Tucson Audubon Society www.tucsonaudubon.org
Habitat restoration projects have largely focused on degraded riparian
habitat, or new riparian habitat that is developing along effluent-dominated
waterways. A focus on the lower Santa Cruz.
Habitat restoration projects and how you can volunteer contact Kendall
Kroesen, Manager of Habitat Restoration Projects, (520) 206-9900,
kkroesen@tucsonaudubon.org.
Offer Birding classes, the Riparian Family Institute and the Institute for
Desert Ecology. For more information on environmental education at Tucson
Audubon, contact Carrie Dean, (520) 622-2230, cdean@tucsonaudubon.org.
Arizona Hydrological Society www.azhydrosoc.org
AHS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing hydrology and
water resource research, planning, and development. Also support public
understanding, education, and training in the science and technology of hydrology
and water resources. Promoting the responsible use, management, and
preservation of water resources in the arid southwest.
Contact: Jeanie Merideth, Association Manager: <azhydro@comcast.net>
The Nature Conservancy http://www.nature.org
To preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the
diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters needed for their
survival. Through (1) conservation planning to identify the native systems and
places needed to maintain the region’s biological diversity; (2) monitoring and
research to understand how our ecological systems operate and to promote
science-based adaptive management; and (3) development of scientific
assessments to better understand land management needs.
Involvement in the Sustainable Rivers Project, with the Army Corps of
Engineers, one site involves the Bill Williams River in western Arizona.
Contact numbers for various cities in Arizona:
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/arizona/contact/
US Army Corps of Engineers http://www.usace.army.mil/
The Environmental program has four functions: compliance, restoration,
prevention and conservation. The Corps also regulates all work in wetlands and
waters of the United States. The Corps monitors water quality at its dams. The
Corps operates the Ecosystem Management & Restoration Research Program to
address the need for ecosystem assessment, restoration, and management
activities at the project level. Contact: Richard Glenn Rhett, Assistant Director:
<rhettr@wes.army.mil>. The Wetlands Research and Technology Center (WRTC)
emphasizes the interrelationships of biological, physical, and chemical
environments.
Arizona Game and Fish www.azfgd.gov
The Arizona Game and Fish Department's Heritage Data Management
System (HDMS) and Project Evaluation Program (PEP) work together to provide
current, reliable, objective information on Arizona's plant and wildlife species
location and status to aid in the environmental decision making process.
Offer Educational programs to teachers, Focus: WILD Arizona: complete
lesson plans, books, posters, workshops and much more
Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan www.pima.gov/cmo/sdcp/
Committed to the long-term survival of the full spectrum of
indigenous plants and animals and the conservation of its cultural resources.
Proposes that natural riparian systems be preserved, restored, and managed.
Plans to not only protect wildlife and plants, but will also maintain recreational
trails, promote groundwater recharge, protect water quality, and attenuate
flooding.
Have a section for kids with puzzles and quizzes.
Arizona Riparian Council http://azriparian.asu.edu/
The purpose of the Council is to provide for the exchange of information on
the status, protection, and management of riparian systems in Arizona. Provides
an educational link to fact sheets of riparian areas and water.
Natural Resources Conservation Service - Arizona
http://www.az.nrcs.usda.gov/
District activities include watershed management, enhancement and
restoration of riparian areas and integrated land use planning to improve water
and air quality. Districts promote and provide for voluntary compliance of
environmental laws by encouraging “best management practices.”
Call Doug Witte (602.542.2699) to obtain information on the NRCD
education center in your community.
Arizona Open Land Trust www.aolt.org/
The Arizona Open Land Trust protects Southern Arizona's vanishing
western landscapes and wildlife habitat by acquiring and managing sensitive
lands. Operating both the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan and the Southern
Arizona Habitat Conservation Priorities
Working on restoring the West Branch of the Santa Cruz River. Current
Projects include Six Bar Ranch, Avra Valley, Agua Verde, Altar Wash riparian
areas.
Contact: Liz Petterson, Project Manager <lpetterson@aolt.org>
Environmental Protection Agency www.epa.gov/ow/
Ensure drinking water is safe. Restore and maintain oceans, watersheds,
and their aquatic ecosystems to protect human health, support economic and
recreational activities, and provide healthy habitat for fish, plants, and wildlife.
Ecosystem Scale Protection (Estuaries and Wetlands).
The EPA has set up a network of volunteer monitors nationwide, offer
method manuals online. Volunteers most commonly monitor: water
temperature/flow/quality, turbidity, habitat and land use.
A National Directory of Volunteer Monitoring Programs can be found at:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/water/volmon.nsf/Home?readform
Bureau of Land Management – Arizona www.blm.gov/az/
The BLM is responsible for managing the nation's public lands and
resources including renewable and nonrenewable resources, watershed, fish and
wildlife, wilderness and natural, scenic, scientific and cultural values. There are
three National Conservation Areas in Arizona: Gila Box Riparian, San Pedro
Riparian and Las Cienegas.
The Sonoran Institute www.sonoran.org
The Sonoran Institute’s mission is to inspire and enable community
decisions and public policies that respect the land and people of western North
America. Through civil dialogue, collaboration, and applied knowledge, we work
toward a shared community vision of lasting conservation and prosperity.
Current projects include: Adaptive Management, the Cienega Creek
Watershed, the Colorado River Delta, invasive plant management, the Santa Cruz
River, and Conservation and Native Peoples/tourism/ranching
Joaquin Murrieta: Director, People, Culture & Conservation,
joaquin@sonoran.org
Center for Biological Diversity www.sw-center.org/swcbd
Operates the Wild and Scenic Rivers Program: to restore and protect rivers
across the country by keeping them safe from dams, water diversions, logging
damage and other forms of harm; and the Western Trout Campaign: protecting all
endangered trout species across the West.
Current involvement with the San Pedro River, Colorado River, Fossil
Creek and the Save the Verde Campaign.
General contact: center@biologicaldiversity.org, with an office in Phoenix,
Az.
Bureau of Reclamation www.usbr.gov
Helps to develop water management plans, underwrites the development of
classroom materials and teacher training programs, demonstrates new
technologies for efficient water management, and offers matching funds to help
agencies implement water conservation measures.