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…

 

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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.

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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.
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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.

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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.
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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.

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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. 

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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.

 
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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. 

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

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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.  

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Statewide Strategies to Improve Effectiveness in Protecting and Restoring Colorado's Wetland Resource

The four primary objectives of this project were to: (1) compile existing geospatial data regarding the location and type of wetlands in Colorado; (2) initiate an on-the-ground pilot project to assess the ecological condition of common wetland types in one hydrologic basin (Rio Grande Headwaters, HUC 6: 130100); (3) develop statewide strategies for setting wetland restoration priorities funded by CPW’s Wetlands Program; and (4) develop an interactive online mapping tool to transfer this information to local and statewide partners in wetlands conservation.

Living Streambanks - A Manual of Bioengineering Treatments for Colorado Streams
Bioengineering practices provide resiliency for streambanks, enhance wildlife habitat, enhance organic matter inputs to streams, improve water quality, increase floodplain roughness, and heighten landscape aesthetics so important to countless residents, visitors, and businesses.
Conservation Gateway - Stewardship Calculator & Handbook

These resources, including a long-term management calculator, handbook, and factsheet are designed to help practitioners calculate how to budget for lasting conservation outcomes for restoration sites. 

Noxious Weed Program Risk Assessments

This USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website provides info on weed risk assessments completed to date. They are provided for interested stakeholders and may be useful in setting local policies or for informing resource managers. 

Sonoran Institute Resources

This website provides a suite of resources produced by the Sonoran Institute, an Arizona based nonprofit focused on connecting people and communities with the natural resources that nourish and sustain them. 

Roadmap for Considering Water for Arizona's Natural Areas

The Roadmap for Considering Water for Arizona’s Natural Areas contains information on the current scientific understanding of water for natural areas and existing legal considerations for providing water to natural areas, examples of where natural areas are already included in water management decisions, and an overview of available paths forward for including natural areas alongside human uses.

The State of Colorado's Diversity
This biodiversity scorecard provides a snapshot of the current conservation status of Colorado's rare and imperiled species, and its most widespread ecological systems. The Colorado Natural Heritage Program took a systematic and repeatable approach to these assessments, focusing on: quality, quantity, threats, and level of current protection. Resulting scores for these factors were then combined to produce an overall conservation status score.
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Colorado Bureau of Land Management
This document presents a statewide assessment on the potential future influences of a changing climate on species and ecosystems of particular importance to the Bureau of Land Management within Colorado, with the goal of facilitating development of the best possible climate change adaptations to meet future conditions.    https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5a0b0ccee4b09af898cb6e64
Great Basin Landscape Scale Cooperative Webinar Series

The Great Basin LCC annual webinar series provides an opportunity for land managers and scientists working in the Great Basin to discuss their latest research and how to incorporate the research into on-the-ground efforts. Each webinar includes a 30 minute overview of a project co-presented by a scientist and manager, followed by a discussion focused on how the work can be applied and possible collaborations.

NRCS Conservation Practice Standard - Wetland Restoration

This NRCS document  describes techniques related to the rehabilitation of a degraded wetland or the reestablishment of a wetland so that soils, hydrology, vegetative community, and habitat are a close approximation of the original natural condition that existed prior to modification to the extent practicable.