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#san pedro riparian area
textless · 1 month
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fatchance · 1 year
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Recent birds: Gila woodpecker / carpintero del desierto (Melanerpes uropygialis) visiting a San Pedro House suet feeder. 
At San Pedro House, San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Cochise County, Arizona. 
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thelostcanyon · 3 months
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House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus), San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Arizona.
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Sierra Vista
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station took this photograph of Sierra Vista in southern Arizona, just north of the United States-Mexico border. Bounded on all sides by military land (Fort Huachuca), national forest, and conservation areas, Sierra Vista’s city area is structured in a triangular shape. Creeks and washes sprawl across the desert flats from the Huachuca Mountains to the San Pedro River.
The Huachuca Mountains lie to the west of Sierra Vista and neighboring urban areas. These mountains are part of the Sky Islands, an isolated group of mountain ranges scattered throughout southeastern Arizona and northern Mexico. Cool peaks and uplands contrast with the hotter desert lowlands. Miller Peak rises to 9,466 feet (2,885 meters) above sea level, almost 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) above Sierra Vista. Portions of the Huachuca Mountains and the surrounding area fall within the Miller Peak Wilderness and the Coronado National Forest.
Toward the east, Sierra Vista stretches to the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (NCA), which protects a rare riverbank ecosystem within the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts. The conservation area is home to endangered species, such as the yellow-billed cuckoo, the willow flycatcher, and the semi-aquatic plant known as the Huachuca water-umbel.
The protected regions around Sierra Vista also preserve cultural and historical landmarks. The caves and canyons of the Huachuca Mountains contain petroglyphs dating back 13,000 years. Additionally, prehistoric mammoth remains and ancient tools have been found at the Murray Springs Clovis Archeological Site within the San Pedro NCA.
Astronaut photograph ISS067-E-13009 was acquired on April 13, 2022, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a focal length of 500 millimeters. The image was provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 67 crew. It has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by Sara Schmidt, GeoControl Systems, JETS II Contract at NASA-JSC.
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sjjnyc · 8 months
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Wetlands in the desert
Three words . . . #WetlandsareWealth
GET INTO IT!
(btw, this is not new information)
Sometimes I have anxiety that people will quiz me on my knowledge about wetlands and I won't be able to come up with interesting and accurate facts to convey their importance. I don't want to feel pressure to be a walking encyclopedia of wetland knowledge (even though that would be cool); the way I want to learn about wetlands and share my experiences with different kinds of wetlands is by visiting them and that being enough. As I do this, I know along the way I'll start to retain information. In the meantime, I've been creating digital PDF zines about my experience with wetlands. Learn more at the end of this section!
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Photo Description: White birds that look like pelicans (not sure if they are) at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert, Arizona
Before coming to Arizona, I ignorantly thought there was no water out here. I bought into the danger of the single-story writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talked about during a TEDx talk. Of course Arizona and the southwest have rivers, streams, lakes, springs, seeps and groundwater, so what the hell was I talking about! I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that not only are there man-made wetlands in the Phoenix metro area, but there is a such thing as desert wetlands. My first reaction was "oh my gosh really?!" My second reaction was "that is so f'ing magical" and my third reaction was, "is it normal to have wetlands in the desert?"
"From agricultural expansion and river diversion to invasive species and climate change, wetlands face numerous threats. But one of the gravest may be ignorance. We still don’t know enough about these habitats, and they can still surprise even seasoned scientists like us. Perhaps most surprising of all are those wetlands that seem to confound all logic by thriving amid some of the driest places on Earth". - Paradox lost: wetlands can form in deserts, but we need to find and protect them
Here are more links I found about desert wetlands:
What is a wetland?
Conservation of Desert Wetlands and their Biotas
Desert Wetlands
UTAH DESERT WETLANDS ABUNDANT WITH MIGRATING BIRDS
Cuenca Los Ojos
Mexico’s northern desert wetlands in danger
WETLANDS IN THE DESERT: A PLACE-BASED JOURNEY OF SEASONAL OBSERVATION AND OUTCOMES
Some keywords/phrases from these articles:
Bioregional awareness
Wetland habitats
Beauty
Jaguar
Cuatro Cienegas Basin in Coahuila, Mexico
San Pedro River in Arizona
Water filtration
Flood and erosion control
Homes for fish and wildlife
Degradation
Escalante River in Utah
Black Bears
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico
Arid lands
Desert springs
Holistic approach to biodiversity conservation
The playas and wetlands in Arizona
Ocelot
Mohave Desert in California
Groundwater extraction
Unique desert wetlands
Beavers
Big Bend National Park in Texas
Chorus of voices
United States-Mexico border
My visits to the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert, Arizona
"The Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch was created as an innovative and unique way to combine water resource management with wildlife habitat preservation, education, and outdoor recreation. It is an oasis in the Sonoran Desert featuring seven aquifer recharge basins – each kept at different water levels to create diverse habitats and attract a variety of wildlife. Designated as an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society, approximately 298 species of birds have been identified at the preserve, and many insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals have found a home here as well." - Discover Gilbert
I took these photos of the riparian preserve during different seasons.
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During my visits I have seen hummingbirds, quails and large white birds that look like pelicans, but I don't know what they are called.
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Photo description: I'm not sure what these birds are called, but I love that the riparian preserve is a safe place for wildlife, a place to store and recharge ground water and a recreational area for the community.
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Photo description: This is a Corkscrew or Screwbean Mesquite tree
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Photo description: I forgot if this is somekind of barrel cactus
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Photo description: I think this is a Mesquite tree with the long yellow cylindrical flowers
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Photo description: Cactus beings at another entrance to the preserve
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Photo description: An empty recharge basin
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Photo Description: A filled recharge basin
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Photo/Video Descriptions: This area of the preserve has signs that say "Reclaimed Water: Do not Drink". I'm guessing that the wetland habitat helps to filter and clean used water so that it can be used again. I'm still trying to understand how the recharge system works and hope maybe one day I can talk to someone who works at the preserve.
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Photo description: I'm not sure what this plant is!
"the future" | predicting the future
"the future" captures my first time knowingly standing over an aquifer which is described as an underground lake about 150 feet below these sounds of treated wastewater being pumped into seven different recharge basins throughout the Riparian Preserve in the town of Gilbert. A plaque in front of the recharge infrastructure I stood in front of/near to record, describes where Gilbert gets its water from, it reads:
"In the past, residents of Arizona used groundwater from this aquifer faster than it could be replenished naturally with rainfall. These basins were designed to allow water to seep down into the aquifer, replenishing our groundwater supply, so that we have plenty of water available for our use in the future".
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Photo description: A photo of the paragraph above on the plaque.
Listen to "the future" on Soundcloud!
Watch this video to learn more about the treated wastewater and aquifer recharge at the preserve.
-Is there such a thing as telling the future? - What kinds of premonitions, predictions, telling or seeing into the future practices are you aware of? -How are the ways groundwater and aquifers are treated/cared for a way of telling the future?
For the title I use "the future" as it relates to water, waterbodies, waterways and water cycles as a way to push back on this particular spacetime language being in quotation marks - with quotation marks often times being used to indicate inspection or interrogation, irony, inaccuracy or skepticism.
"the future" | predicting the future was the first artistic exploration I did connected to my water and time travel research in the Colorado River Basin.
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Photo Description: An online map of the preserve
Surprise Surprise . . .
What do we have here?
Headlines about the recent loss of federal protections for wetlands in the country
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#Repost @honortheearth REPOST: @lakotalaw Important Update: Change in the Wetlands Protection Update: The EPA's recent decision alters wetlands protection, raising concerns about impacts on ecosystems. Wetlands are vital for clean water, biodiversity, and flood control. Loss of federal protection may harm water quality, increase flooding risk, threaten wildlife, impact economy, and challenge long-term sustainability. We strongly suggest that everyone contacts their local representatives, participate in community discussions, and educate others about the importance of wetlands. Our collective voice can drive positive change and encourage a more balanced approach to development and conservation. Let's stand together for the protection of our environment, because in the end, the health of our planet directly impacts the well-being of current and future generations. Photo sourced from @npr View all 72 comments
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#Repost @democracynow: The Environmental Protection Agency has rolled back parts of the Clean Water Act which protect millions of acres of wetlands, in order to comply with a Supreme Court ruling. The right-wing-dominated court ruled in May that wetlands must have a "continuous surface connection" to streams, oceans, rivers and lakes to be subject to federal regulations on pollution. Up to 63% of wetlands will be affected. The White House said the Supreme Court ruling "jeopardize[s] the sources of clean drinking water for farmers, businesses and millions of Americans." View all 609 comments
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The destiny of wetlands: Is there such a thing as destiny?
I never really use the word frequency because it's used so much and some people associate it with the New Age Movement, so therefore its discounted, but frequency is real. I'm curious about the frequencies that make up the awareness and visions we as human beings (with our various identities and positionalities) want and have for wetlands, and what the desires of wetlands themselves might be?
I'll always remember thinking about rewriting the stories of wetlands which for so long have been seen as useless and taking up space, as well as the destiny* (in other words, the trajectories) of wetlands during my explorations of Jamaica Bay in 2021, especially in contrast to the Graniteville Wetlands in Staten Island.
If we think about the kinds of resources and amount of resources a wetland as an ecosystem is afforded (i.e. love, care, protection, healing, stewardship) can we wonder about its destiny? Does logic have a role in destiny? For example, you plant a seed, and it gets soil with compost, water, sunshine, seed songs and conversation, and before you know it, a plant has blossomed and fruited to produce more seeds. Every seed doesn't make it, even with the best care, but is there some kind of TLC-logic (tender-loving-care-logic) that makes the plant's life possible? If we think about the kinds of resources and amount of resources a wetland as an ecosystem is afforded (i.e. love, care, protection, healing, stewardship) can we wonder about its destiny?
Please research the history of wetlands where you live and in the United States. We've lost a lot of wetlands to agriculture, industry and real estate development, but not all. The more people who uplift wetlands in different ways, the better, and it's happening! We are a glorious chorus for that which was previously seen as dirty, useless and taking up space.
*Destiny: We all have our own understandings and views around destiny, and some folks resonate with this word while others do not. Another word to replace with destiny could be trajectory.
Check out my Wetland Zine Series!
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Photo Description: During the summer of 2021 I crossed paths with this Eastern Prickly Pear a little ways past the West Pond and now Living Shoreline at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, New York. Eastern Prickly Pear is a native cactus found growing along the Atlantic coast.
I'm making zines about my wetland experiences in the order I encounter them; so far I've made one zine about a swamp in upstate New York. Up next . . .
PROMPT: Visit a wetland in your community. What kind of wetland is it? What do you notice about it?
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fatehbaz · 4 years
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western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) at San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area
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emmebeephotography · 3 years
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Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Arizona   October 2020
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bountyofbeads · 5 years
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'National tragedy': Trump begins border wall construction in Unesco reserve
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/12/border-wall-organ-pipe-cactus-arizona?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Post_to_Tumblr
‘National tragedy’: Trump begins border wall construction in Unesco reserve (This is short-sighted and 😔 😭😭😭sad that our government is destroying the environment just to build Trump's vanity project. “They are violating our constitutionally protected rights, and that should terrify everyone,” she said. “Even if you don’t care about butterflies, you should care about this.” 🤬🤬🤬)
Wall will traverse the entirety of the southern edge of the Organ Pipe Cactus national monument, one of the most biologically diverse regions in the US
Samuel Gilbert in Tucson, Arizona | Published Fri 13 Sep 2019 01.00 EDT | The Guardian | Posted September 13 2019 9:40 AM ET |
Construction of a 30ft-high section of Donald Trump’s border barrier has begun in the Organ Pipe Cactus national monument in southern Arizona, a federally protected wilderness area and Unesco-recognized international biosphere reserve.
In the face of protests by environmental groups, the wall will traverse the entirety of the southern edge of the monument. It is part of the 175 miles of barrier expansion along the US-Mexico border being funded by the controversial diversion of $3.6bn from military construction projects.
This will include construction in Texas, New Mexico as well as Arizona where, according to a government court filing, some 44 miles of new barrier construction will pass through three federally protected areas. These are the Organ Pipe wilderness, Cabeza Prieta national wildlife refuge and San Pedro Riparian national conservation area, the location of Arizona’s last free-flowing river.
The Trump administration has deemed the new structures necessary due to a “national emergency” of unauthorized immigration into the US. According to CBP, in the 2019 fiscal year there have been 14,265 apprehensions in the Tucson sector, where the Organ Pipe wall is going up, compared to 51,411 in the nearby Yuma sector of Arizona and over 205,000 in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Yet Organ Pipe is a contentious setting. “What is being proposed is bulldozing one of the most biologically diverse regions of the entire United States,” said Amanda Munro of the Southwest Environmental Center. “Walling off these precious places would be a colossal mistake and a national tragedy.”
Organ Pipe, located south-west of Tucson, Arizona, is a 330,000 acre wilderness home to mountain lions, javelinas, the endangered pronghorn sheep and “more bird species than can be listed”, according to the National Park Service website. It is also a deeply significant area for the nearby Tohono O’odham nation which has long opposed Trump’s border wall on their ancestral lands.
“This unneeded, expensive blight will use precious water for its construction, cut off wildlife species from their habitat; and its all-night lights will destroy the clear night skies,” said Kevin Dahl of the National Parks Conservation Association.
Much has changed since the 1970s, when Dahl first visited Organ Pipe as a high school ecology student. At that time the border between the US and Mexico was easily and frequently crossed. “National Park rangers would walk across the border and eat lunch,” said Dahl, motioning to a roadside restaurant in Mexico clearly visible behind the vehicle barriers, reminiscent of the Normandy beaches on D-day, that make up a section of the border.
In the decades since, Dahl has witnessed a dramatic increase in border militarization and barrier construction, including miles of fencing, access roads and a surge of border patrol agents. The new construction will replace pedestrian fences and vehicle barriers, which can easily be traversed by animals, with a 30ft tall bollard wall and accompanying infrastructure. There are fears it will impede migration, cut animals off from water supplies and increase flooding.
“They haven’t thought the design through,” said Dan Millis, the Borderlands Campaign coordinator for the Sierra Club. The slotted barriers have frequently trapped debris during rainstorms, including in Organ Pipe in 2008 and 2011, turning the “so-called porous walls a solid dam”, said Millis. There are also plans to pump water from underground aquifers to make concrete.
The impact could be most grievous at the cherished Quitobaquito Springs. This oasis on the border, one of the oldest inhabited places in North America, is home to the only US populations of the endangered Quitobaquito pupfish and Sonoyta turtle.
“It won’t take much to dry them,” said Dahl, standing amid the willows and cottonwoods that surround the spring-fed pond and provide some of the only shade in an otherwise treeless landscape.
“Pumping water out of the desert at Organ Pipe Cactus national monument, on federally protected land, to support this project is a crime against the American spirit and will do lasting damage to a national treasure,” the Arizona congressman Raúl Grijalva said in an email to the Guardian. “Congress has to step in and stop this.”
The government’s ability to build in protected areas along the Mexican border is unique. A 2005 law grants DHS the power to waive any laws “necessary to ensure expeditious construction” of border barriers. It has been used ever since. The Trump administration has waived numerous state and federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act, to construct barriers in protected areas in every southern border state.
Ongoing litigation by environmental and immigration rights group could halt construction.
Dahl worries it will be too late. Standing near Quitobaquito Springs and looking toward nearby Mexico, he contemplated what is at risk.
“This is one of the true gems of the Sonoran desert,” he said Dahl. “It would be a tragedy if it all was lost for an unnecessary and deadly wall.”
'Death sentence': butterfly sanctuary to be bulldozed for Trump's border wall
More than 200 species make their homes at America’s most diverse sanctuary, but construction through the reserve could begin in February
Samuel Gilbert in Mission, Texas |
Published:04:00 Thu December 13, 2018 | Guardian | Posted September 13, 2019 9:30 AM ET |
On any given day at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, visitors can to see more than 60 varieties of butterflies. In the spring and fall, monarchs and other species can blanket the center’s 100 acres of subtropical bushlands that extend from the visitor center to to the banks of the Rio Grande river, where their property, and US sovereignty, ends.
“It’s like something from Fantasia,” said the center’s director, Marianna Wright. “When you walk you have to cover your mouth so you don’t suck in a butterfly.”
Today the most diverse butterfly sanctuary in the country, and other protected areas in the lower Rio Grande Valley along the US-Mexico border, are under threat. Last week, the US supreme court issued a ruling allowing the Trump administration to waive 28 federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act, and begin construction on 33 new miles of border wall in the heart of the valley – and right through the butterfly center.
“Environmental tourism contributes more than $450m to Hidalgo and Starr counties,” said Wright, referring to the adjacent counties in the valley. “Many of the properties people choose to visit to see birds, butterflies and threatened and endangered species are all going to be behind the border wall. For us, the economic impact is potentially catastrophic.”
“Walls have fragmented our habitat,” said Scott Nicol, co-chair of the Sierra Club Borderland team. The various patches of land that provide refuge for these animals will become “less viable, with less and less places for them to go”.
A July letter sent from US Customs and Border Protection to a not-for-profit environmental group and seen by the Guardian describes the route and possible components of the project as including a 30ft-tall concrete and steel wall, roads, and a 150ft “enforcement zone” where all vegetation will be cleared.
With construction of the wall due to begin in February, people like Nicol fear that the barrier will not only destroy habitat and undermine ecotourism but also lead to an increasingly deadly border as undocumented immigrants are pushed further and further into marginal and dangerous areas.
“This is not just that they will drive ocelots to extinction,” said Nicol, referring to the critically  endangered  wild cat found in the Rio Grande Valley. “Families trying to come into this country will be pushed into the desert to die.”
“Border walls are death sentences for wildlife and humans alike,” said Amanda Munro of the Southwest Environmental Center, an organization that works to restore and protect native wildlife and habitats. “They block wild animals from accessing the food, water and mates they need to survive. They weaken genetic diversity, fragment habitat, and trap animals in deadly floods. At the same time, they drive desperate asylum seekers to risk their lives in the unforgiving desert.”
For Donald Trump, the new section of the barrier is making good on a campaign promise to build a “big beautiful wall”. A barrier that will add to the nearly 700 miles of walls and fences that already exist on or near the border.
More than 200 species of resident or migrating butterflies make homes at the butterfly center over the course of the year, including the vibrant Mexican bluewing, the tiny vicroy’s ministreak and the black swallowtail, which carpets the wild dill at the property with its eggs each spring. The center opened in 2003 and is the flagship project of the North American Butterfly Association.
“It’s going to cut right through here,” said Wright, showing where the wall will split the center’s property 1.2 miles from the border and cut off access to nearly 70% of its land.
Trump has expansive federal powers to construct the border wall on both private and public land. Since 2005, the Department of Homeland Security has had the power to waive numerous environmental laws in the name of national security.
And the federal government can, and has, used eminent domain law to acquire privately owned land for public use.
“We fully anticipate that they will seize the land by quick take,” said Wright, referring to a Depression-era provision of the eminent domain law that gives federal agencies the right to take property without compensation or adjudication. “Legal claims are not addressed or settled. You don’t get your day in court. You don’t get to negotiate appraisals or offers. Nothing,” said Wright.
On Tuesday, the president threatened to use defense spending if his plans to build the wall were challenged. “If the Democrats do not give us the votes to secure our Country, the Military will build the remaining sections of the Wall,” Trump said in a tweet.
For Wright, this threat could mean the end of the butterfly center and enormous harm to its dozens of butterfly species and the threatened Texas tortoise, Texas indigo snake, and Texas horned lizard that are also found there.
“It is truly a sight to behold,” said Wright, looking out from the bank of the Rio Grande river.
“They are violating our constitutionally protected rights, and that should terrify everyone,” she said. “Even if you don’t care about butterflies, you should care about this.”
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thehistorygirlnj · 5 years
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#tombstonetuesday: The grave of Felix Breceda (September 8, 1918 - March 18, 1919) at the Fairbank Cemetery, located near the Fairbank Historic Townsite in Cochise County, #Arizona. His mother was Romona Gonzalez born in 1883 in Mexico and his father was Aurelio Breseda born in 1874 in Mexico. This Fairbank ghost town and cemetery are part of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, managed by @mypubliclands. #az #azhistory #SpreadTheHistory #cemetery #cemetery_shots #aj_graveyards #rememberme #grave #graveyard #graveyard_dead #blog #blogger #travelblog #travelblogger #memorial #mementomori #historygirl #history #thisisaz #explorega #igersga #taphophile #taphophiles_only #fairbanktownsite #fairbankaz #ghosttown #sanpedroriver (at Fairbank Town Site) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByBnfjRg4Ns/?igshid=18wpk13tcluhf
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spaciousreasoning · 3 years
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Time Travel
These days it’s known as Fairbank, though it was also called Junction City and Kendall at various time in its history. It’s not entirely accurate to call it a ghost town. There are some old buildings still standing, yes, but there’s also a museum in the old schoolhouse — closed due to COVID — and a caretaker living in a motor home on the property. There’s also a parking lot and a restroom and displays with information posted all around.
Originally the site of a Native American village in the 18th century, the location near the San Pedro River in Cochise County was officially settled in 1881 when the railroad was built. It was the closest stop to Tombstone and the booming silver mines there. The population peaked at just under 500 in 1890, though the town was not completely abandoned until the 1970s. Today the area is part of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area and run by the bureau of Land Management.
We followed a trail to the old cemetery, perched atop a hill to avoid the occasional flooding of the San Pedro River, but declined to go another mile to the ruins of a mill that handled the silver from Tombstone. Even with the day’s temperature in the mid-60s, we still worked up a little sweat, and we wanted to get on to Willcox, where we ate once again at Isabel’s South of the Border restaurant.
As part of our day out of the house, we took Arizona 83 south to Sonoita and 82 east to Fairbank, wanting to avoid the interstate highway. Both roads, however, had some work going on, which required us to sit and wait for a few minutes. On the return trip, too, we ran into a delay. Westbound I-10 was backed up for several miles due to an accident, and it took about thirty minutes before we were able to resume normal travel speed.
In addition to Fairbank, there are more than a dozen other sites on a list of ghost towns in Cochise County, with nearly two dozen more across Pima and Santa Cruz counties, so we’ve got plenty of adventuring to do whenever we need to escape the four walls of isolation. Although that kind of outdoor activity is best suited for seasons that don’t bring 100-degree weather with them. I imagine we’ll keep busy for the next couple of months.
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textless · 2 months
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fatchance · 1 year
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The San Pedro House great blue herons are busy readying their nest. I watched a male present a stick to his mate. As courtship rituals go it helps to be both charming and practical. This is a new nest, built at the very top of the cottonwood about fifteen feet higher than last year’s. I’m waiting to see if the rookery has grown. In our desert environment great blues are somewhat uncommon, but I watched two other birds in the vicinity that might also be a mated pair. 
Great blue heron / garza morena (Ardea herodias) on the banks of the San Pedro River, Cochise County, Arizona. 
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thelostcanyon · 2 years
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Inca Dove (Columbina inca), San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Arizona.
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jayefeather · 4 years
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Lawsuit Targets Grazing <b>Damage</b> to Arizona&#39;s San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area
The livestock used for these experimental vegetation treatments would be controlled with electric fences and require new water sources, which could ... from Google Alert - water damage https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/lawsuit-targets-grazing-damage-to-arizonas-san-pedro-riparian-national-conservation-area-2020-04-08/&ct=ga&cd=CAIyGmM1ODA0ODI0ZWVkYWI2OWU6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNFHqFd3cBffZGQgzAAR1AvQPHcvAw
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fatehbaz · 4 years
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In a hushed corner of southern Arizona, sunlight glints off an emerald-colored plant with resplendent helmetlike flowers and the stature of a spindly adolescent. Called the Arizona eryngo, it’s a member of the carrot family that can top five feet in height and feeds pollinators ranging from hummingbirds to [bees]. It’s also among the rarest plants on earth, clinging to existence in two precarious Arizona wetlands known as cienagas. One of those cienagas is here on the edge of the San Pedro River, a waterway that’s also fighting for its life. As the impacts of climate change, groundwater depletion, and ranching reshape the landscape, the fate of the eryngo and that of its riverine home are profoundly intertwined. [...] The San Pedro is Arizona’s last free-flowing waterway and ranks among the Southwest’s most important bird migration corridors.
Roughly 40 miles of the river fall within the 56,000-acre San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, where one can find more than 350 bird and 80 mammal species, including nearly 20 that are threatened or endangered. They range from the yellow-billed cuckoo and southwestern willow flycatcher to the tiny loach minnow, all dwelling beneath huge canopies of willows, cottonwoods, and mesquites.
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But even the San Pedro’s special status offers scant protection against urban sprawl. As the city of Sierra Vista edges ever closer, the water table feeding the river and cienaga is already losing 5,000 acre-feet of water annually. [...]
[T]he preserve is under siege. It is administered by the BLM, which not only fails to control trespassing cattle but even allows grazing on parts of the refuge [...]. Amid it all, the lovely Arizona eryngo lingers on the edge of extinction. Yue Li, a research scientist with the University of Arizona and the Arizona–Sonora Desert Museum, has studied the plant extensively. “The eryngo is unique in that it occupies only the toughest wetlands,” he says. [...] Natural wetlands in arid reaches of New Mexico and Arizona have shrunk by 95 percent since the late 1800s [...]. Rather than recognizing that surface water and groundwater interact and connect in nature -- collectively feeding our springs, streams, and the roots of many plants -- Arizona manages these resources separately. [...]
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Over-pumping has profoundly impacted the river; today, portions of the San Pedro no longer flow at all during certain times of the year, leaving dry, sandy stretches that can’t support bird or native plant life. The shrinking water table has also led to an increase in non-native vegetation such as aggressive and deep-rooted tamarisk trees, which have begun crowding out the San Pedro’s towering cottonwoods.
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Tim Vanderpool. “Saving a Rare Plant and Rescuing a River.” NRDC. August 2019.
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somargraphics · 4 years
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Took this one a few weeks back after the 'big' winter storm. • Swipe ⬅️ for full size and original. • • • • #sierravista @cityofsierravista #arizona @visit_arizona #arizonahighways #extraordinaryskies #uncommonground #sanpedroripariannationalconservationarea #mountainrange #mountains #huachuca #sanpedro #sanpedroriver #trees #nature #travel #panorama #pano #lightroom #snow #winter #clearsky #sony #a7ii #35mm @rokinon #snowpocalypse2019 (at San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvDCjuCHmcQ/?igshid=15shevq1n6ycl
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