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
Integrated Pest Management Plan: Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge

An Integrated Pest Management Plan for the Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge. This plan outlines the biological degradation of native riparian forest habitat along the Lower Colorado River and the invasive species management actions needed to protect and restore riparian forests and marshlands of the Bill Williams River. 

DeRango, B., 2023. Integrated Pest Management Plan Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge.

Riparian vegetation response amid variable climate conditions across the Upper Gila River watershed: informing Tribal restoration priorities

A look into the response of riparian vegetation in the Upper Gila River Watershed to climate change and its implications for restoration work. Researchers used remote sensing to develop maps to identify areas at increased risk of degradation and analyze changes in riparian vegetation using climate as a framework. They found that despite intensifying drought throughout the watershed, vegetation greenness has increased. However, there has been increased stress and rates of wildfire and other disturbances in the lower watershed within the past 5 years.

WHITE RIVER HABITAT IMPROVEMENT PHASE 7 (PROJECT ID: 5717) 2022 Vegetation Treatment Monitoring

This report, contracted by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) describes a vegetation-monitoring trip that was conducted on May 9-12, 2022, by John Leary (RiversEdge West) and Wally Macfarlane (Utah State University) from Bonanza Bridge to Asphalt Wash and a subsequent vegetation data analysis. The vegetation-monitoring trip and analysis evaluated the effectiveness of prior non-native vegetation removal efforts and established the baseline condition for planned upcoming treatments.

Vegetation response to invasive Tamarix control in southwestern U.S. rivers: a collaborative study including 416 sites

Vegetation response to invasive Tamarix control in southwestern U.S. rivers: a collaborative study including 416 sites

Gonzalez et al. 2017

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

Gonzalez et al. 2018

Successful information exchange between restoration science and practice

Clark et al. 2019

New Findings on the Climate Sensitivity of the Water Balance of the Upper Colorado River Basin; Chris Milly
    New Findings on the Climate Sensitivity of the Water Balance of the Upper Colorado River Basin  
2019 DRRP Annual Report

2019 Dolores River Restoration Partnership Annual Report 

Riparian research and management: Past, present, future: Volume 1
  Author(s): R. Roy Johnson; Steven W. Carothers; Deborah M. Finch; Kenneth J. Kingsley; John T. Stanley   Fifty years ago, riparian habitats were not recognized for their extensive and critical contributions to wildlife and the ecosystem function of watersheds. This changed as riparian values were identified and documented, and the science of riparian ecology developed steadily. Papers in this volume range from the more mesic northwestern United States to the arid Southwest and Mexico.
Riparian research and management: Past, present, future: Volume 2
Author(s): Steven W. Carothers; R. Roy Johnson; Deborah M. Finch; Kenneth J. Kingsley; Robert H. Hamre   In the Preface to volume 1, we discuss the development of riparian ecology as one of the newest of ecological fields that gained significant momentum in the 1950s and 1960s as part of the general “riparian movement” in the United States. The field expanded rapidly throughout the latter half of the 1900s. Volume 2 involves more than two dozen authors - most with decades of experience - who expand upon riparian and other topics introduced in volume 1.