Beavers and Watershed Management Group: The Mission to Preserve Local Beaver Populations
Beavers are (coming) back, babyyy!
Introduction
In a recent news story from the Herald Times, our dedicated volunteers at Watershed Management Group were highlighted for their exciting mission: to track down evidence of beavers along the San Pedro River. Armed with keen eyes and a passion for conservation, they scoured the tree line for telltale signs of these industrious rodents.
The Importance of...
A volunteer examines the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area for signs of beaver.
The 3rd Annual Binational Beaver Survey[March 2nd & 3rd 2024]
“Beavers are cool.” - Paul Strong, MS Student, WMG Intern, and Lead Organizer of the 2024 Beaver Survey
“Beavers weigh 60lbs? Are you serious? That’s more than my dog!” - Max Wingert, WMG Communications & Outreach Manager, and Amateur Beaver Enthusiast
Do you know how big a beaver is? Just, you know, off the top of...
The piece is an abstract representation of the past, present, and future. There's a lot I depicted within this timeline to showcase all the beautiful minds we have living amongst ourselves and our mother earth. This opportunity gave me the chance to experiment with a concept that the Water has always been here while finding ways to collect, preserve, and share it in a non and native way, so with that in mind I used it as a portal to balance out the elements to create an understanding...
Thank you to the River Run Network Members who wrote in on the One Water 2100 Plan and made restoring rivers and shallow groundwater areas one of the top issues in the public comment period. This caught the attention of long-time environmental reporter, Tony Davis. This article by Davis features WMG's perspective on the plan and what's missing: New Tucson plans lack measures to bring back vanished river flows, critics say.The One Water 2100 plan was approved by the Mayor and Council on...
From 2020-2022 the Educating Children Outdoors Teen Naturalists monitored the flow of the Santa Cruz River in Marana under the guidance of Kathy Balman. The Teen Naturalists not only monitored the flow of the river for Flow 365 they also identified local and invasive flora and fauna and submitted their data to iNaturlaist, monitored water quality for Earth Echo Water Challenge, collected litter as part of Keep Nature Wild, and conducted phenology observations for Nature's Notebook. They...
October 12, 2023WMG, with support from you, our River Run Network Members, has been advocating for the release of beavers along Cienega Creek since 2019. Now, the final Environmental Assessment (EA) was released for the proposed plan to release beavers along Cienega Creek! This Final EA supports what we were hoping for, Alternative A. This would re-establish beavers in Ciénega Creek, with the option to also use Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs). We are very hopeful about the progression of...
Hi, my name is Julia and I am the River Run Network intern for Fall 2022 - Spring 2023. I started my internship with Watershed Management Group in August 2022 and my first Arundo pull was a warm September day. I remember seeing this invasive plant all around the Tanque Verde Creek, taking up so much space in the creek. It seemed like removing all of the Arundo from the creek would be impossible to do just by hand. As my internship continued, I realized that eradicating Arundo from the...
This year’s data tells us we had less days of flow throughout most of the city compared to 2021, due to less than average rainfall during both our monsoons and winter rainy season. However, some of the sites highlighted in the report had increased flow through our rainy seasons, and the city has added another effluent release site to the Santa Cruz river, upping flow days near South Tucson.
In the 2022 water year, Tucson received 7.41” (NOAA) compared to our 11.92” average;...
My name is Andrea Troyer and I am the River Run Network Program Coordinator at Watershed Management Group. I moved to Tucson in August 2022 through a year-long volunteer program after graudating from college. I am from the East Coast in Virginia, and so many people asked me prior to leaving, “Why are you moving to Tucson to work with water? There’s no water there.” My knowledge of rivers and hydrology was based on Virgina's consistent rains and constant rivers, so I wasn’t quite sure...
River Run Network Bike Ride: PFAS in the Santa Cruz River
When: Thursday, March 28, 2024 | 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Where: From Tucson Heritage Santa Cruz Site to PFAS Treatment Plant
Register here
Dive into the heart of Tucson's environmental stewardship on a bike ride that brings our community together for a cause that touches us all – the health of our waters. Join Watershed Management Group's River Run Network for an enlightening journey that pedals from awareness to action in the...
