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 aimed to eradicate the non-native American bullfrog, northern crayfish, and other invasive aquatic species in Cienega Creek in order to support conservation and reintroduction of the federally threatened Chiricahua leopard frog (CLF). The team quantified the abundance and distribution of native and non-native species, removed the bullfrogs, and established a buffer-zone to prevent bullfrog dispersal from outside.

A rancher-led conservation organization in southeastern Arizona is aiming to halt excessive erosion in the Altar Wash. In 2012, they initiated the Elkhorn/Las Delicias Watershed Restoration Demonstration Project (Elk/LD Demo Project), a 13,000-acre project using road rehabilitation, upland restoration, and natural channel design to recreate conditions where natural erosion and deposition processes could resume.

The Paseo de las Iglesias restoration project aims to reverse severe environmental degradation and improve flood resilience along the Santa Cruz River. The project’s main goals are: significant ecosystem revitalization, on-site water reclamation and storage, hybrid green/gray erosion control, historic programming, and public access and recreation.  

To restore the rare riparian wetlands at the Rio Yaqui Basin, USFWS purchased conservation easements to protect water resources and increase connectivity of riparian and upland habitats. USFWS built trust with a local coalition of ranchers who support private land conservation. Two conservation easements were purchased: the 7,000-acre 99-Bar Ranch and the 13,713-acre Bar Boot Ranch.

Introduced non-native aquatic species pose a significant ecological threat to the native fish assemblages in Bonita and Aravaipa Creeks. A fish barrier was constructed in 2008 to prevent the non-native Green Sunfish from moving upstream. After that, the creek was chemically treated with rotenone (piscicide). Neither strategy completely eliminated the non-native populations, so mechanical removal techniques were implemented.

Funded by Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Arizona Project (CAP), this project focused on removing non-native Green Sunfish and Black Bulkhead to protect the native Roundtail Chub in Red Tank Draw. Biologists from the Arizona Game and Fish Department mechanically removed non-native fishes using backpack electrofishing, mini-hoop nets, Swedish gill nets, and snorkeling with spears.

Since 2017, biologists from the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) have been working to remove non-native Green Sunfish from McGee Wash on Fort Rock Ranch and restore the native fish populations. A “blitz” approach was employed, using various netting mechanisms (hoop nets, seines, and minnow traps), angling, and backpack electroshocking.

Non-native Boer and Lehmann lovegrasses threatened the native grasslands at the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch (AWRR). AWRR staff began experimenting with treatments of lovegrass in the late-1990s to discover effective methods to protect and rehabilitate native grasslands. Chemical treatment (glyphosate + colorant + surfactant) was the only method that was effective.

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.

In 1998, scientists from The Nature Conservancy implemented a tree-thinning experiment at Bingham Cienega Natural Preserve (the Preserve) to restore a bosque structure to a velvet mesquite community. The goal was to determine whether thinning could accelerate the development of a mature mesquite bosque.

In the 1980s, the City of Tuscon implemented a “storage and recovery” (S&R) strategy to reduce its unsustainable reliance on groundwater. They treated groundwater, stored it in the aquifer, and reuse the treated water for non-portable water needs instead of pumping fresh groundwater. The Sweetwater Recharge Facilities features 40 acres of recharge basins and 22 acres of constructed wetlands.

Wildlife Corridors LLC purchased a 189-lot, high-density housing development to create a single conservation easement project. They preserved the wildlife corridors and managed the land use for restoration and recreation. These wildlife corridors serve as linkages to enhance genetic flow and biodiversity of wildlife species.

The Wood for Life partnership (WFL) was a collaborative network of organizations in northern Arizona including the USFS, Navajo Nation, and Hopi Tribe. They are working to remove thinned fuelwood from restoration projects in the wildland urban interface (WUI) to reduce the risk of wildfires, and make the removed wood available for Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe members.

The USFWS is working with the Arizona Department of Game and Fish, the White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT), and the USFS to recover Apache trout populations through a combination of stream restoration, captive fish production, and stocking in the White Mountains. Invasive trout species were removed through either chemical treatment (Rotenone) or mechanical removal.