San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area Collaborative Adaptive Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is working with partners to implement the Resource Management Plan for the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA) in southeast Arizona. On this page, you can access relevant materials including meeting summaries, background and presentations.
Working Groups
Resource-focused working groups meet throughout the year to pursue shared priorities and discuss emerging trends and issues.
Uplands Working Group
- Purpose
- Engage with partners to share input and technical expertise in the implementation of the SPRNCA Resource Management Plan (RMP), and to help leverage support and funding for the management of the SPRNCA uplands.
- Facilitate shared learning and information exchange among partners.
- Participants
- BLM team: Eric Baker*, Theresa Condo/Aaron Perez, Joan Breiner, Colleen Dingman
- Facilitation team: Colleen Whitaker and Tahnee Robertson (Southwest Decision Resources)
- Partners: Organizations and agencies with technical knowledge and experience in uplands and grazing resource issues. Partners to date include:
- Arizona Game and Fish Department: Jennifer Presler, Nick Schobinger
- Coronado National Forest: John Kraft
- Fort Huachuca: Betty Phillips, Shane Hall
- Friends of the San Pedro River: Bob Luce, Linda Stitt, Renell Stewart
- Natural Resource Conservation District - Herford: John Ladd, Joanne Roberts
- Natural Resource Conservation District - San Pedro: Bonnie Wilson
- Natural Resources Conservation Service: Emilio Carrillo, Don Decker, Dave Womack, Charles Thorpe
- SPRNCA Lessees: Laura True (Three Brothers Allotment), Jim Lindsay (Brunckow Allotment), Lance Clawson (Lucky Hills Allotment), Barbara Ford (Babocomari Allotment)
- University of Arizona Cooperative Extension: Kim McReynolds*
- Western Watersheds Project: Cyndi Tuell
*Working group co-lead
- Resource Management Plan Objectives
- ob-SOIL-1: Maintain or improve ground cover that protects sensitive soils and prevents accelerated erosion.
- ob-VEG-ALL-1: Ensure that the natural diversity and abundance of native vegetation occurs as expected for landform and ecological sites.
- ob-VEG-ALL-2: Maintain or improve the ecological processes and function of habitats that support priority or special status plant species.
- ob-VEG-ALL-3: In areas where firebreaks are identified to protect or maintain wildland urban interface areas and other values at risk, reduce fuel characteristics, which changes fire behavior characteristics (reduced flame lengths, slower rates of spread, reduced fire intensity levels, and reduced crown fire potential).
- ob-VEG-UP-1: Manage 40,310 acres of upland vegetation toward restoring the perennial native grass component to address shrub encroachment.
- ob-VEG-UP-2: In the grassland vegetation community, maintain or enhance density, vigor, cover, and species richness of native perennial grass, shrub, and forb species based on ecological site potential.
- ob-VEG-UP-3: In the Chihuahuan desert scrub vegetation community, increase native annual and perennial herbaceous plants, based on ecological site potential.
- ob-GRAZ-1: Upland soils exhibit infiltration, permeability, and erosion rates that are appropriate to soil type, climate, and landform (ecological sites).
- ob-GRAZ-2: Maintain productive, diverse upland and riparian and wetland plant communities of native species.
- ob-GRAZ-3: Utilization of current year’s growth on upland native perennial grass will not exceed 40 percent at the allotment scale, except for targeted grazing treatments.
- Resources and Documents
Recreation and Cultural-Heritage Resources Working Group
- Purpose
- Engage with partners to identify issues, opportunities and priorities for implementation of recreation and relevant cultural Resource Management Plan decisions.
- Better align partners to work together on projects, mobilize volunteers, etc.
- Engage with partners to support monitoring and evaluate and implement possible solutions.
- Participants
- BLM team: Ralph Burrillo*, Robert Walter*, Tony Johnson, Clint Dalton, Michael Dixon, Colleen Dingman
- Facilitation: Tahnee Robertson, Colleen Whitaker (Southwest Decision Resources)
- Partners: Organizations and agencies with technical knowledge and experience in recreation and cultural-heritage resources. Partners to date include:
- Archaeology Southwest: John Welch, Skylar Begay
- Cochise County: Mark Apel
- Coronado National Forest: Zach Ribbing
- Friends of the San Pedro River: Ron Stewart, Renell Stewart, Robert Weissler, Dwight Long
- Fort Huachuca, Sasha Romih, Sam Walker
- Huachuca Hiking Club: Steve Scheuman
- Tombstone Monument Guest Ranch: Laura True
*Working group co-lead
- Resource Management Plan Objectives
Recreation and Visitor Services
- ob-REC-1: Manage identified Recreation Management Zones (RMZ) for a variety of recreation opportunities that meet appropriate physical, social and operational settings. RMZs may accommodate facilities, signs and visitor services that are appropriate for the identified settings.
- ob-REC-2: Seventy-five percent of visitors and residents sampled randomly during the winter high visitation season are aware of what the SPRNCA resource values are and can identify at least one of them and the benefits from protecting them.
Archaeological and Historic Resources
- ob-ARCH-1: Manage all sites on public lands in accordance with their use allocations.
- ob-ARCH-2: Prioritize research and monitoring of cultural resources by targeting data gaps and imperiled sites/features.
- ob-ARCH-3: Promote activities that fall under Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), including research, development of interpretive and educational materials, site stabilization and restoration, and detailed recording and monitoring (PL 100-696).
- ob-ARCH-4: Manage appropriate sites for conservation to protect and preserve representative samples of all the cultural resources on the SPRNCA.
- ob-ARCH-5: Allocate each site to one or more of the following uses according to their nature and relative preservation value in accordance with BLM Manual 8130 – Planning for Uses of Cultural Resources:
Use Category
- Scientific use
- Conservation for future use
- Traditional use
- Public Use
- Experimental use
- Discharge from management
Management Action
- Permit appropriate research
- Provide protective measure and/or designation
- Consult with interested parties; determine limitations; determine permitted use
- Determine nature of experiment; permit activities; accordingly, remove protective measures.
Desired Outcomes
- Preserved until research or data recovery potential is realized. Preserved until conditions for use are met
- Long-term preservation
- Long-term preservation; on-site interpretation. Protected until used
- No use after recordation; not preserved
Native American Concerns
- ob-NAT-1: Uphold government-to-government responsibilities with Native American tribes to manage cultural resources and landscapes associated with their ancestral homeland.
- ob-NAT-2: Engage in cooperative projects with Native American tribes to identify and manage traditional cultural property (TCPs), sacred sites, traditional uses, and cultural landscapes.
Paleontological Resources
- ob-PALEO-1: Preserve and enhance the scientific, educational, and interpretive values of paleontological resources to increase the knowledge of the natural history on the SPRNCA.
- ob-PALEO-2: Ensure that significant paleontological localities are adequately protected by reducing human and natural impacts.
- ob-PALEO-3: Preserve and protect scientifically significant paleontological localities by collecting fossils and promoting ongoing research.
- ob-PALEO-4: Focus surveys and monitoring activities in areas that are potential fossil yield classification (PFYC) Class 4 and Class 5.
- Resources and Documents
Riparian Working Group
- Purpose
Purpose
- Engage with partners to share input and technical expertise in the implementation of the SPRNCA Resource Management Plan riparian and aquatic flora and fauna objectives (see end).
- Leverage support and funding for projects.
Scope
- Coordination with Upper San Pedro Partnership, Water Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) partners (City of Sierra Vista, Cochise County, Ft. Huachuca, BLM) and Sentinel Landscapes
- Vegetation management EA (longer term)
- Avian monitoring - MOTUS station, coordination with Tucson Audubon (new and preliminary)
- Participants
- BLM team: Colleen Dingman (Tucson Field Manager), Joan Breiner (Tucson Assistant Field Manager), Christina Perez* (Fisheries Biologist), Peter Christensen* (Hydrologist), Hannah Pierce (Wildlife Biologist), Theresa Condo (Natural Resource Specialist), Aaron Peretz (Range Technician)
- Facilitation: Tahnee Robertson, Colleen Whitaker (Southwest Decision Resources)
- Partners: Partners with technical knowledge and experience in riparian and aquatic resources. Partners may represent an organization, agency or a key knowledge area. Partners to date include:
- Arizona Game and Fish Department: Brian Hickerson, Nate Berg, Katie Matthiesen
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Julie McIntyre, Julie Crawford
- Cochise County: Mark Apel
- Community Watershed Alliance: Laura White, Mary McCool
- Resilient Rivers: Holly Richter
- San Pedro 100: Tricia Gerrodette
- Sierra Club: Jennifer Martin
- Sky Island Alliance: Emily Burns
- The Nature Conservancy: Bailey Winston, Haylee Short
- Towhee Environmental: Tice Supplee
- United States Geological Survey (USGS): David Morales
- Western Watersheds Projects: Cyndi Tuell
- Resource Management Plan Objectives
- ob-SOIL-1: Maintain or improve ground cover that protects sensitive soils and prevents accelerated erosion.
- ob-SOIL-2: Conserve, protect, and enhance proper functioning watershed conditions to help maintain groundwater levels, base flows, and flood flows on the SPRNCA.
- ob-WAT-1: Reduce or prevent contamination of surface and groundwater by nonpoint source pollution to meet state requirements.
- ob-WAT-2: Improve summertime water quality (dissolved oxygen levels) in reaches that have experienced fish kills.
- ob-WAT-3: Provide adequate water quantities to sustain aquatic habitat, woody vegetation comprised of cottonwood, willow, and other native deciduous riparian trees and to meet desired ecological conditions, especially those for tree regeneration, native aquatic species, and federally listed aquatic species
- ob-WAT-4: Maintain and enhance hydrologic function at Saint David Ciénega, Dunlevy artesian wetlands, Kolbe artesian wetland, and the Lewis Spring Ciénega complex to meet the desired wetland plant community as described in the vegetation section and associated ecological conditions.
- ob-WAT-5: Conserve groundwater on the SPRNCA, while allowing for appropriate uses on the SPRNCA.
- ob-VEG-RIP-1: Maintain the Fremont cottonwood-Goodding’s willow gallery, except in areas where firebreaks are planned.
- ob-VEG-RIP-2: Achieve and maintain PFC.
- ob-VEG-RIP-3: Provide sufficient vegetated bank cover to prevent erosion, slow down water, and improve bank soil condition including porosity for recharge.
- ob-VEG-RIP-4: In areas where firebreaks are planned or currently exist, maintain acceptable levels of fuels in riparian areas and floodplains. A secondary objective in firebreak areas is to protect key biological elements for priority or special status species.
- ob-VEG-RIP-5: Maintain the native plant community (dominated by big sacaton grassland and mesquite forest [bosque]) on adjacent floodplains.
- ob-VEG-RIP-6: Between Fairbank and Land Corral, reduce salt cedar acres from 22 percent to less than 5 percent of the total riparian vegetative cover.
- ob-VEG-WET-1: Maintain, restore, or enhance approximately 40 acres of wetland plant communities. Maintain the Lewis Springs wetland complex in its current state and enhance the Dunlevy wetlands, Kolbe Wetland and White House Wetland (supplied by artesian wells), and Murray Springs. Restore the St. David Ciénega to approximate historical conditions. Maintain the Little Joe Wetland at the level to which it was restored in 2011. Manage wetlands currently developing along the San Pedro River and other stream courses to enhance or maintain processes that foster further expansion of this habitat type.
- ob-VEG-WET-2: Manage for a mix of ecological sites and wetlands that include varied water depths, open water areas, low-growing herbaceous wetland plants, such as sedges and rushes, and dense patches of cattails, bulrush, and grasses, with an emphasis on priority and listed species.
- ob-VEG-WET-3: Ensure herbaceous cover is sufficient to prevent erosion, slow down water, and improve wetland soil condition, including porosity for recharge.
- ob-VEG-WET-4: Protect wetlands from invasive species (both plant and animal).
- ob-VEG-XER-1: Maintain the functionality of desert washes to facilitate wildlife movement across the SPRNCA.
- ob-VEG-XER-2: Maintain the natural variation in extent of plant communities along xeric-riparian areas.
- ob-WILD-1: Conserve, protect, and enhance wildlife and aquatic resources in accordance with the aquatic, wildlife, scientific, cultural, educational, and recreational values of the SPRNCA.
- ob-WILD-2: Restore and maintain habitat of suitable quality and quantity to support identified priority fish and wildlife species.
- ob-WILD-3: Conserve, protect, and enhance the areas on the SPRNCA that were historically used for agriculture, providing management that allows ecological sites to return to habitat for priority species, appropriate to the landform, soils, and precipitation at the site.
- ob-WILD-4: Contain, control, or eliminate nonnative, invasive aquatic species to meet the objectives in recovery plans for federally listed species and implementation plans for wildlife habitat.
- ob-WILD-5: Manage springs for priority wildlife habitat.
- ob-WILD-6: Conserve, protect, and enhance desert washes with adequate cover and width, while considering habitat connectivity and adequate patch size.
- ob-WSR-1: Prohibit uses and activities that would have an adverse effect on the study river’s free-flowing condition until Congress acts on the designation recommendations.
- ob-WSR-2: Manage uses and activities to avoid adverse effects on the study river’s water quality until Congress acts on the designation recommendations.
- ob-WSR-3: Manage uses and activities to avoid adverse effects on the study river’s outstandingly remarkable values (ORVs) until Congress acts on the designation recommendations.
- ob-WSR-4: Manage uses and activities consistent with protective management guidelines for the tentative study river classifications until Congress acts on the designation recommendations.
- ob-WSR-5: Manage uses and activities to enhance water quality and ORVs, where feasible.
- Resources and Documents
Annual All-Partner Meeting
All interested partners are invited to the annual All Partner Meeting on the SPRNCA. These meetings are opportunities for all partners and stakeholders to gather and discuss current issues, emerging priorities and the progress of the working groups.
Upcoming Meetings
- Mid-year check-in (Zoom) - August 19, 2025
- 2026 meeting date to be announced
Past Meeting Summaries
Resources
Relevant documents and materials related to the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area Resource Management Plan and implementation.
Core Documents
- Enabling Legislation
- San Pedro Riparian NCA - Resource Management Plan
- Proposed RMP/Final EIS - Volume 1
- Proposed RMP/Final EIS - Volume 2
Additional documents may be found on the SPRNCA page of the BLM National NEPA Register (ePlanning).