Arizona Conservation Alliance: Help

shape the development of the Regional Open Space

Conservation Strategy for Central Arizona!

BREAK



Featured Speakers 2016

Scott R. Abella is Assistant Professor in Restoration Ecology, School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas. He works to advance a foundation of ecological knowledge that has clear implications for natural resource conservation. He is an Ecologist with Natural Resources Conservation LLC, as well as a writer, his new book “Conserving America’s National Parks” came out in 2015. His research focuses on applied ecology to inform conservation and management especially in the areas of forest ecology, fire ecology, restoration ecology, and plant ecology.

Featured Presentation (Wednesday, Nov 9th, 9 am): Restoring America’s National Parks during an era of global change

In 2015, U.S. national parks were visited by 307 million people, generated $30 billion in turnover within the U.S. economy, and continued to be core areas for conservation programs for

natural resources critical to society (such as freshwater). Natural features underpin the dual national park mission of protecting natural landscapes while providing for human enjoyment. With 2016 marking the 100-year Centennial of the National Park Service, the challenge of conserving natural features and the natural processes, such as fires, that maintain them has never been greater. The uncertain sustainability of Joshua trees in Joshua Tree National Park, and glaciers in Glacier National Park, are among the many examples of unprecedented conservation challenges facing parks. Rising sea levels, collapses of coral reefs, loss of wildlife species, droughts, unnaturally severe fires, non-native species, and climate change are among the many threats defining contemporary park conservation. However, inspiring restoration projects that have reversed these threats provide hope for the future of parks. In this presentation, Scott Abella, the author of “Conserving America’s National Parks,” will share stories of restoration challenges and successes from across U.S. national parks and their influence on the future of the national park system.

Contact: University of Nevada Las Vegas, School of Life Sciences [email protected]

More information: https://abellaappliedecologylab.wordpress.com/



Lesley DeFalco is a Research Plant Ecologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) at the Western Ecological Research Center, Henderson Field Station. Lesley investigates process-based approaches for restoring degraded drylands, developing native plant materials for ecological restoration, and conserving rare, sensitive, and at-risk species. This work is part of the first Mojave-wide partnership that integrates multiple site networks for evaluating restoration practices and native plant development and provides science-based information for the recovery of sensitive species including the threatened Mojave desert tortoise.

An integrated approach for rehabilitating

degraded Mojave Desert shrublands Low and middle elevation shrublands of the Mojave Desert are increasingly at risk of landscape-

scale disturbances. Wildfires fueled by non-native annual grasses are imperiling habitat for at-risk

wildlife species such as the threatened Mojave Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), but re-

vegetating these sensitive habitats has met with limited success. Ecological restoration of disturbed

shrublands is challenging because extreme climate, lack of suitable safe sites, and seed predation

limit seedling recruitment and survival. The desert tortoise spends most its life belowground, so

intensive re-vegetation practices such as drill-seeding or disking are undesirable because of their

impacts on tortoise burrows. Furthermore, seed production for many native shrub species is

sporadic, so restoration practitioners often must acquire seeds far from where they will be used,

and seeds may be poorly adapted to the restoration site.

Wildfires during 2005/06 burned an unprecedented acreage of desert tortoise critical habitat, yet

they provided opportunity to explore how dryland restoration practices can be implemented for recovering degraded shrublands. A partnership between USGS and BLM established a network of

sites for evaluating key ecological processes that drive natural recovery, the effectiveness of re-

vegetation methods, and recently, the suitability of native plant materials for the Mojave Desert.

These efforts were the impetus for BLM’s Mojave Desert Native Plant Program and dovetail with

the National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration. Controlled field experiments are

evaluating effectiveness of conventional and novel practices, and plant genetic testing and multiple

common gardens are determining how climate influences adaptive genetic variability for guiding

seed sourcing for restoration under current and future climates.

Contact: US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Henderson Field Office,

[email protected]

More information: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/person.aspx?personID=68

mailto:[email protected]



Oral Presentations

Bloodworth, Ben Tamarisk Coalition, Grand Junction, CO; [email protected] New distribution of the tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda spp.) in the Lower Colorado River Basin and implications for future riparian restoration

The southern extent of the tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda spp.) in the Lower Colorado River basin has been “stalled” for several years. Monitoring data in 2016 show that beetles now occupy areas significantly farther south than in previous years, potentially impacting previously untouched habitat of the endangered southwest willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus). This presentation will detail the current distribution of the beetle across the southwest and discuss areas of southwest willow flycatcher occupation that may be impacted in 2017, due to beetle population expansions. Implications for future, potentially necessary, riparian restoration within the Lower Colorado River basin will be discussed. A framework for restoration site prioritization and selection as presented in the paper “Tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda spp.) in the Colorado River basin: synthesis of an expert panel forum (2016)” will also be addressed.

Bunting, Daniel Harris Environmental Group, Inc., Tucson, AZ; [email protected] Assessment of streamside herbaceous and riparian woody vegetation along the Lower Santa Cruz River, Year 4

In 2013, Pima County developed the Agua Nueva Wastewater Reclamation Facility (WRF) and upgraded the Tres Rios WRF, both of which discharge treated effluent into the lower Santa Cruz River (LSCR). These artificial baseflows support riparian vegetation, which is one of many indicators for assessing ecological impacts of improved water quality after WRF upgrades. Streamside herbaceous vegetation has been surveyed annually since the 2013 baseline survey using 1-m quadrats placed along randomized transects within the wetted margins of the active river channel. In addition, permanent belt-transects established in 2013 were revisited in 2015 to assess riparian woody vegetation. Species richness has increased each year. Average wetland indicator score across all sites, computed using USDA wetland values and weighted by vegetation cover percentages, has increased showing a trend toward drying conditions. Average nitrogen affinity score has decreased suggesting that plants with lower nitrogen tolerance are persisting along the LSCR. Woody plant density ranks remained the same for trees (saltcedar > seep willow > velvet mesquite) and shrubs (burrobrush > cattle saltbush > desert broom). Goodding’s willow and Fremont cottonwood density slightly decreased while saltcedar density decreased significantly. While both WRFs improve the quality of water discharged into the LSCR, the total discharge volumes are now highly variable and may decrease in the future due to increased use of recycled water for municipal purposes. While this study documents immediate impacts occurring since the 2013 WRF upgrades, longer-term data will be required to understand long-lasting impacts to riparian vegetation.


http://www.tamariskcoalition.org/sites/default/files/files/Beetle%20Panel%20Report_web_optimized.pdf

http://www.tamariskcoalition.org/sites/default/files/files/Beetle%20Panel%20Report_web_optimized.pdf




Bunting, Lindsey1, Michael Milczarek1, Carianne Campbell2, Samantha Hammer2 1 GeoSystems Analysis, Inc. Tucson, AZ; [email protected] 2 Sky Island Alliance, Tucson, AZ Quantifying erosion control structures effects on surface inundation and soil moisture in arid ephemeral streams

In semi-arid mountain regions of the southwestern U.S., problems of water scarcity are often exacerbated by severe fires and intense monsoonal precipitation which contribute to channel erosion. Small in-channel erosion control structures (ECS) have been used as a restoration technique in ephemeral drainages, and act by attenuating peak flows and reducing channel erosion. Other benefits appear to be increased water infiltration and moisture retention in support of wildlife habitat. However, site specific quantification of the benefits of ECS is lacking, and data collection is needed to demonstrate the success, or lack of success, of these restoration methods. In 2015 the USGS, USFS, and Sky Island Alliance (SIA) partnered to install hundreds of ECS and monitor vegetation response in burned and unburned drainages within the Chiricahua range of the Coronado National Forest. Eight monitoring stations were also installed to quantify inundation duration and soil moisture trends at ECS locations within the channels. Preliminary results indicate stormwater runoff events higher in the watersheds were characterized by frequent inundation and soil saturation that drained quickly from the thin alluvial soils. Lower in the watershed, runoff pulses appear to be attenuated by the ECS and infiltration into deeper sediments, as evidenced by shorter total inundation durations in response to fewer runoff events. Shallow soil moisture increased in response to localized precipitation, but surface inundation was only detected at all stations in response to high intensity rainfall events. Quantification of differences in ECS impacts in burned and unburned watersheds is currently limited by a lack of control sites and warrants further investigation.

Butterfield, B. J.1, S. M. Copeland2, S. M. Munson1,2, C. M. Roybal1,2, and T. E. Wood1,2 1Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research and Dept. of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ ; [email protected] 2US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ

Prestoration: Using species in restoration that will persist now and into the future Climate change presents new challenges for selecting species for restoration. If migration fails to keep pace with climate change, as models predict, the most suitable sources for restoration may not occur locally at all. To address this issue, we propose a strategy of “prestoration”: utilizing species in restoration for which a site represents suitable habitat now and into the future. Using the Colorado Plateau, USA as a case study, we assess the ability of grass species currently used regionally in restoration to persist into the future using projections of ecological niche models (or climate envelope models) across a suite of climate change scenarios. We then present a technique for identifying new species that best compensate for future losses of suitable habitat by current target species. We found that the current suite of species, selected by a group of experts, is predicted to perform reasonably well in the short-term, but that losses of prestorable habitat by mid-century would approach 40%. Using an algorithm to identify additional species, we found that fewer than ten species could compensate for nearly all of the losses incurred by the current target





species. This case study highlights the utility of integrating ecological niche modeling and future climate forecasts to predict the utility of species in restoring under climate change across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales.

Clark, Valer

Cuenca Los Ojos A.C. Agua Prieta, Sonora Mexico and Cuenca Los Ojos Foundation; [email protected]

Harvesting water in arid lands

The Cuenca Los Ojos Foundation restores lands, wetlands, and wildlife in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. This semi-arid area receives limited rainfall in a given year with extreme fluctuations, sometimes receiving up to 45% of the annual rainfall in one event. Many streams are seasonal and depending upon the watershed, can go from dry to flooding in an hour’s time. Harvesting water on both slopes and drainages is therefore crucial to achieving maximum conservation outcomes. Historically, a large cienega wetland was located where Black Draw, Hay Hollow, and Silver Creek came together to form the Rio San Bernardino, just south of the International Border. The wetlands were a major stopping place for migrating birds and animals. In the early 1900’s these wetlands dried due to incision of the adjacent streams. Cuenca Los Ojos has been working for more than a decade to restore these streams and adjacent upland areas. Despite historic drought conditions during the entirety of this restoration period, our work has resulted in a dramatic increase in the cienega acreage and riparian and grassland vegetation. This in turn, has led to an increase in wildlife such as native fish, frogs, riparian and grassland bird species, and a host of mammals.

Copeland, Stella M.1, John B. Bradford2, Bradley J. Butterfield1, Seth M. Munson2, David S. Pilliod3, Justin L. Welty3

1Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ; [email protected] 2U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ 3U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise ID

Spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation treatments in the Southwest: variability and trends with implications for restoration success

Restoration techniques, such as seeding, vegetation manipulation, and invasive species removal, have been applied on public lands in the United States for decades, with varying success and at substantial expense. Relatively little information is available on the extent and characteristics of these management treatments, particularly regarding their effectiveness towards meeting restoration goals such as increased productivity and diversity. Using the Land Treatment Digital Library, we characterized trends in restoration practices with ~3,800 treatments on BLM lands across the southwestern U.S. from 1937–2015. The number of species seeded per project have increased over time (deviance = 1390, p < 0.001), with ~6 times the number of species seeded in 2006–2015 (9.6 ± 0.4 SE) than in 1946–1955 (1.5 ± 0.1 SE). Project goals have shifted from an emphasis on forest health and forage production (63 % of projects, 1946–1955) to wildfire, fuels reduction, and wildlife goals (85 %, 2006–2015). Inflation-adjusted costs have roughly tripled between the decades of 1946–1955 and 2006–2015 for the ~46 % of projects with cost data. We found that ~12 % of treatments were implemented in relatively hot and dry years, while ~15 % were implemented in cool and wet years (5 years ± treatment year and following year). These




results characterize shifting restoration objectives on BLM lands across large areas of the Southwest US in the last 80 years, and suggest opportunities to improve treatment success by timing increasingly expensive treatments with favorable climate conditions.

Drake, K. Kristina1, Todd C. Esque1, Kenneth E. Nussear2, Lesley A. DeFalco1, Philip A. Medica1, and Melia G. Nafus3 1 Western Ecological Research Center, US Geological Survey, Henderson, NV; [email protected] 2 Department of Geography, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, NV 3 San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoological Global, Escondido, CA

Consequences of disturbed landscapes to desert tortoise populations when habitats are not restored or protected

Habitat degradation from wildfire and other human disturbances have dramatic and long-lasting effects on the composition and structure of desert ecosystems. These changes often impact wildlife, as most species rely on native plant communities for shelter, protection, or food. We conducted multiple studies over a 10-year period to understand how the threatened Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) responds to recovering disturbed landscapes in Clark County, Nevada. We compared movement patterns, home-range size, behavior, microhabitat use, growth, reproduction, health and body condition, immune function, and survival for juvenile and adult desert tortoises located in, and adjacent to, burned habitat. In addition, we monitored the effects of dietary changes associated with disturbed habitats for captive juvenile tortoises in a controlled study. Adult tortoises used burned landscapes without any measurable decline in fitness or survival, and their use of burned habitat was largely based on available cover of short-lived herbaceous perennial plants that typically re-colonize burned areas. However, adult tortoises had access and readily retreated to adjacent unburned areas throughout the year. Juvenile tortoises were more vulnerable to habitat changes associated with wildfire. Their growth, condition, and survival declined more rapidly than juveniles occupying unburned areas. Also, juveniles foraging on the non-native grass Bromus rubens grew less and had reduced body condition, immune function, and survival than others foraging on native plant diets. These studies highlight how restoration is needed to reverse the landscape-scale changes that are having a large negative impact on health, survival, and ultimately population recruitment for Mojave desert tortoises.

Eckberg, Jason R. Southern Nevada Water Authority, Las Vegas, NV; [email protected]

The Las Vegas Wash: A multi-agency stakeholder process to protect and enhance a key ecological and hydrologic resource The Las Vegas Wash (Wash) is the primary drainage channel for the 1600-square mile Las Vegas Valley, draining treated wastewater, urban runoff, shallow groundwater and storm flows to Lake Mead. The Wash is an integral component to Southern Nevada’s water resources providing a conduit to return treated wastewater to Lake Mead. The Wash also has a substantial impact on the water quality of Lake Mead. The Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee (LVWCC) was formed in October 1998 to create and implement a long-term management plan for the Wash, which had suffered significant erosion, degradation of water quality, and loss of wetlands in prior decades. In January 2000, the 29-member LVWCC published the Las Vegas Wash Comprehensive Adaptive Management Plan, a document outlining 44 action items necessary to stabilize the channel, improve





water quality, and restore ecological functions, including reestablishing wetlands. Since 2000, the LVWCC has been implementing these action items through a collaborative stakeholder process. Achievements include construction of 18 of 21 planned erosion control structures, removing more than 500 acres of invasive plants, revegetating more than 400 acres with native plants, initiating several water quality and biological resource monitoring studies, and conducting numerous public outreach events.

Esque, Todd C.1, Lesley A. DeFalco1, K. Kristina Drake1, and Kenneth E. Nussear2 1US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Henderson, NV; [email protected] 2University of Nevada, Reno, Department of Geography, Reno, NV

Assessing native plants for seed collections, growers, and restoration specialists for rehabilitating disturbed Desert Tortoise habitat The Mojave Desert is experiencing unprecedented and rapid change in shrublands that are home to the Mojave Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), a keystone species for this unique ecoregion. In an effort to restore native plants to large-scale disturbances — such as those from recent wildfires and the burgeoning development of renewable energy – we derived a priority list of native species to guide seed collectors, commercial growers, and restoration specialists for the Mojave Desert. We identified important diet plants for wild tortoises based on fecal analyses and feeding studies published over a 20-year period in California, Arizona, and Utah. We also identified important cover species through 3,800 field observations of radio-telemetered wild tortoises across eight study sites in Nevada and California. More than 200 taxa of plants were identified as food species and collectively represent diverse food items for repairing disturbed habitat. These taxa include annual forbs (Acmispon spp., Astragalus spp., Cryptantha spp., Descuraina pinnata, Lepidium lasiocarpum, and Plantago spp.), perennial forbs (Androstephium breviflorum, Euphorbia spp., Mirabilis spp., Sphaeralcea ambigua, Stephanomeria pauciflora), perennial grasses (Hilaria rigida, Achnatherum hymenoides, and Muhlenbergia porteri), and a cactus (Opuntia basilaris). We also identify several species (Larrea tridentata, Ambrosia dumosa, A. salsola, Ephedra spp., S. ambigua, Atriplex hymenelytra) and genera (Yucca spp., Lycium spp., Krameria spp., Psorothamnus spp., and Encelia spp.) that contain region-specific choices for tortoise cover. This quantitative approach not only provides a data-guided prioritization of restoration species, but it also identifies knowledge gaps for future investigation.

Gomez-Sapiens, Martha1, Pat Shafroth2, Erick Lundgren3; Chris Jarchow4, Edward P. Glenn4 Karl Flessa1 1Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ ; [email protected] 2U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO 3School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 4Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Effects of the Minute 319 environmental flows on established riparian vegetation in the Colorado River Delta, Mexico: A close-up view In the spring of 2014, 130 million cubic meters of Colorado River water was delivered to the Colorado River Delta (CRD) in Mexico as a result of the Minute 319 binational agreement between Mexico and the United States. The purpose of this flow was to study the hydrological and biological





responses to a high-water flood event and to promote native plant species recruitment to reverse the negative trend in greenness associated with the lack of significant surface flows in the last 10 years. An initial pulse flow (peak discharge = 119 m3/s) was followed by lower discharge rate flows in order to support active restoration in one of the lower reaches.

We estimated vegetation response along 21 transects in unmanaged sites distributed along 92 river km. We surveyed canopy cover of species before and after the pulse flow during the 2014 and 2015 growing seasons. We also monitored changes in greenness using NDVI from Landsat images before and after the flow.

Changes in cover varied temporally and spatially. Both native (Populus and Salix spp.) and non-native trees (Tamarisk spp.) experienced significant increases in cover ranging from about 30% in some transects to higher than 50% in others. An increase in percentage of cover was observed after the pulse flow event, while in other transects increases were detected during the second year. NDVI increased after the pulse flow in 2014 and the highest increases (30%) were detected after the 2015 growing season. Results indicate the vegetation response was highly variable and conditioned by pre-flow conditions of the sites as well as affected by the flows.

Gonzalez-Olimon, Gabriela1, Edith Santiago-Serrano2, and Fatima Luna2 1Sonoran Institute Mexico, A.C.; [email protected] 2Sonoran Institute, AZ

Community engagement and restoration in the Colorado River Delta

A primary goal of the Sonoran Institute Colorado River Delta Legacy Program is to restore riparian, marsh, and estuarine ecosystems in the Colorado River Delta region located in Northwest Mexico; however, we recognize that community engagement and education is critical to long-term restoration success. We conduct restoration not only to promote the recovery of species and ecosystems, but to revive and strengthen the connection between communities and their environment.

Our community engagement approach includes the following components: 1) environmental education workshops at restoration sites with K-12 schools and universities in the Mexicali Valley; 2) training and hiring local community members to implement restoration and ecological monitoring; 3) promoting eco-tourism job opportunities for local community members; 4) hosting annual tree planting events; and 5) restoration site tours and activities with government agencies from the US and Mexico, NGOs, and international visitors.

Over the past two years, nearly 4,000 people from all ages have visited our restoration sites, participated in restoration, or learned about the Colorado River Delta system through in-school workshops. Additionally, we currently employ 16 local community members, who are now highly skilled and knowledgeable in a diverse range of riparian restoration techniques, vegetation and hydrological monitoring, and wildlife and plant identification.

The value of social benefits of restoration has become an important consideration for the dedication of future environmental flows to the Colorado River Delta. Promoting community awareness, support, and participation in restoration activities fosters long-term stewardship of restoration sites by local communities and government agencies.




Grabau, Matthew R.1, Karen J. Schlatter2,3, Eliana Rodríguez Burgueño4, Jorge Ramírez Hernández4, Jeff Milliken5, Chad McKenna6, Jason Keller7, and Francisco Zamora-Arroyo2 1Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Tucson AZ; [email protected] 2Sonoran Institute, Tucson AZ 3University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder CO 4Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Mexicali, BC 5U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Sacramento, CA 6GeoSystems Analysis, Inc., Albuquerque NM 7GeoSystems Analysis, Inc., Hood River, OR

Modeling shallow groundwater for support of riparian areas in the Colorado River Delta

Colorado River water diversions have dramatically reduced riparian areas in the Colorado River Delta. Prior to environmental flow inputs in 2014, remaining riparian vegetation was primarily supported by shallow groundwater and incidental releases. Recently, additional support has been provided by environmental flows from the Delta Water Trust and Minute 319 of the US-Mexico Water Treaty. Significant investments are being made for active restoration, but the future of shallow groundwater required for long-term sustainability is uncertain. Irrigation infrastructure and efficiency improvements are being implemented to decrease agricultural water use, but could also cause groundwater levels to decline. Shortage declarations in the Colorado River Basin could cause increased reliance on groundwater pumping. Restoration actions that replace non-native plants with higher water use cottonwoods and willows will result in net evapotranspiration increases. Conversely, the potential arrival of the saltcedar leaf beetle would result in decreased evapotranspiration from saltcedar, which currently dominates the floodplain. Opportunities also exist to enhance groundwater. Water rights are purchased and leased from users in the Mexicali Valley to allow redirection of water to the riparian corridor. Future intergovernmental agreements like Minute 319 might provide federal water. We are using an existing groundwater model to project how these factors might collectively alter levels of riparian habitat support. Project results will promote optimization of environmental flows and determine if these actions might mitigate groundwater declines. In this presentation, we will present baseline conditions and demonstrate how existing date were used to develop model inputs, and provide detail on conceptual modeling scenarios.

Hammer, Samantha, Carianne Campbell, Louise Misztal, and Bryon Lichtenhan Sky Island Alliance, Tucson, AZ; [email protected] Restoration of burned and unburned watersheds of the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona using loose rock erosion control structures

In the semiarid Sky Island Region of southeastern Arizona, water is much less available on the landscape than it was historically. In the 1890s, overgrazing and severe drought caused intense erosion; stream channels entrenched and perennial streams became ephemeral. Since then, groundwater pumping has dried streams and severe fires followed by monsoon precipitation have altered entire watersheds. Climate change may exacerbate all of these processes. However, areas with surface water or high soil moisture exhibit attenuated effects of




fire; they may be important refugia from fire, and from climate change. Sky Island Alliance works with partners to restore watersheds and return water to the landscape to increase ecosystem resilience. In the Chiricahua Mountains, we worked with the Coronado National Forest, Arizona Department of Corrections, and Borderlands Restoration to install 700 loose rock erosion control structures (ECS) in the drainages of a burned watershed (Tex Canyon) and an unburned watershed (Bar Boot). In Tex Canyon, rock structures filled with sediment within 1 year, while structures in Barboot have little sediment accumulation. In the filled structures, sediment acts as a sponge, metering water out and increasing the number of days that water flows in the drainage. The unfilled structures in Bar Boot serve as proactive protection against erosion caused by future fires. Partners (GeoSystems Analysis, Inc. and USGS) are monitoring the effects that these structures have on soil moisture and vegetation response. The Coronado National Forest plans to use results of this project to increase the scope of this type of watershed restoration on the forest.

Jones, Johnny Great Basin Institute, c/o U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Las Vegas NV; [email protected] Fountaingrass Control Initiative: An education, control and restoration program for an invasive weed Green (or crimson) fountaingrass (Pennisetum setaceum) is a non-native plant that is used in ornamental landscaping throughout the southwest. It is invasive, and seeds carried by wind and water have spread these plants beyond their landscape settings into open spaces including roadsides, fields, washes and riparian areas. As they grow and reproduce, they outcompete many native and other desirable plant species, leading to changes in ecosystem structure and function, alteration of wildlife habitats, reduction of available water for other uses, and increases in fire hazard. In 2003 the State of Nevada declared fountaingrass to be a noxious weed, and landowners are required by law to control it. However, there has been little done to educate the public about this pest, and although it is no longer sold in Nevada nurseries, it persists in many ornamental landscapes and continues to spread into surrounding lands.

The Southern Nevada Cooperative Weed Management Area has initiated the Fountaingrass Control Initiative, a three-pronged effort to stop the spread of fountaingrass in Nevada. 1. Educational outreach to inform landowners, businesses and the public that fountaingrass is an invasive noxious weed and how it puts our communities and the environment at risk. 2. Control of fountaingrass on public properties by herbicide treatment and/or physical removal, and providing incentives to encourage its removal from private properties. 3. Restoration of sites where fountaingrass is removed or treated through planting of native plant species, including offering native plants in exchange for fountaingrass plants removed from ornamental landscapes.

Lightfoot, David 1,2, Cody Stropki1, Victoria Amato1, Conor Flynn1, and Anne Russell1

1 SWCA Environmental Consultants, Albuquerque, NM; [email protected]

2 Biology Department, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Tree thinning effects on wildlife in pinyon-juniper woodlands of the Manzano Mountains, New Mexico



We evaluated the effects of tree thinning treatments on wildlife communities in pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine woodlands on private lands in the Manzano Mountains from 2008–2015, with an experimental monitoring design of paired control and treatment watersheds of about 5 acres each at 2 pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine sites. Tree thinning was intended to reduce wildfire fuels and to improve woodland watershed health and function. We measured habitat and wildlife for 3 years prior to treatments, and for 5 years following treatments. Birds were recorded with point counts in the spring and fall, rodents were sampled with live-traps in spring and fall, and other wildlife was recorded on camera traps year-round. Tree thinning had little effect on migratory bird assemblages in the fall, but did cause changes in breeding birds in the spring. Rodent abundance decreased, and species composition changed on treated locations, largely due to declines in the pinyon mouse. Camera traps showed a decrease in large native mammals such as deer and coyotes on treated locations, while domestic livestock increased on treated locations. Our findings indicate that tree thinning treatments in the Manzano Mountains did affect wildlife in both positive and negative ways relative to management goals.

Manville, Christiana U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Las Vegas, NV; [email protected] The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and conservation of aquatic endemics in the Mojave Desert

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (PFW) provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners and Tribes who want to voluntarily improve fish, wildlife, and plant habitat on their lands. Since 1987 when the program started, over 1 million wetland acres, 3 million upland acres and 9,000 miles of stream have been restored nationwide.

In the Mojave Desert, the PFW program has focused on habitat restoration projects for aquatic endemic species. In southern Nevada, the majority of private land occurs around springs and streams, where biodiversity is highest. I will discuss restoration projects for the endangered Pahranagat roundtail chub (Gila robusta jordani, chub, fish) and Amargosa toad (Anaxyrus nelsoni). Outside of man-made refuges, the chub only occurs on 2 miles of river and 1.5 miles of irrigation ditch on private land. Few recovery actions had been implemented for the chub as access to private land had been an issue. The PFW program has cultivated relationships with the private landowners to allow access for fish surveys, habitat monitoring and habitat restoration projects. The Amargosa toad only occurs in Oasis Valley and has been petitioned for listing under Endangered Species Act twice. Working with landowners and other partners, the PFW program has helped to restore 72 acres of toad foraging and breeding habitat for a species that only occurs over a 10-mile stretch of river and associated springs. These locally led habitat restoration efforts have helped keep this species off the Endangered Species list.

McMaster, Heidi A, Marc Maynard U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; [email protected] Lower Portal Road spring habitat improvement project

In 2009, in an effort to reduce fire fuel loads and improve habitat along the Colorado River, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation began mechanical removal of invasive tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) along the Lower Portal Road. A pupfish refuge was constructed in 1974 to create a secondary refuge for the




Devil’s Hole Pupfish, a species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. The Lower Portal Road has a natural warm spring that seeps from the canyon wall above the river. The year-round access to water created ideal habitat for the relict leopard frog (Rana onca). A total of 541 relict leopard frogs were introduced between 2003 and 2008. With the assistance of the National Park Service (NPS) Exotic Plant Removal Team, in the first two years of tamarisk removal, 160 cubic yard of tamarisk was removed. To date, approximately 2.15 acres of tamarisk have been cleared. With the tamarisk removed, honey and screwbean mesquite trees (Prosopis glandulosa and P. pubescens) were planted in March 2012. Coyote willow (Salix exigua) was planted in the stream channel in 2010, 2011 and 2012. In 2012, 200 coyote willow were planted and tubes were placed around the young trees to encourage growth and establishment before predation by desert bighorn sheep (Ovis Canadensis nelson). This effort failed, and new willow poles were planted with more success. Future plans for the site include maintaining areas for relict leopard frog habitat, planting of additional native trees, and treatment of tamarisk regrowth as needed.

Munson, Seth M.1, John B. Bradford1, Bradley J. Butterfield2, Troy E. Wood1, Stella M. Copeland2 1U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ; [email protected]

2Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) Dryland regions of the southwestern U.S. have been degraded by invasive species, wildfire, overgrazing, agricultural conversion, energy development, recreational activity, and urban growth. These disturbances and others are accelerated by one of the fastest growing human populations in the country and a pressing background of decreasing water availability due to drought and elevated temperatures that are projected to become more pronounced. Recovery from disturbance in face of global change pressures represents a substantial challenge to agencies that manage large tracts of land in the Southwest because the potential reduction and loss of ecosystem productivity could have large economic, social, and environmental costs. Restoration and rehabilitation practices are critically needed to promote recovery from disturbance, improve the health and integrity of drylands, and ensure the long-term sustainability of ecosystem services. Despite the demand for restoration and rehabilitation, little information is available to help managers effectively reestablish perennial vegetation and stabilize soils in regions strongly constrained by water availability, and even less information is available to help managers structure restoration efforts to be successful in the context of changing climate and disturbance regimes. The Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) is coordinated at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Southwest Biological Science Center in Flagstaff, AZ. The mission of RAMPS is to strengthen restoration strategies and outcomes in the southwestern U.S. by providing science and guidance on effective restoration practices to the management community.

Norman, Laura M.1, Joel Sankey2, David Dean2, Joshua Caster2, Steve DeLong3, Whitney DeLong4, and Jon D. Pelletier4 1USGS, Western Geographic Science Center, Tucson, AZ; [email protected] 2USGS, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ 3USGS, Earthquake Science Center, Menlo Park, CA 4University of Arizona, Department of Geosciences, Tucson, AZ



Quantifying geomorphic change at ephemeral stream restoration sites using a coupled-model approach

In the mountains of Southeast Arizona, USA, rock detention structures are being installed in ephemeral stream channels as restoration treatments to slow streamflow velocity, reduce erosion, retain sediment and organic matter, and conserve water resources. Structures are intended to infill and aggrade incised stream channels with sediment and organic matter, yet there is little scientific evidence of restoration effectiveness. An objective of our study was to document horizontal flow, sediment transport and morphological impacts of rock detention structures locally. Ultra-high-resolution repeat topographic surveys were collected to develop time-sensitive representations of the terrain, both for change detection analyses and as a continuous surface for input to models. A 1D-watershed model was applied to develop and constrain boundary conditions for a 2D-computational model. Results from the coupled models characterize the lateral interaction of flow and sediment dispersion between the channel and rock detention structures.

At the Bone Creek (BC) study site, a gabion and several one-rock dams were constructed in 2013. BC responded during the next 3 years with significant changes to the channel and bed which we attribute to ponding of water and deposition of sediment and bed aggradation immediately upstream of the gabion, but erosion downstream. At the Turkey Pen (TP) study site, 6 loose-rock check dams had been installed and maintained approximately 30 years prior to our study, along a segment of a mixed alluvial-bedrock stream that drains a relatively steep basin flush with structures. In contrast to BC, the channel bed topography and modelled flow and sediment characteristics at TP are in relative equilibrium, with minimal erosion and deposition detected during our study. Restoration using rock detention structures is shown to be effective at enhancing ecosystem services in these ephemeral streams via a positive feedback loop, where increased water availability from storage in deposited bed material leads to establishment of vegetation, which provides significant channel-bed erosion protection and encourages further sediment deposition and soil formation. The methods and tools presented here show how to quantify restoration outcomes associated with emplacement of rock detention structures along ephemeral streams and predict where erosion or deposition will likely occur, allowing managers to strategically enhance ecosystem services while protecting infrastructure and other priority areas.

Orr, Bruce K. 1, Gail M. Drus2, Tom L. Dudley3, Glen T. Leverich1, Zooey E. Diggory4, Matthew J. Johnson5, James R. Hatten6, Adam Lambert3, Kevin R. Hultine7, and Devyn A. Orr3 1Stillwater Sciences, Berkeley, CA; [email protected] 2Saint Francis University 3Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 4Stillwater Sciences, Santa Cruz, CA 5Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 6Columbia River Research Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey, Cook, WA 7Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ Tamarisk, birds, beetles, fires, and floods: riparian restoration on the Virgin River

Many riparian systems across the Southwestern United States have been highly altered by human land and water management actions coupled with extensive invasion by non-native tamarisk (Tamarix spp.), creating novel ecosystems associated with varying changes in composition and abundance of native plants and animal, fire regimes, hydrology, fluvial geomorphic processes, soil




chemistry, and other biophysical factors. There have been a large number of efforts to remove tamarisk by mechanical or chemical means, with widely variable levels of success and failure. More recently, a new agent of change has been added to these systems through the introduction of a biological control agent, the tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda spp.), which is now spreading throughout the Southwest. We are studying the effects of the tamarisk beetle on the expected trajectories of these novel riparian ecosystems, and working with restoration practitioners to develop and implement restoration strategies to help direct these systems towards a more desirable state. Using case studies from the Virgin River (Nevada) and other rivers in the Southwest, we will discuss how the various sources of data were synthesized to produce restoration plans that highlight both those areas best suited for active restoration and those in which passive, process-based restoration and natural revegetation are expected to create new riparian systems that provide the ecosystem conditions and services desired by local stakeholders. Long-term monitoring and adaptive management approaches will be critical given the uncertainties posed by changing climate and by potential co-evolution of the beetle, tamarisk, and other species in these systems.

Remke, Michael1, Matthew Bowker1, Nancy C. Johnson2 1Northern Arizona University, School of Forestry, Flagstaff, AZ; [email protected] 2 Northern Arizona University School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Flagstaff, AZ

A missing link in plant restoration? How soil organisms buffer against stress and enhance artificial planting of Pinus ponderosa? Native plant restoration programs have become more cognizant of the importance of using locally adapted and sourced plant materials. The goal of this practice is to enhance plant success with plants well-adapted to local conditions. These restoration efforts seem threatened by climate change and seem leave out an important component of plant health, soil biota. Soil organisms, such as mycorrhizal fungi, provide crucial soil nutrients and soil water to plants. We hypothesized that not only will plant stock perform better when soil organisms from the same site of origin are also introduced. In this study, we grew Pinus ponderosa from a single site of origin in three common gardens: 1) The site of origin, 2) A site 2⁰ C warmer, and 3) A site 2⁰ C cooler. We grew trees with or without the soil microbes from their site of origin and with or without the soil from their site of origin. We found that trees at their site of origin and at the warmer site were larger when grown with their original soil organisms (p = 0.03). At the cooler site, trees received no benefit from their natal soil organism communities. This data suggests that in stressful environments, trees are highly dependent on their original soil organism community; whereas this dependency may disappear when stress is ameliorated. This implies that restoration efforts should therefore experiment with pairings of plants and soil organisms from common sites of origin rather than focusing only on the plant’s potential adaptation to local abiotic environments.

Stropki, Cody1, Victoria Amato1, David Lightfoot 1,2, Conor Flynn1 1 SWCA Environmental Consultants, Albuquerque, NM; [email protected] 2 Biology Department, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

The changing landscape of the Manzano Mountains following four large wildfires The Manzano Mountains, located in Central New Mexico, have experienced four large wildfires in recent years which have impacted over 44,000 acres of mixed conifer, ponderosa pine, and piñon-juniper habitats. Three fires occurred in 2007–2008 (Ojo Peak, Trigo, and Big Springs) with the



fourth occurring in the summer of 2016 (Dog Head). These large wildfires have altered the landscape of the Manzanos and the associated ecosystems through damage, disruption, and in some cases the complete destruction of the watershed functioning. This talk will focus on the different restoration measures planned and those that have already been implemented across the different burn scars. The ability to understand the effectiveness of the different restoration techniques, whether positive or negative, is critical in understanding the post fire recovery process across an elevation gradient in a changing climate.

Tosline, Deborah US Bureau of Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office, Phoenix, AZ; [email protected] Impacts of grade control structure installations on hydrology and sediment transport as an adaptive management strategy during climate change Reclamation’s Science and Technology Program (S&T) provides competitive funding to staff for innovative research that supports Reclamation’s mission. A one-year S&T scoping study was awarded to assess the potential to conduct hydrologic research on the impacts of Erosion Control Structure (ECS) installations. To address habitat degradation in southeastern Arizona and beyond, the Cuencas Los Ojos Foundation installed ECSs in drainages on private lands resulting in dramatic improvements in restoration including; habitat establishment, maintenance, and inter-connectivity; reduction in stormflow bedload; reduced storm flow peaks, longer flow durations, and increased availability of local water resources; and increased environmental awareness, education and economic opportunities. Climate change projections predict fewer yet more intense precipitation events. Adaptive watershed management alternatives may be used to manage and mitigate flood flows during large scale storms. Anecdotal evidence supports the use of ECSs as an adaptive management alternative. Investigations conducted by the USGS during the 2014 monsoon season compared stormflow measurements from a mature ECS treated drainage to measurements from an untreated drainage (control) and found that stormflows in the treated drainage were less flashy, had fewer transmission losses, and showed a reduction in average rate of flow by more than one half, primarily in the size and duration of the peak flow (Norman et al, 2015). USGS determined that ECS installations in drainages can extend summer base-flow in arid lands. Sediment modeling results indicate that the ECS treated drainage captures 200 tons of the 800 tons of sediments estimated to be eroded per year (Norman and Niraula, 2016). USDA-ARS research of ECS’s includes pre- and post-installation monitoring which provides a great foundation to build on, however there is “lack of (and need for) data to quantify their (ECS) impacts” (Nichols, et al., 2010). While a limited number of studies quantify the “impacts of check dams on sediment retention, studies specifically quantifying soil moisture impacts have not been conducted.” (Nichols, et al., 2010). Further studies are necessary to monitor the impacts of ECS installations on downstream surface water appropriations and sediment transport. Reclamation research would build on the work of the USGS, USDA-ARS and others and collect hydrologic data to inform policy. The scoping study included networking to establish collaborations with partners and stakeholders, planning meetings, identification of potential research sites, development of a scope of work and preparation and submittal of a proposal to collect pre- and post-installation hydrologic and sediment transport data at ECS research sites.



Warren, Steven D. US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station; [email protected] Passive restoration of biological soil crusts Biological soil crusts result from intimate associations between soil particles and cyanobacteria, algae, lichens and/or bryophytes (mosses) living on and in the surface few millimeters of the soil. They are most common in arid and semi-arid areas. Biological crusts play important roles in primary productivity, nutrient cycling, hydrology, and soil stability. They are easily damaged by fire, off-road vehicles, livestock trampling, and surface mining. Depending on the nature of the disturbance, recovery times can be very lengthy. It may seem logical to attempt to accelerate biological crust recovery by inoculating disturbed sites with crust organisms. However, attempts to date have been largely unsuccessful and prohibitively expensive. The field of aerobiology may provide insight into natural, passive recovery processes. The field of aerobiology was developed for the purpose of identifying airborne algae, cyanobacteria, etc., that induce allergies and other medical issues. Aerobiologists have collected and subsequently identified numerous airborne organisms in the atmosphere. Only a very small percentage of the collected organisms, however, have been linked to medical issues. Yet, a large number of them are significant components of biological soil crusts. There have been few published links between related airborne organisms and biological soil. Nevertheless, such airborne organisms seem to be essential for natural crust establishment and restoration following disturbance. The processes of aerosolization, transport and deposition are natural and widespread. There seem to be logical reasons that artificial restoration attempts have been largely unsuccessful, and why natural, passive mechanisms of ecological provide the answer.

Weber, Cameron1, Melanie Gisler1, Kathryn Kennedy2, Zoe Davidson3 1Institute for Applied Ecology-Southwest; [email protected] 2US Forest Service Southwest Region 3Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico

Covering More Ground: Meeting the challenge of native plant materials development at the scale it demands

The 2016 field season marked the first gains of a new regional-scale native plant material development initiative: The Southwest Seed Partnership. Seed collectors from the conservation nonprofit Institute for Applied Ecology, the New Mexico BLM State Office Seeds of Success program, and the National Parks Service worked as a unit to prioritize species critical for restoration in New Mexico, where locally adapted plant materials are currently unavailable. With nearly 100 collections gathered from across three ecoregions, we are preparing for the next steps, which include determining seed transfer zones and working with growers to increase the seed in production fields and foster a marketplace for the plant genetics that are needed to protect this landscape for the future. I will discuss our process and progress as a collaboration confronting a conservation problem at scale, with lessons and implications for others engaged in habitat restoration and conservation.

Williams, Mandy1, Eric Koster1, Matt Villaneva2, Brian Esposito3, Robby Jay4 1SWCA Environmental Consultants, Las Vegas, NV; [email protected] 2SWCA Environmental Consultants, Reno, NV




3Soil-Tech, Las Vegas, NV 4Soil-Tech, Las Vegas, NV

Suggested practices for dryland restoration planning, implementation, and monitoring in the arid Southwest Successful revegetation of drylands of the southwestern United States relies on effective planning and careful execution and implementation of restoration measures. While harsh conditions and lack of rainfall may impede revegetation success, failure of restoration efforts is often the result of poor communication, unrealistic planning, or lack of coordination between the consultants preparing restoration plans and the contractors implementing restoration efforts. Here we propose several key elements to effectively plan, implement, and monitor restoration throughout the life cycle of a development project, including best practices for 1) agency considerations and coordination, 2) site selection, 3) permitting, 4) mitigation planning, 5) effective restoration methods development, 6) setting realistic restoration success criteria, 7) efficient and defensible monitoring plans, and 8) contractor coordination, communication, and oversight. Our experience as consultants and contractors has shown that effective communication and coordination are critical to the success of restoration efforts. Most importantly, we find that involving both parties in all aspects of the project life cycle will ensure that plans, implementation, and bond release proceed smoothly and efficiently.

Wilson, Natalie R.1, Laura M. Norman1, Carianne Campbell2, Jeff Conn3, Steve Buckley4, Kate Tirion5, and David Seibert6 1US Geological Survey, Western Geographic Science Center, Tucson, AZ; [email protected]

2Sky Island Alliance, Tucson, AZ

3Bureau of Land Management, Safford, AZ

4National Park Service, Southwest Exotic Plant Management Team, Tucson, AZ

5Deep Dirt Farm Institute, LLC, Patagonia, AZ

6Borderlands Restoration, Patagonia, AZ

Vegetation response to watershed restoration in southeastern Arizona

Watershed degradation in arid environments threatens ecological and cultural values by reducing biological diversity and land productivity. Watershed restoration techniques are being implemented by land managers seeking to increase native vegetation and improve habitat. Previous research indicates that vegetation increases and is greener in restored areas and anecdotal evidence suggests that new species colonize restoration sites but the relationship between stream restoration structures (i.e., gabions, trincheras, check dams) and changes species composition and abundance is not yet documented. To evaluate the short-term effect of restoration structures on species composition and abundance within the channel, three project sites in southeastern Arizona were monitored in 2015 either before or shortly after restoration structures were installed. Project sites include: (i.) Wildcat Canyon, a remnant sacaton grassland with an incised xeric mesquite and burrobush channel; (ii.) Vaughn Canyon, a sacaton riparian grassland with remnants of a previous cottonwood-willow gallery woodland/forest; (iii.) Leslie Canyon, a mixed-oak and juniper tree savanna/woodland; and (iv.) Deep Dirt Farm Institute, an incised mixed-oak and juniper tree savanna. Plots were located at a random subset of structures and also in reaches without nearby structures. Plots were stratified by hydrological position, upstream or downstream of structures, and by proximity to structures. Nested quadrats were used to quantify species abundance and species composition was determined by creating species lists for each




site. Data were collected during the 2015 growing season (August – September) and again in 2016 to determine if short changes in vegetation abundance or composition occurred, including the presence of new species such as wetland species or non-natives.

Winkel, Von K. Southern Nevada Water Authority, Las Vegas NV [email protected]

Ecological restoration at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve The Springs Preserve in Las Vegas, Nevada is the site of the original springs that supplied water to

ancient Native Americans, early explorers and the new community of Las Vegas. The water

sustained lush meadows and thickets of mesquites and willows, as well as endemic wildlife species

such as the Las Vegas dace (Rhinichthys deaconi) and the Vegas Valley leopard frog (Lithobates

fisheri). The springs dried up in the 1960s and much of the vegetation that relied on the water from

the springs died. As an active water-production site, the land and vegetation was disturbed with

roads, utility corridors, wells, reservoirs and pumping facilities.

The monumental facility, known as the Las Vegas Springs Preserve opened in 2007. The 181-acre

property was constructed to restore the natural beauty as well as the cultural and historical

significance of this site. Part of the mission of the Springs Preserve is to restore the disturbed lands

on this site to provide habitat for wildlife, recreate the beauty of the landscapes, and provide a

setting to educate the public about the biological diversity of the Mojave Desert. Ecological

restoration on the Springs Preserve was begun in 2000 and is nearly complete. To date, 65 acres

have been restored and much of the functionality of this ecosystem has returned. This presentation

describes the process that has been utilized during the past 16 years to restore this historic

ecosystem.



Workshops Tuesday Workshops:

Cross-Watershed Network (XWN): Peer-to-peer interactive session

Lindsay Murdoch, Cross-Watershed Network Coordinator and AmeriCorps VISTA, [email protected] Deborah Campbell, Deborah Campbell & Associates, LLC and XWN Steering Committee Member; [email protected] The Cross-Watershed Network (XWN) is a cross-boundary initiative in the Southwest that strives to connect watershed practitioners to their peers and innovative management techniques developed in other watersheds. One of the ways XWN enacts this mission is by partnering with other organizations to sponsor interactive sessions as a part of existing conferences and symposia, in order to ensure that attendees are able to contribute their own wisdom to the larger conversation. Participants will delve deeper and expand upon broad topics introduced by other conference presenters, including Bruce Orr, who will give a case study from the Virgin River. XWN will incorporate break-out group discussions with structured discussion questions to involve attendees in either collective problem-solving or general lesson-sharing.

Implementing the National Seed Strategy on a regional scale: Case Study, the Madrean Archipelago

Allegra Mount, Borderlands Restoration L3C, Patagonia, AZ; [email protected] Cameron Weber, Institute for Applied Ecology; [email protected] Borderlands Restoration L3C is a founding member of the Madrean Archipelago Plant Propagation (MAPP) Initiative, a collaboration between BR, Gila Watershed Partnership, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service. In this session, we will investigate the challenges of developing a native plant materials program at an eco-regional level, using the experiences of the MAPP Initiative working in the Madrean Archipelago of the Arizona/Sonora borderlands as a case study. The narrative will explore the strategies that BR and the MAPP Initiative are using to build a supply of native plants and seed at multiple scales, including the expansion of a regional seed center, a network of native plant nurseries, and "boutique"-scale production of native seed. *** ***The presentation is expected to last approximately 20 minutes. Following the presentation, Allegra Mount (Borderlands Restoration) and Cameron Weber (Institute for Applied Ecology) will facilitate a series of discussions about the challenges and opportunities of developing regional native plant programs.





Wednesday Workshop:

Help shape the development of the Regional Open Space Conservation

Strategy for Central Arizona!

Dr. Helen Ivy Rowe, McDowell Sonoran Conservancy Stacie Beute, Central Arizona Conservation Alliance

Central Arizona Conservation Alliance (CAZCA) and its more than fifty partnering organizations are

developing a Regional Open Space Conservation Strategy for Central Arizona. The ultimate goal of

the project is to align, elevate, and scale efforts to conserve, enhance, and restore highly-valued

open spaces that contribute to our local and regional quality of life and economic vitality. The effort

is divided into four goals and associated working groups to tackle protection of habitat connectivity

and blocks, natural resource management, communication, and implementation. We recently

drafted a set of goals, objectives and actions and ask for your expert review of content particularly

germane to SER members and those interested in the National Seed Strategy, Goal 2: “Protected

Areas are managed and restored to conserve native biodiversity while enhancing positive user

experiences and socio-economic benefits.” Draft Goal 2 objectives are: 1) ensure reliable supply of

appropriate native plant material for restoration, 2) provide best practices guidelines for Sonoran

Desert Restoration, 3) identify best practices and enact a strategic plan for invasive non-native

plant management, 4) understand and enhance the user experience and socio-economic benefits

associated with the Sonoran Desert ecosystem, and 5) detect biodiversity change over time in

protected areas in response to climate change, urbanization. This workshop provides an excellent

opportunity to solicit expert opinion, identify additional regional resources and connections, and

synergize efforts with others at this early stage of the conservation strategy development. Please

come and join us!



Poster Presentations Bean, Travis1, Martin M. Karpiscak2, and Steven E. Smith2 1Cooperative Extension, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA; [email protected] 2School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

Ten years of revegetation on abandoned agricultural lands in Arizona: a demonstration project retrospective

We coordinated and implemented the revegetation of over 5000 acres of abandoned agricultural land west of Phoenix, Arizona, over a period of ten years, developing a successful strategy for returning severely disturbed arid landscapes to native plant communities. Revegetation efforts were prompted by agricultural land acquisition for water rights by new natural gas energy generating facilities and mitigation requirements imposed by the Arizona Corporation Commission. Efforts began in 2002 and were completed in 2009, while monitoring continued through 2012, when the majority of the revegetated land began conversion to solar energy generation. Land had lain fallow for 10 to 20 years, and was previously thought to have been occupied by creosote bush and white bursage, desert saltbush, or mesquite xeroriparian plant communities. We found that supplemental irrigation through the first summer was sufficient to establish plants from seed or container stock, and established plants successfully spread to increase cover and density without further intervention. Revegetation attempts on adjacent lands focusing on forming water capturing features with heavy machinery and seeding without supplemental irrigation failed, likely due to low annual precipitation (4 to 6 inches) and naturally slow motion plant population dynamics in the area and in the relatively short time frame of the monitoring period. Ours was a unique study with unusual resource inputs, but the long active implementation and monitoring period may provide useful insights for other attempts in similarly disturbed arid environments.

Bloodworth, Ben Tamarisk Coalition, Grand Junction, CO; [email protected] Annual distribution map of the tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda spp.) in North America

The annual tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda spp.) distribution map as developed from data provided by more than 70 partners across thirteen states and Mexico. This year’s map shows expansion of the population in several areas of Arizona and New Mexico, while populations in several other areas have significantly decreased. The annual distribution map is developed and published by the Tamarisk Coalition.

Campbell, Carianne, Louise Misztal, and Samantha Hammer Sky Island Alliance, Tucson, AZ ; [email protected] Collaborative watershed restoration in the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona

Water resources are becoming increasingly scarce in the arid Sky Island Region of southern Arizona. Severe fires followed by intense monsoon precipitation alter streams, springs and entire watersheds in rapid and sometimes catastrophic ways. Burned areas that receive no rehabilitative treatment experience destructive erosion due to lack of ecosystem recovery. Sky Island Alliance




partnered with the US Forest Service, private land owners, scientists, and other conservation organizations to test whether low-tech structures constructed from onsite materials could increase ecosystem resilience in ephemeral stream channels in a burned and unburned watershed in the Chiricahua Mountains of southern Arizona. Treatments included installation of loose rock erosion control structures in drainages to increase ecosystem resilience to climate change. This novel collaboration involved community members of Douglas, Arizona through a paid youth summer internship and a work crew from the local prison to install over 700 structures over a 2-month period. USGS incorporated the sites into a larger regional framework to measure short and long-term native vegetation response to the structures, which are designed to slow water flow and increase infiltration, and soil moisture monitoring stations were installed to quantify immediate hydrological response. This degree of partner integration was the direct result of the Sky Islands Restoration Cooperative, a loose organization of diverse partners that meet periodically to coordinate restoration priorities for the region and collaborate on on-the-ground conservation responses.

Campbell, Carianne1, Louise Misztal1, Larry Stevens2, and Jeri Ledbetter2 1Sky Island Alliance, Tucson, AZ; [email protected] 2Springs Stewardship Institute, Flagstaff, AZ Developing guidelines for climate-informed springs ecosystem restoration Sky Island Alliance has worked with managers and experts to develop an Arizona Springs Restoration Handbook. The Handbook walks practitioners through considerations and a process for planning and implementing springs restoration, including how to effectively consider and incorporate climate change. Fire effects at springs are of increasing concern in the context of climate change as larger more intense fires burn throughout the state and significantly alter watersheds. Other common threats to springs include: flow diversion, interruption of disturbance regimes, grazing impacts, exotic plant and animal invasions and groundwater extraction and/or contamination. Springs have significant potential to recover and when key stressors are removed, however the science on spring restoration is limited with very few restoration projects published and reviewed for success. To address this knowledge and guidance gap, we convened interactive workshops with practitioners to vet key topics and develop a draft handbook for spring restoration in Arizona. We seek to advance climate-smart spring restoration and provide a consistent approach for springs stewards. Handbook topics include defining desired conditions/goals in the context of climate change, inventorying, assessing and planning, restoration options, management strategies, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating success. The purpose of the handbook is to summarize the established, standardized protocols for springs restoration and management in Arizona. Through the partnership of Sky Island Alliance and the Museum of Northern Arizona’s Springs Stewardship Institute, this handbook is to be used as a guide and catalyst for the advancement of conservation efforts for Arizona’s springs ecosystems.



Campbell, Carianne Sky Island Alliance, Tucson, AZ; [email protected] Removing Invasive Periwinkle (Vinca major) to restore wildlife and pollinator resources in Aravaipa Canyon

Removing Invasive Periwinkle (Vinca major) to Restore Wildlife and Pollinator Resources in Aravaipa Canyon Carianne Campbell (Sky Island Alliance) Perennial riparian resources in southern Arizona are a critically rare resource; wildlife, including pollinators, rely heavily on these riparian corridors to move across the landscape. Aravaipa Creek supports over 10 miles of perennial water, and is protected by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wilderness designation. Sky Island Alliance has been working for years with TNC and The BLM on watershed restoration actions at the headwaters of the creek to encourage groundwater recharge and increased flow. Recently we have turned our attention to the vegetation resources of the canyon, which is choked with invasive periwinkle (Vinca major) that is inhibiting the natural floral diversity, negatively impacting the availability of food resources for pollinators and other wildlife, and usurping water from the native trees in the riparian gallery forest. Sky Island Alliance has deployed its volunteer army to begin the arduous task of removing 40 acres of solid vinca and replacing it with a diverse site-specific palette of plants that will restore ecological balance in the canyon; along the way we have identified useful tools, effective approaches, and have new ideas about how to complete this Herculean task.

Copeland, Stella M.1, John B. Bradford2, Bradley J. Butterfield1, Seth M. Munson2, David S. Pilliod3, Justin L. Welty3 1Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ; [email protected] 2U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ 3U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise ID

Spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation treatments in the Southwest: variability and trends with implications for restoration success Restoration techniques, such as seeding, vegetation manipulation, and invasive species removal, have been applied on public lands in the United States for decades, with varying success and at substantial expense. Relatively little information is available on the extent and characteristics of these management treatments, particularly regarding their effectiveness towards meeting restoration goals such as increased productivity and diversity. Using the Land Treatment Digital Library, we characterized trends in restoration practices with ~3800 treatments on BLM lands across the southwestern U.S. from 1937–2015. The number of species seeded per project have increased over time (deviance = 1390, p < 0.001), with ~6 times the number of species seeded in 2006–2015 (9.6 ± 0.4 SE) than in 1946-1955 (1.5 ± 0.1 SE). Project goals have shifted from an emphasis on forest health and forage production (63 % of projects, 1946–1955) to wildfire, fuels reduction, and wildlife goals (85 %, 2006-2015). Inflation-adjusted costs have roughly tripled between the decades of 1946–1955 and 2006–2015 for the ~46 % of projects with cost data. We found that ~12 % of treatments were implemented in relatively hot and dry years, while ~15 % were implemented in cool and wet years (5 years ± treatment year and following year). These results characterize shifting restoration objectives on BLM lands across large areas of the Southwest US in the last 80 years, and suggest opportunities to improve treatment success by timing increasingly expensive treatments with favorable climate conditions.

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Flynn, Conor1, David Lightfoot 1,2, Cody Stropki1, Chris Garrett1, and Anne Russell1 1SWCA Environmental Consultants, Albuquerque, NM; [email protected]

2Biology Department, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Long-term ecohydrological monitoring of forest restoration effects Forest and watershed monitoring were conducted to determine the effects of standard prescribed forest thinning on soils, hydrology, and vegetation. Monitoring of both pinon-juniper woodland and ponderosa pine forests in New Mexico was conducted using time comparison (before and after treatment) and paired site comparison (control and treatment). Sites were instrumented with weather stations to measure soil moisture, soil and air temperature, and rainfall and a hydrological flume to measure runoff from small (1–8 acre) watersheds. Additionally, plot-wide soil moisture and vegetation cover were monitored by site visits during the growing season. Three years of pre-treatment data were collected before thinning was conducted at the end of 2010. Since then, five complete years of data collection have elucidated the response and evolution of ecohydrology at the paired sites.

Results to date indicate that there has not been much change in soil stability from 2008 to 2015, meaning the forest thinning has not affected soil stability. Also, no differences have been observed between the control and treatment in soil erosion. Overall, it does not appear that the restoration treatments have impaired soil structure and function. Indeed, treated sites now retain more soil moisture throughout the year, especially after storm events and during times of drought. Decreased runoff from treated watersheds may explain some aspects of the observed soil moisture dynamics.

Martinet, Maceo C., John Wright, and Carlos Flores USFWS Partners Program, Albuquerque, NM; [email protected] Querencia Institute, Albuquerque, NM New Mexico Department of Health, Albuquerque, NM Learning by doing—an evolving collaboration using ecological restoration to improve youth education and job skills This poster outlines a youth project called Querencia Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico that involves high school students in ecological restoration work throughout the state. Querencia Institute is an evolving collaboration between environmental and health agencies, local school districts, and community members dedicated to improving the education and learning experiences of our youth. For the past 3-years this collaboration has exposed high school youth from under-represented communities to various hands-on ecological restoration activities, from pollinator plantings to water harvesting, as well as a series of classroom exercises. The Institute hosts a summer program and recently is working on developing a series of student internships during the school year. This poster displays various photos and brief discussions around student work and impact, and outlines ways to improve the curriculum for future projects. There are very few resources and programs for students, especially from under-represented and low income communities, to experience the outdoors, job training skills, and mentoring. We hope this collaboration is a small example of how we can work together to change the scenario.




Rader, Audrey University of Nevada, Las Vegas; [email protected]

Comparing disturbed and undisturbed soils as a basis for developing soil rehabilitation techniques in arid landscapes

This study investigates the impacts of severe disturbances on sensitive soils in an arid landscape to assist in developing soil and ecosystem rehabilitation techniques. To reduce fugitive dust as a human health hazard, protect soils, and enhance wildlife habitat, further work is needed to develop restoration techniques for disturbed desert soils. Disturbance degrades soil integrity, causing soils to be more vulnerable to erosion. Intact soils contain biotic and abiotic physical and chemical structures necessary to bind and to capture soil particles. Soils of our study area lack well developed soil horizons and have a thin soil surface that is sensitive to disturbance. Our study area is located along and adjacent to a transmission corridor between Blythe, Arizona and Indio, California. The installation of the transmission corridor during the 1980s–1990s resulted in significant surface disturbances, including the removal of the top layer of soil and vegetation as well as rendering these areas vulnerable to erosion and further loss of surface materials. Current conditions are characterized by a lack of natural recovery of native perennial vegetation and lower vegetation in disturbed sites in comparison to undisturbed sites. For our study, disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were analyzed via bulk density analysis, soil texture, and pH as a part of a larger restoration research project. The data collected will aid in developing rehabilitation techniques such as soil amendment treatments or adding temporary structural components to support the soil’s ability to resist erosion and provide ecosystem service to vegetation over time.

Sam, Nha Trang Vivian University of Nevada, Las Vegas–Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI), Las Vegas, NV; [email protected]

Improving germination rates for select native perennial seeds of the Sonoran Desert Anthropogenic influences, such as roads and alternative energy construction, have been negatively affecting deserts of the southwestern United States. Disturbed desert lands have contributed to human health hazards, and decreases in resources and habitats for wildlife. One method for restoration includes outplanting nursery-grown perennials. To more effectively propagate seeds in a nursery or laboratory, treatments such as stratification and scarification are applied. However, treatments are species-specific. A literature review was conducted to identify previous treatments used on seeds from the study area of the Colorado Desert subregion of the Sonoran Desert. Seeds of Ambrosia dumosa, Encelia farinosa, and Hilaria rigida are treated with cold stratification, gibberellic acid, or mechanical scarification in an effort to improve germination rates. A. dumosa seeds were not found to be affected by cold stratification for 5, 10, nor 30 days, but opposing previous studies that 30-day cold stratification greatly increased germination. Seeds of E. farinosa had higher germination percentages when 500 ppm of GA was applied to nicked seeds. The grass H. rigida did not show any improvements in germination with GA applications, but fungal infection decreased while germination increased with a 60 second bleach solution wash. Results suggest that effectiveness of seed treatments may also be dependent upon the species’ location, as the treatments did not provide the same results as former experiments. A combination of treatments together could be tested in the future for improved germination rates.





Mount, Allegra1, Ashlee Simpson2,3

1Borderlands Restoration L3C, Patagonia, AZ; 2NPS, 3BLM What to collect? A proposed strategy for wild seed collection Seed collection for restoration can be a puzzle. In a sea of options, how do you choose what to collect and maximize efficiency of time spent planning and in the field? We present criteria for selecting target species, supporting a strategy to build a regional native seed bank and further the objectives of the National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration.

Stropki, Cody1 and Aaron Kauffman2

1SWCA Environmental Consultants, Albuquerque, NM; [email protected] 2Southwest Urban Hydrology, Santa Fe, NM Hillslope and Channel Restoration of Ox Canyon Following the 2007 Ojo Peak Wildfire

Ox Canyon is located in the southern end of the Manzano Mountains in central New Mexico. This drainage is a high elevation drainage (8,000 feet) defined by intermittent flow and numerous springs that provide year-round pools and riparian habitat. In November 2007 the Ojo Peak Fire burned approximately 7,000 acres of ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forest, including the upper watershed of Ox Canyon. This fire left steep, denuded hillslopes prone to severe erosion during high intensity summer thunderstorms. Following the fire the channel in Ox Canyon incised by as much as four feet after large precipitation events. Of particular concern was that the channel erosion might have dropped the water table in critical areas around springs, potentially leading to their desiccation and loss of riparian habitat. In an effort to mitigate hillslope and channel erosion along approximately 1,000 feet of channel over 20 log and boulder structures were installed in the fall of 2013. Native willow whips (Salix sp.) were planted in the early spring of 2014 to stabilize soils around the structures and improve riparian habitat. This poster will show the progress of this restoration since 2013-2014. The project was collaboratively implemented by SWCA Environmental Consultants, Southwest Urban Hydrology, and the Claunch-Pinto Soil and Water Conservation District.

Tucker, Colin L.1, Sasha C. Reed1, Matthew Bowker2 1US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, UT; [email protected]

2Northern Arizona University, School of Forestry, Flagstaff, AZ  Restoration of biological soil crust on the Colorado Plateau in a warming climate

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are soil surface communities of bryophytes, lichen, cyanobacteria, algae and associated heterotrophs, which cover a large fraction of many dryland ecosystems. Biocrusts contribute many ecosystem functions including soil stabilization, water regulation, carbon and nitrogen cycling, and may be important for co-occurring vegetation communities. Yet across drylands globally, and in particular in the southwest US, biocrusts have been severely impacted by anthropogenic disturbances, including livestock grazing and associated trampling, off-road vehicle use, industrial development. Because biocrusts are composed of slow growing organisms, with limited dispersal distances, one perspective has been that degraded biocrust will only recover on long timescales (i.e., decades to centuries), and thus that minimizing disturbance is




the primary method for preserving biocrusts. Yet, because of the scale of biocrust degradation across the southwest US, and the criticality of the ecosystem functions biocrusts provide, increasing interest and effort has been placed on methods of biocrust restoration. In general, restoration practices revolve around protecting an area from repeated disturbance and inoculating the soil surface with target organisms or communities. One potential problem with this approach is that recent climate manipulation experiments (warming and altered precipitation) indicate extreme negative impacts of warming and subtle precipitation shifts on key late-successional elements of biocrust communities. We are proposing to evaluate the use of biocrust communities from warmer regions to promote ecosystem function of a degraded rangeland site on the Colorado Plateau near Moab, UT, specifically considering the response to a warmer climate as an experimental treatment.

Winkle, Von. K Springs Preserve, Las Vegas, NV; [email protected]

Refugia for sensitive fish and frog species in Las Vegas

Ten small habitat ponds have been constructed at the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Springs Preserve is located on land that once boasted several large springs, and a creek that formed a lush oasis in the center of the Las Vegas Valley. The springs and creek dried up in the 1960s. The ponds were constructed to replace the lost wetland habitat, provide refugia for the endangered Pahrump poolfish (Empetrichthys latos) and the relict leopard frog (Lithobates onca), and provide an educational experience for the public. The ponds were constructed in the original Las Vegas Creek channel in 2012-13. The excavated ponds were lined with rubber fabric. Soil was place on top of the liners to protect them from the weather and to support vegetation. The ponds were vegetated with beaked spike rush (Eleocharis rostellata), yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica), alkali sacaton (Sporobolus airoides), saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), and clustered field sedge (Carex praegracilis). Water for the ponds is supplied from a distribution system that pumps waste water from a nearby flood water detention basin. Tests indicate that the water from the basin is of sufficient quality for the fish and frog species. Testing is currently underway to ensure that the ponds (water and vegetation) are ready for the Pahrump poolfish and relict leopard frog when agreements with the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service are completed in the near future.

Warren, Steven D., L. Scott Baggett, and Heather Warren US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station;[email protected]

Directional floral orientation in Joshua Trees

Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) is a visually dominant plant of the Mojave Desert. We documented unique directional orientation of its flower panicles in Joshua Tree National Natural Landmark in southwestern Utah. We first became curious after observing directional orientation of cactus flowers in the hyper-arid Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Because much of the Atacama lies south of the Tropic of Capricorn, the sun is always in the north. The flowers maximize exposure to sunlight by orienting themselves to the north. Although not a cactus, we hypothesized that the Joshua Tree a similar strategy. Because the Mojave Desert lies north of the Tropic of Cancer, we hypothesized that Joshua Tree flower panicles might orient themselves to the south. We measured the orientation of all flower panicles on 50 random plants. The flower panicles grew primarily at the tips of branches that were oriented to the south. When branches with flower panicles were not oriented in a southerly direction, the flower panicles themselves tended to bend or tilt toward the south. This strategy maximized exposure to solar radiation. The strategy minimizes energetic



costs of translocating photosynthates from the leaf rosettes to the flowers. Residual warmth in the flower panicles also provides a thermal reward for moth pollinators that emerges shortly after sunset. In the context of ecological restoration, when transplanting Joshua Trees, one should ensure that the side of the plant that faced south in its natural setting, is also oriented to the south in its new setting.

Weber, Cameron Institute for Applied Ecology, [email protected] Changing hands: How to address knowledge transfer and gaps in management history?

We need to know something about the land management history of a place to make effective restoration decisions, but we often find the only indications of past actions are the ones the land itself reveals — sometimes unexpectedly. Restoration efforts can be blindsided by the past. A few examples: past seeding results in collecting cultivar genetics with locally-adapted seed; historical herbicide use determines the success of new plantings; research design for monitoring program spoiled by unrecorded vegetation treatments; stakeholders’ trust broken for a generation. What can managers do to ensure their most relevant knowledge is transferred to the next generation? How can the next generation address holes in the record? This poster invites the identification of simple, manageable strategies for addressing these challenges. The poster will operate as an active, facilitated discussion among conference attendees over the course of the three days, with supportive tools and reference materials provided.




SER Southwest Chapter

The SER Southwest (SW) Chapter was formed in 2011 to facilitate communication and encourage

coordination among land managers, researchers, and restorationists working in the southwestern

United States, where minimal and variable precipitation presents unique challenges for the

restoration of degraded ecosystems. The SW Chapter’s mission is to foster a network of resource

specialists with interest and expertise in restoring desert and other arid ecosystems and to

promote the exchange of knowledge, awareness, and collaborative opportunities as a means of

sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and reestablishing an ecologically healthy relationship

between nature and culture.

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