PHOENIX -- The Upper San Pedro River, one of the last free-flowing rivers in Arizona, received additional protection today as 122 acres just north of the United States/Mexico border were acquired by The Nature Conservancy and the Arizona Game and Fish Department with support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The property is one of the largest privately owned parcels adjacent to this stretch of the river, where groundwater pumping would directly impact the rivers flow.
The San Pedro River begins in Mexico and flows north to meet the Gila River, near the town of Winkelman, Arizona. It is nationally renowned for its natural diversity and its support of migrating birds. About 250 species --including 1 to 4 million migrating songbirds -- rely on the river and its streamside habitat annually as they move between wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America and breeding grounds in the United States and Canada. The river also provides habitat for approximately 80 species of mammals and reptiles, including the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher and Huachuca water umbel.
The property was purchased with funding received from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Section 6 Endangered Species Recovery Land Acquisition Grant Program and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The latter is part of the foundations $13 million grant to The Nature Conservancy to support state wildlife action plans across five Rocky Mountain states -- Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming.
"Acquisition of this property is critical for the protection of adjacent aquatic and riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian habitat along the Upper San Pedro River, and it is a key step towards conserving several endangered and threatened species, including the southwestern willow flycatcher, Chiricahua leopard frogs and Gila topminnow," said Bob Broscheid, assistant director of wildlife management for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.The type of habitat found on the property supports among the highest known nesting bird density of any habitat in North America, so protecting it is important for preserving species diversity and providing connectivity corridors between habitats.
Patrick Graham, state director of The Nature Conservancy in Arizona, adds, "This project is a great example of how public agencies, non-profits, public funding and private funding sources such as the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation can work together to accomplish tremendous feats to conserve a vital natural water source such as the San Pedro River."
According to Steve Spangle, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Arizona field supervisor, the rivers future requires these types of collaborative efforts. "The San Pedro River is under tremendous pressure as it faces increased human water demands, drought and climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.
Learn more about climate change . Only by working together, with common goals, can we overcome these odds to ensure the health of the river for people and nature for generations to come."
This property, commonly referred to as the Yarbrough property, is part of the historic Clinton Ranch, which at one time included much of the land along the Upper San Pedro in the Palominas, Arizona, area. It is adjacent to the Bureau of Land Managements (BLM) Riparian National Conservation Area on one side and to a 910-acre parcel that is protected by BLM under a conservation easement conservation easement
A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a government agency or qualified conservation organization that restricts the type and amount of development that may take place on a property in the future. Conservation easements aim to protect habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife by limiting residential, industrial or commercial development. Contracts may prohibit alteration of the natural topography, conversion of native grassland to cropland, drainage of wetland and establishment of game farms. Easement land remains in private ownership.
Learn more about conservation easement .
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. The Nature Conservancy in Arizona has been protecting nature and preserving life for more than 40 years. http://www.nature.org. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at http://www.nature.org/arizona.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department is charged with conserving, enhancing, and restoring Arizonas diverse wildlife resources and habitats through aggressive protection and management programs, and to provide wildlife resources and safe watercraft and off-highway vehicle recreation for the enjoyment, appreciation, and use by present and future generations.
The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation ( www.ddcf.org) is to improve the quality of peoples lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child maltreatment, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Dukes properties.
State wildlife action plans were first conceived in 2000, when Congress mandated that each state develop a comprehensive strategy for conserving its wildlife in order to receive federal funds. The states submitted their plans to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the fall of 2005, and they were all approved by Congress in February of 2007. In developing these plans, the state wildlife agencies were careful to consider the broad range of wildlife, including game and non-game species, common species as well as endangered ones. They identified and prioritized key wildlife habitat, in many cases using the latest technology to map these lands
