BLM and partner conduct monitoring effort on the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area

The BLM Tucson Field Office partnered with an Association of Arizona Conservation Districts (AACD) crew in fall 2023 to collect Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) data on the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA), part of the recently established Sky Islands Restoration Landscape.  

The AACD crew collected data in the uplands, which is the ground above the lowlands along rivers and between hills, within the portions of the SPRNCA authorized for livestock grazing. This work was funded through the Inflation Reduction Act and completed through an assistance agreement with AACD. 

The Tucson Field Office collects AIM data to assess the condition and trend of plant communities on the SPRNCA, located in southeastern Arizona. The collected AIM data will be used to assess overall condition and trend of upland resources, inform management decisions, and assess vegetation treatment effectiveness. 

This monitoring data is critical to improving upland conditions on the SPRNCA. The goal is to improve upland conditions using a combination of vegetation treatments and grazing management, including herbicide treatment, prescribed fire, erosion control, and rest rotational grazing. AIM data provides critical information to determine the effectiveness of management strategies in meeting established objectives.

A similar approach will be implemented on the rest of the SPRNCA and surrounding watershed. Utilizing Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding, the Tucson Field Office resource staff and Gila District fuels staff have begun addressing conservation and restoration needs through the San Pedro Watershed Restoration Environmental Assessment (EA).

While still in the early National Environmental Policy Act planning phases, this EA will address current ecological conditions on the SPRNCA and surrounding watershed and propose a variety of restoration treatments to improve plant community and soil conditions. Some BIL funding for this effort will also be used to expand AIM monitoring to more areas of the SPRNCA.

The Tucson Field Office will continue to partner with AACD to use AIM data to determine suitable restoration treatments and assess treatment effectiveness with the goal of improved resource conditions set forth in the 2019 San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area Resource Management Plan.