Research Links
Santa Cruz River Researchers' Day - an annual event allowing partners to share their work.
Click on a year to learn more on that year's event.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
Learning Center of the American Southwest
A great website to learn about other projects on the Santa Cruz River and in other parts of the American Southwest.
Reports
See below for recent reports. To view a complete list Click Here
A Living River: Charting the Health of the Upper Santa Cruz River
Read more about this report series.
2010 Water Year - year three of annual report shows continued improvement on the Upper Santa Cruz River
Riparian Health Score Card Bibliography
2012 List of Example Scorecards, with summaries and analyses.
Riparian Monitoring Bibligraphy
2011 List of references, with abstracts, on riparian monitoring and protocols.
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Kathy Borgen champions causes that help protect, care for, and nurture a love of our planet. She is also passionate about the work of the Institute
Where We Work Southwest Santa Cruz River Ecological Monitoring
Ecological Monitoring on the Santa Cruz River
In order to better understand the condition and dynamic nature of the Santa Cruz River, several organizations conduct research and ecological monitoring. Monitoring is the collection and analysis of repeated observations to determine the status and trends of a set of indicators - a set of physical, chemical, and biological components that represent the overall condition or health of the river.
| What is a healthy river? A healthy river maintains its plant, animal, and physical composition, as well as its function. A healthy river also sustains human communities through the provision of ecosystem services - the benefits people receive from natural systems. |
Many organizations collect important data to help monitor and better understand the river’s health (see box). In addition, the Sonoran Institute is collecting monitoring data to complement and contribute to existing efforts. The Sonoran Institute is synthesizing and compiling this existing data to produce an annual publication - A Living River: Charting the Health of the Upper Santa Cruz River.
By establishing an understanding of river health, we hope to deepen a dialogue about conservation and management actions on the Santa Cruz River with neighboring communities and government leaders in the region.
Read more about the monitoring data collected by the Sonoran Institute
Research and Monitoring Organizations
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
Arizona Department of Water Resources
Arizona Game and Fish Department
Arizona State Parks
Arizona State University
Friends of the Santa Cruz River
National Park Service at Tumacácori National Historical Park
National Park Service, Sonoran Desert Network
Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant
Sky Island Alliance
The Nature Conservancy
Tucson Audubon Society
University of Arizona
University of Sonora
U. S. Geological Survey