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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Invasive Tree Cover Covaries with Environmental Factors to Explain the Functional Composition of Riparian Plant Communities

This study employs functional diversity metrics and guilds—suites of species with similar traits—to assess the influence of an invasive tree (Tamarix spp.) on riparian plant communities in the southwestern United States. Nine distinct guilds were identified with a gradient of functional diversity related to both tamarisk cover and environmental conditions. The identified guilds can be correlated to specific site conditions and can be used to anticipate plant community response to restoration efforts and in selecting appropriate species for revegetation.

​​​​​​​Plastic Responses to Hot Temperatures Homogenize Riparian Leaf Litter, Speed Decomposition, and Reduce Detritivores

A common garden study of six distinct Fremont cottonwood populations across an elevation gradient and covering a range of genetic variation to determine responses to different heat conditions. The common gardens had mean annual temperatures of 11, 17, and 23°C and all received regular watering throughout the growing season.

Rethinking Avian Response to Tamarix on the Lower Colorado River: A Threshold Hypothesis

Riverine ecosystems are known to provide important habitat for avian communities, but information on responses of birds to differing levels of Tamarix is not known. Past research on birds along the Colorado River has shown that avian abundance in general is greater in native than in non-native habitat.

Native Plants Database to Attract Migrating Birds

Enter your 5-digit zip code to use Audubon’s native plants database and explore the best plants for birds in your area. 

Revegetation Summary

This document is designed to serve as a Scope of Work for contractors or staff completing revegetation (planting and/or seeding) projects, as well as a documentation of work completed on a single page. It is a fillable pdf but can also be downloaded blank to fill out in the field, or adapted to individual project needs.

Regeneration of Salicaceae riparian forests in the Northern Hemisphere: A new framework and management tool

Gonzalez et al. 2018

Identification of Common Willows in Colorado
Evaluating Sod Mats as an Alternative to Plugs in Wetland Revegetation; Susan Sherrod
      Evaluating Sod Mats as an Alternative to Plugs in Wetland Revegetation   Susan Sherrod1*   1Biohabitats, Denver, CO, USA; ssherrod@biohabitats.com   The City of Fort Collins (CO) Natural Areas Department used custom-grown wetland sod mats largely in place of herbaceous plugs to revegetate a newly constructed wet
A prescription for drug-free rivers: uptake of pharmaceuticals by a widespread streamside willow; Carmen Franks, David Pearce, Stewart Rood

 

A prescription for drug-free rivers: uptake of pharmaceuticals by a widespread streamside willow

Carmen Franks, David Pearce, Stewart Rood

 

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Dryland Restoration Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for Restoring Native Habitats in the Southwest

This manual details the very basics of restoration planning, techniques like planting, seeding, and preparing soil, and will also cover topics such as basic trail maintenance techniques that can be used in conjunction with common restoration ideas, as well as mechanized restoration, and more.  This manual, originally developed at Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA), applies to a broad range of environments. The techniques discussed were used in elevations ranging from 1500 to 9000 feet.