Think Like a Watershed, Act like a River: The Culture of Community Based River Restoration in the AZ-Mexico Binational Watersheds
Joaquin Murrieta-Sladivar1
1Cultural Ecologist, Watershed Management Group. Tucson, AZ; jmurrieta@watershedmg.org
After around 150 years of Powell’s watershed map, we are getting there….. Think like watershed with interdependence and connectivity of the uplands-middle lands and lowlands and act like a river being the connector of these interactions from the top to the bottom and vice versa. In this presentation, we are going to explore some lessons learned of three bi-national watersheds shared between Mexico and the USA. With the Kwapa Community in the Colorado River Delta, we developed community mapping strategies to elevate the role of the Kwapa in river restoration-cultural knowledge, management, and policy, thanks to this process the Kwapa continue to be an important presence in restoration initiative of the Colorado River Delta. By finding common ground with the ranching community of the Santa Cruz and San Pedro Rivers we are expanding best management practices for river restoration and range management with community benefits as well as binational watershed health. In Tucson, AZ within the Santa Cruz River basin with Watershed Management Group team, we are developing and implementing a 50-year vision for the restoration of the urban Santa Cruz with a multiple collaboration of a variety of stakeholders. These three cases provide insights into the importance of community-based river restoration for rural and urban environments.