Conservation and Management Strategies for Eight Miles of the San Pedro River, Arizona
Joseph Platt1
1Platt Environmental, LLC, St. George, UT, USA; PlattEnvironmental@gmail.com
I will present on nine years of research and management efforts on 3,000 acres of privately held land along the San Pedro River. This is the last major undammed river in the American Southwest and exhibits a remarkably intact riparian system including extensive stands of Fremont cottonwood/ Goodding's willow gallery forest and large mesquite bosques. This presentation covers nine years of a biological assessment and management of this riparian community. The area’s vertebrate and botanical resources have been inventoried by Arizona Game and Fish Department, Tucson Audubon Society, Arizona State University and various environmental consulting companies. Over 100 species of breeding birds and another approximately 250 species of migrant and wintering birds occur in the area. Southwestern Willow Flycatchers have increased over the years to a high of 72 territories. Their use of habitats will be presented. Among the nearly 100 avian species recorded on site are Species of Concern such as yellow-billed cuckoo, grey hawk black hawks, zone-tailed hawks, and tropical kingbirds. Aquatic surveys recorded native fish and amphibians populations. An isolated population of beaver was also found. Results of these inventories will be presented.
A proactive management plan identified environmental stressors and corrective measures were put in place. Its successes and setbacks will be discussed along with lessons learned from working with a private landowner.