Water Protection Program Funds University Projects

The Arizona Water Protection Fund was established for "protecting and restoring this state's rivers and streams and associated riparian habitats, including fish and wildlife resources that are dependent on these important habitats." Legislators set program priorities for in-the-field, hands-on projects that promise tangible results. Projects for "research and data collection, compilation and analysis" — i.e., the type of project most likely to be submitted by university researchers — are not to receive more than 5 percent of available funding. Five of the following university projects fit within that category and received AWPF funding last year. The Northern Arizona University (NAU) project is a capital project and also received funding.

AWPF application workshops are currently taking place; applications are due August 1 (see Ann., p. 10). Program officials suggest that a good university strategy when submitting an application is to link up with a city, county or other entity involved in a hands-on or field project in order to be eligible for funding in categories other than research.

Stable Isotope Assessment of Groundwater and Surface Water Interaction: Application to the Verde River Headwaters, Arizona State University (ASU), $21,508

This one-year study of naturally occurring stable isotopes is to assess the hydraulic connections between the aquifers of the Chino Valley and the headwaters of the Verde and hence what effects, if any, groundwater pumping has on flow of the upper Verde River. In cooperation with state agencies and local water users, a data base is being compiled from sampling of the headwaters of the Verde and other streams, wells, and springs in the Chino Valley. Different recharge sources will be identified using distinct signatures in the stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen.

Regeneration and Survivorship of Arizona Sycamore, Center for Environmental Studies, ASU, $34,617

The two-and-a-half year project involves collecting field data at perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral streams within the Huachuca Mountains of southern Arizona. The project's goal is to better understand the influence of natural and human factors (e.g., site hydrology, climatic variability, cattle grazing) on the Arizona sycamore (Platanus wrightii). The study is examining the influence of these factors on the age structure of Arizona sycamore, rates of regeneration from seed and from asexual sprouting, growth rate, plant-water relations, and anthracnose development on mature trees. Arizona sycamore is a dominant species riparian forest, and provides habitat for breeding birds.

Assessment of the Role of Effluent Dominated Rivers in Supporting Riparian Functions, Center for Environmental Studies, ASU, $46,750

This study's objective is to compare some of the functions of riparian ecosystems along effluent-dominated and non-effluent dominated streams to determine whether effluent-dominated discharges produce different responses of some of the major components of the riparian ecosystem, including vegetation, bird and terrestrial invertebrate communities, river surface and hyporheic processes and biota, and surface and groundwater relationships. Three paired reaches, located along the Salt, Gila, Santa Cruz, and Agua Fria rivers, are being studied.

Quantifying Anti-Erosion Traits of Streambank Graminoids, Center for Environmental Studies, ASU, $14,910

The purpose of this one-year study is to measure and compare the physical traits of streamside grasses and grass-like plants (graminoids) that determine their potential capacity to stabilize streambanks. The study is focusing on streambank graminoids at Buck Springs, a riparian meadow in the Coconino National Forest. Field sampling is quantifying shoot density, height, percent cover, and biomass. Soil sampling is measuring root depth, strength, volume, biomass, distribution, soil bulk density, and texture.

Autecology and Restoration of Sporobolus wrigtii Riparian Grasslands in Southern Arizona, Center for Environmental Studies, ASU, $53,734

The purpose of this two and a half year study is to acquire ecological information necessary to understand the natural processes allowing for regeneration and maintenance of Sporobolus wrightii (giant sacaton) riparian grasslands along alluvial rivers in southern Arizona, and to use this information to determine natural recovery and restoration potential of this type of community on abandoned agricultural fields. Relationships between seedlings and environmental factors (e.g., groundwater depths, site elevations, time since abandonment) will be assessed via field observations and controlled laboratory and field studies. Relationships between environmental factors and mature S. wrightii will be defined through field studies.

Critical Riparian Habitat Restoration Along a Perennial Reach of a Verde River Tributary

, NAU, in coordination with The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Geological Service, $102,535

This project is to restore riparian habitat critical to the successful regeneration of a Bebb willow-mixed graminoid riparian plant community in the area of Hart Prairie, Coconino County, Arizona. The project involves removing a surface-water diversion and monitoring changes to surface and subsurface water quantity and quality, and to the plant community in the affected riparian ecosystem. Factors to be monitored include precipitation, stream flow, water levels, spring and seep discharge, plant water status, species regeneration and early growth and plant species distributions.