2022 Southwestern Willow Flycatcher

An ArcGIS Online (AGOL) page containing historical and predictive maps developed by James Hatten of the USGS for the southwestern willow flycatcher habitat across the southwestern United States. The model predicts the probabilities for suitable habitat for SWFL and can be used to guide restoration efforts. 

Use the Habitat Viewer here: https://usgs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=b362c94bd7…

 

Featured
Colorado Parks & Wildlife - Wildlife Species Profiles & Habitat Scorecards

The purpose of these profiles is to provide landowners and land managers with easy-to-use guidelines for understanding habitat needs of priority wetland-dependent wildlife. 

Please note that these profiles are limited to birds found in Mesa & Delta Counties.

Featured
Tamarisk biocontrol alters bird community composition in the absence of cottonwood and willow vegetation
Invasive species disturb ecosystems and threaten biodiversity. Invasive species management, such as biological control, can cause additional disturbances, so quantifying how native species respond to invasive control is important to inform best management practices.   Mahoney et al. quantified southwestern bird communities in sites that varied in the amount of the non-native plant tamarisk (Tamarix spp.), before and after biological control efforts.
Featured
Lessons Learned for Successful Watershed Partnerships in the Colorado River Basin

What are the key ingredients of successful collaborative partnerships? What worked well and what did not? If we had to do it all over again, what would we do differently? This document, based on interviews with stakeholders from 11 watershed partnerships in the Colorado River Basin, discusses the successes and challenges encountered from initial partnership formation to maintaining momentum over the years. It informs how RiversEdge West and other partners can continue contributing to the long-term success and viability of watershed partnerships.

Featured
Renewing Our Rivers: Stream Corridor Restoration in Dryland Regions
Our rivers are in crisis and the need for river restoration has never been more urgent. Water security and biodiversity indices for all of the world’s major rivers have declined due to pollution, diversions, impoundments, fragmented flows, introduced and invasive species, and many other abuses.   Developing successful restoration responses are essential. Renewing Our Rivers addresses this need head-on with examples of how to design and implement stream-corridor restoration projects.
Featured
Field Guide for Managing Kochia

Plant guide from the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service on managing Kochia. 

Casey, P.A. 2009. Plant guide for kochia (Kochia scoparia). USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Kansas Plant Materials Center. Manhattan, KS.

Featured
Low-Water Native Plants for Colorado Gardens - Western Slope: Below 7,000'

Many people have an interest in landscaping with native plants. The purpose of this booklet is to help people make the most successful choices, based on their location in Colorado. 

Featured
Bringing Birds Home

Bringing Birds Home is a manual that describes how to proactively improve riparian habitat for bird species in Mesa County, Colorado.  

This guide was made possible by a grant from the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and was produced by RiversEdge West, with help from the Grand Valley Audubon Society, Tucson Audubon Society, and Audubon Arizona.

 
Featured
How to Tell the Difference Between Russian Olive and Silverleaf Buffaloberry

This 1-page handout describes the differences between invasive Russian olive and native silverleaf buffaloberry. Photos of distinctive characteristics are provided. 

Featured
Waterjet Stinger
This document describes how to use a stinger, a tool to plant dormant unrooted cuttings of willows, cottonwoods, dogwoods, and other species.
Featured
Riparian Restoration Cost Calculator

This resource developed by RiversEdge West (formerly Tamarisk Coalition) allows users to estimate tamarisk and Russian olive removal and restoration costs based on existing site parameters. 

Featured
Suggested Methodologies for Cottonwood Pole, Willow Whip, and Longstem Plantings

This guide describes techniques for harvesting, storing, and planting various types of plant materials, including dormant cottonwood pole cuttings, willow whip cuttings, and longstem products. This guide was prepared by RiversEdge West (formerly Tamarisk Coalition), based on input provided by Los Lunas Plant Materials Center.  

Featured
Desert Flows Database

The Desert Flows Database is a compilation of over 400 peer-reviewed articles, reports, and book chapters from across the watersheds that touch the Sonoran, Chihuahua, and Mojave Deserts. Funding for this project was provided by the Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC).

Practical Grazing Management to Maintain or Restore Riparian Functions and Values on Rangelands
Abstract:   Successful rangeland management maintains or restores the ability of riparian plant communities to capture sediment and stabilize streambanks. Management actions are most effective when they are focused on the vegetated streambank closest to the active channel, the greenline, where vegetation most influences erosion, deposition, landform, and water quality.
How Could California Benefit from the Newly Enacted “National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration”?

This paper describes way that the state of California could benefit from enacting goals in the National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration. 

Virgin River Arundo Eradication Environmental Assessment
The proposed action includes the removal (hand cutting and herbicide treatment) of existing and potential arundo (Arundo donax) plants at 11sites (915 acres) located along the Virgin River in Washington County, Utah. The proposal also includes the removal (hand cutting and herbicide treatment) of existing Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) and tamarisk (Tamarisk Species) trees at three sites (170 acres) near Rockville, Utah and Washington, Utah.
Virgin River Arundo donax Eradication Project 2015 Final Report

This report details American Conservation Experience's efforts to treat Arundo donax along 39 miles of the Virgin River. 

Arundo donax in the Virgin River Watershed
This document describes steps that can be taken to control Arundo donax (also known as giant reed, giant cane, and arundo) in the Virgin River Watershed and Washington County, Utah.  
Association of State Wetland Managers - Hot Topics Webinars

The Association of Wetland Managers (ASWM) works hard to stay abreast of time sensitive hot topics, including new policies, regulations and trending topics of interest to those involved and/or interested in wetland management and practice.

Establishing a Weed Prevention Area: A Step-by-Step User’s Guide
The intent of this user’s guide is to provide groups interested in setting up a viable prevention program in their area with the steps and resources to initiate and develop a weed prevention area (WPA).
Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) Software
Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) is a software program, developed by The Nature Conservancy, that provides useful information for those trying to understand the hydrologic impacts of human activities or trying to develop environmental flow recommendations for water managers.
TechLine Invasive Plant News

TechLine is a suite of print and online resources that provide invasive plant professionals access to new, innovative, and proven science-based information. The purpose of TechLine is to support invasive plant management programs by connecting researchers with managers of federal, state, county, and private lands so they may share the successes of their programs, techniques, and methods and learn from one another. 

America’s Public Lands: Origin, History, Future
This publication has been prepared by the Public Lands Foundation to define and clarify the status of federal public lands in America and to answer questions people pose on a daily basis, such as:   How did the United States acquire the public lands owned collectively by the American people? How did the United States transfer most of the original public lands to state, private and other ownerships? How did the Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the Department of the Interior, become responsible for administering its remaining 245 mi
American Rivers - River Restoration Resource Center

American Rivers has created a series of resources designed to empower federal and state agency staff, engineering design firms and other consultants, and nonprofit organizations (collectively, river restoration practitioners) with the tools, skills, and understanding necessary to restore damaged rivers. Explore our series of videos, fact sheets, and reports to learn more about removing dams, replacing culverts, and restoring floodplains.

Tamarisk Best Management Practices in Colorado Watersheds - Scott Nissen, Andrew Norton, Anna Sher, and Dan Bean
This guide by Drs. Scott Nissen, Andrew Norton, Anna Sher, and Dan Bean offers key options and considerations for tamarisk treatment, including biocontrol, targeted guidance on how to develop management plans, implement various control strategies, and plan restoration for treated sites. Useful resource as an accompaniment to Sher et al. 2010.    Nissen et al. 2010.   
Why are my Trees Brown? Tamarisk and the Tamarisk Beetle

Tamarisk Coalition produced a pamphlet that provides information on tamarisk and the tamarsik beetle, the biological control that was introduced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help manage the plant.

Field Guide for Managing Tree-of-Heaven in the Southwest

Tree-of-heaven is an invasive tree in southwestern states that has been listed as a noxious weed in New Mexico. This field guide serves as the U.S. Forest Service’s recommendations for management of tree-of-heaven in forests, woodlands, and riparian areas associated with its Southwestern Region.

Field Guide for Managing Siberian Elm in the Southwest
Siberian elm is common to southwestern states and is listed as a noxious tree in New Mexico. This field guide serves as the U.S. Forest Service’s recommendations for management of Siberian elm in forests, woodlands, and rangelands associated with its Southwestern Region. 
Weed Management Preferences
This resource provides guidelines on treating woody invaives and secondary weeds with the recommended timing and type of herbicide.   Developed by Fremont County Weed Management for Fremont, Custer, & Surrounding Counties April 2015   Please see Fremont County Weed Control’s booklet, “Guideline for Weed Management Plans” for more details such as herbicide rates and specifics about weed control methods.
Protecting Wildlife When Using Herbicides for Invasive Plant Management
Protecting Wildlife When Using Herbicides for Invasive Plant Management

Produced by the California Invasive Plant Council & Pesticide Research Institute

Forestry Best Management Practices to Protect Water Quality in Colorado – 2010
This publication is dedicated to the stewardship of forest land resources – especially clean water. It outlines Best Management Practices (BMPs) for the protection of natural resources. These BMPs apply to all forest management activities, including product harvests, fuels mitigation projects and forest health treatments.
Slash From the Past: Rehabilitating Pile Burn Scars
Working with managers, Rocky Moutain Research Station researchers have evaluated the available treatments for short-term rehabilitation of both smaller, hand-built and larger, machine-built burn piles. For the smaller piles, they found that both soil nitrogen and plant cover recovered to a level similar to that of the surrounding forest within two years, indicating that these scars may not need rehabilitation unless in a sensitive area.