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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Pest Risk Analysis of Tamarisk Leaf Beetles, Diorhabda spp., with an Evaluation of its Potential to Spread into Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, Empidonax traillii extimus, Critical Habitats and Evaluation of Control Options

This document is an update to the previous risk analysis that was produced on August 9, 2017, to help inform decision makers of the spread potential of Diorhabda beetles and the potential control options available within the authority of APHIS to limit impacts to the SWFL and designated critical habitat. APHIS updated the analysis in response to a remedial order from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada on June 19, 2018.

 

Wide-area estimates of saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) evapotranspiration on the lower Colorado River measured by heat balance and remote sensing methods

Nagler et al. test the assumption that removing saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) will save water and create environments more favourable to these native species. They compared sap flux measurements of water used by native species in contrast to saltcedar, and compared soil salinity, ground water depth and soil moisture across a gradient of 200–1500 m from the river's edge on a floodplain terrace at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge (CNWR).

Phreatophytes Under Stress: Transpiration and Stomatal Conductance of Saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) in a High-Salinity Environment

Glenn et al. measure transpiration and stomatal conductance to investigate the environmental constraints on an arid-zone riparian phreatophtye, saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima and related species and hybrids), growing over a brackish aquifer along the Colorado River in the western U.S. Depth to groundwater, meteorological factors, salinity and soil hydraulic properties were compared at stress and non-stressed sites that differed in salinity of the aquifer, soil properties and water use characteristics, to identify the factors depressing water use at the stress site.

Adaptive versus non-adaptive responses to drought in a non-native riparian tree / shrub, Tamarix spp

Bush et al. use a common garden experiment to study drought sensitivity in non-native tamarisk. They found some populations are more sensitive to soil water deficits than others and that freeze-thaw exposure reduces drought sensitivity. 

Bush, S.E., Guo, J.S., Dehn, D., Grady, K.C., Hull, J.B., Johnson, E., Koepke, D.F., Long, R.W., Potts, D.L. and Hultine, K.R., 2021. Adaptive versus non-adaptive responses to drought in a non-native riparian tree/shrub, Tamarix spp. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 301, p.108342.

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

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.
Complexity and Constraints of Tamarisk Treatment in the Mojave River Watershed

This PowerPoint, prepared by Dr. Ken Lair, Chuck Bell, and Jackie Lindgren describes challenges related to tamarisk control and riparian restoration in the Mojave River Watershed.

Tamarisk Best Management Practices in Colorado Watersheds - Scott Nissen, Andrew Norton, Anna Sher, and Dan Bean
This guide by Drs. Scott Nissen, Andrew Norton, Anna Sher, and Dan Bean offers key options and considerations for tamarisk treatment, including biocontrol, targeted guidance on how to develop management plans, implement various control strategies, and plan restoration for treated sites. Useful resource as an accompaniment to Sher et al. 2010.    Nissen et al. 2010.   
Tamarisk - Best Management Practices in Colorado Watersheds

This guide by Drs. Scott Nissen, Andrew Norton, Anna Sher, and Dan Bean offers targeted guidance on how to develop management plans, implement various control strategies, and plan restoration for treated sites.