Wet and Dry Mapping

04 Jul Wet and Dry Mapping

Wet and dry mapping of the San Pedro River is an initiative of the Nature Conservancy of Southwest Arizona with the added collaboration of citizen volunteers from Mexico, and the Coronado National Memorial employees. The scientists and citizens have worked on this project every year for the past decade on the third Saturday in June when they track the water amounts and movement in the whole river system.  The data is collected during the end of the dry summer months before the monsoon cycle begins.

The hike begins at Montezuma Pass and ends at the border of Mexico within the area of the park (~8 miles). According to the data collected during the last few years, there hasn’t been much water since 2014 at Coronado. Mapping the San Pedro River is important to communities since the loss of water in streams has economic, social, and ecological consequences. It was very interesting for me to be a part of this initiative, especially since it was my first time. Walking downstream outside the park trails gives one a unique and detailed view of the vegetation and geology of the river.

To learn more about this visit: http://azconservation.org/projects/water/wet_dry_mapping