The Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) was established in June of 1984. The project aimed to restore the restore spring sources and outflow channels and associated riparian habitats that were previously degraded by agriculture, road-building, and water diversions, and now were dominated by invasive species. 

The iconic and productive Sonoran Desert landscapes of the Tuscon Basin are threatened by Buffelgrass, an invasive species introduced to the area in the 1930s. Buffelgrass alters the fire regime and is a threat to ecosystems, and human life and property. The Southern Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center was established in 2008 to bring stakeholders together to remove Buffelgrass effectively.  

Warming temperatures threaten native species in the Madrean Sky Islands Archipelago as plants and animals cannot migrate to higher elevation under the steep slope and finite extents. Conservation organizations collaboratively document the climate vulnerability of mountain springs and facilitates restoration work to enhance habitats and protect biodiversity.

Saguaro National Park, in the Sonoran Desert near Tuscon, Arizona, is threatened by invasive perennial grasses. These grasses outcompete native plants and heighten the risk of wildfires, a disturbance that the park’s ecosystem is not adapted to. Park managers want to remove invasive grasses and restore native species landscapes. 

Planning with extreme weather thresholds catalyzes a $400,000 green infrastructure investment in a historically underserved neighborhood in Las Cruces, New Mexico. City staff partnered with NOAA and nonprofit organizations for a local resilience project that includes a demonstration rainwater harvesting facility and a green infrastructure assessment of the neighborhood.

USGS Western Geographic Science Center led the project to examined the effects of gabions (wire baskets filled with rocks used as dams) on vegetation in the Ciénega San Bernardino, in the Arizona, Sonora portion of the US-Mexico border, using a remote-sensing analysis coupled with field data.

26,000 acres of Eastern Mojave Desert near Las Vegas, Nevada, is a specially managed area that receives Mojave Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) translocations. A 2011 Revised Recovery Plan aims to increase population densities of the tortoise by increasing native plant coverage and reducing invasive plant presence. 

Havasu National Wildlife Refuge is threatened by a large population of invasive Feral Swine (Sus scrofa). Feral Swine negatively impact native vegetation and wildlife, cause damage to human property and infrastructure, and are a public health and safety threat. In 2016, refuge staff and many collaborators began to work towards Feral Swine eradication within the refuge.  

Local ranchers drove the restoration of semi-dessert grassland to create diverse and connected habitats for pronghorn, quail, and other grassland species, as well as improve rangeland productivity for cattle on private lands and state trust lands. The project focuses on mechanical removal of mesquite that has reduced nesting habitats and cover of forage for wildlife and caused habitat fragmentation.

This project was focused on restoring a half-mile floodplain and terraces along Glorieta Creek within Pecos National Historical Park (NHP), which had been historically mined for sand and gravel and bulldozed into levees and two reservoirs. The main goal was to restore hydrological function by removing the levees and reservoirs and recontouring the creek channel.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and the Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) in Alpine, Texas, collaborated with local landowners to prioritize areas for pronghorn-friendly fence modifications. The team removed old, unused fences and accompanying fence posts, and adjusted the height and bottom strand of existing restrictive fences to allow pronghorn passage.

Human development and climate change have led to the loss of wetland vegetation and altered hydrology in the Amargosa River watershed. This project conducted scientific research to support the conservation of the Amargosa vole population and the restoration of their wetland habitats.

Until it was added to Red Rock Canyon State Park in 1989, the South Flat area had been heavily used by off-higway vehicles (OHVs) as a campground with large motor homes, leading to significant vegetation damage. The project goal was to revegetating the area with perennials.

Bat Conservation International (BCI) funded the project to increase the number of flowering agaves along the migratory route of nectarivorous migratory bats in the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. Through the binational collaboration, the team protected and enhanced existing agave habitats and planted new agaves throughout the migratory corridor.

This project is a five-year program that restored the abandoned landing strip and tank trail at the Vertical Short Takeoff and Landing (VSTOL) site. The project tested various procedures such as site preparation, soil manipulation, irrigation methods, and plant protection to develop the most efficient methods for the restoration of native plant communities in disturbed areas while simultaneously controlling erosion and dust.

Since 2016, the USFWS and Get Outdoors Nevada (GON) have been working in partnership to engage southern Nevada community members with outdoor spaces like Desert National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) through education and creation of urban wildlife habitat for pollinators and the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii).

Three wildlife overpasses and adjacent funnel fencing were constructed along United States Highway 93 (US93) to promote habitat connectivity for bighorn sheep and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. The project team spent two years monitoring GPS data for sheep distribution and trans-highway movements before construction.

Managers at the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma (MCASY) used a web-based weather-monitoring network and a cloud-based mapping app to help detect, map, monitor, and treat invasive Sahara mustard (Brassica tournefortii) and buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) at the Barry M. Goldwater Range-West (BMGR-W) of the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Arizona.

Researchers from the University of Arizona tested the ability of branch mulch and compost from mesquite removal projects to reestablish vegetation and improve soil health in the Altar Valley of Southern Arizona over the course of two years. Recycling whole mesquite branch mulch eliminates the need for tillage and reduces costs.

Beginning in 2004, the National Park Service began experimenting with mulch, branch mulch, rock mulch, and various planting techniques in highly degraded and eroded soils in Big Bend National Park (BIBE) in the Chihuahuan Desert grasslands of western Texas. The goal was to restore the banded vegetation to naturally direct rainfall and runoff, assist water infiltration, and reduce erosion.