It has been really amazing exploring the Southwest! This was my first trip to the Grand Canyon and I am so glad that we backpacked in. We left early in the morning down South Kolb Trail. It was cold and snowy, which was a surprise for me. We stayed down in Bright Angel Campground for two nights so that we could have one whole day to explore. On the free day everyone else went hiking to see waterfalls, I stayed back bay the river to slowly walk and check out birds. We hiked out the next day up Bright Angel Trail. It was an amazing weekend with fun people. We saw squirrels and deer and some of the bird highlights were American dipper that were really easy to see along the creek, many bluebirds at Indian Gardens, and black phoebe along the river bend.
Wetland restoration in Amado, AZ with Sky Island Alliance.
A pond in Sonoran grassland which served as important habitat for Gila topminnow (Poeciliopsis occidentalis) as well as many birds, butterflies and dragonflies, sprung a serious leak and was requiring regular massive amount of water additions to maintain even a very low water level. Thanks to funding available from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the partnerships between Sky Island Alliance (http://www.skyislandalliance.org) and Borderlands Restoration in Patagonia (http://borderlandsrestoration.org/) the wetland was able to be restored and even improved upon. The pond was restored (dug out, shaped for fish habitat, and lined with commercial liners and dirt) and we were able to plant native pollinator plants on the hillside. Sky Island Alliance staff and volunteers along with the ranch owners and neighbors worked preparing the hole after the excavator dug it out, planting pollinator friendly plants and ultimately pulling the liner across the wetlands and filling dirt back over it. I was busy with the planting but had time to watch the harrier hawk Circus cyaneus, overhead as well as the checkered garter snake, Thamnophis marcianus, and numerous bullfrogs, Lithobates catesbeianus. We planted locally sourced, greenhouse raised native milkweed and Thurber’s desert honeysuckle: Asclepias asperula, A. angustifolia, Funastrum cynanchoides, and Anisacanthus thurberi (from Borderlands restoration). It was satisfying to be part of a project with such instant gratification. That said, I am excited to go back in the spring to see the pond settled and the plants growing on the hillside, and hopefully birds, butterflies and dragonflies using their new resources. |
Julia A. RoweI am an ecologist interested in an interdisciplinary approach to conservation and natural resource problem solving. Archives
February 2020
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