Arizona Game and Fish Department plans to restore approximately 670 acres of wetlands, gallery forest, and enhance emergent wetlands within the Lower San Pedro River Wildlife Area (LSPRWA) located approximately 50 miles north of Tucson, Arizona. The goal is to assist in countering wetland and riparian habitat loss throughout the State, and create and enhance additional critical habitat for federally-threatened and federally-endangered avian species.
We conducted a feasibility study to prioritize restoration areas and develop site-specific habitat restoration plans. Components of the feasibility study included a background data review; a baseline assessment of soil, groundwater and vegetation characteristics in the riparian corridor; two-dimensional hydraulic modeling, and development of a surface water-groundwater model. These tools were used to prescribe restoration activities (e.g. conservation, selective invasive tree removal, large-scale invasive species removal followed by re-vegetation), prioritize restoration areas, and provide planting palette recommendations based on site conditions (soil texture, soil salinity, depth to groundwater, inundation frequency, and long-term groundwater resilience). Leaf on LiDAR data was paired with the field vegetation characterization to produce vegetation maps of the study area and develop a site-specific habitat suitability model for the southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) and yellow billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus). The surface water-groundwater model was used to evaluate long-term groundwater supply adequacy critical for riparian habitat. It included scenarios that examined the impact of climate change and reduced pumping of select wells. Several tools, including model input requirements, will be presented, which habitat restoration practitioners could use at other large-scale restoration projects to help determine restoration feasibility, prescriptions, and prioritization.