By Western Geographic Science Center June 13, 2024

In the desert – where communities and ecosystems are on the front lines of climate change and drought, Natural Infrastructure in Dryland Streams (NIDS) have been used to promote multiple ecosystem services since time immemorial. Notable restoration practitioners from the Sky Island Restoration Collaborative (SIRC) were convened by USGS at the NCER2024, in a session about low-cost, low-tech, nature-based solutions, that can help people mitigate and adapt to climate changes.

Most people recognize that beaver dams provide a plethora of valuable ecosystem services, but many dryland reaches cannot support beavers due to lack of perennial flow and habitat. This session described how humans have and can ‘be the beaver’, and install, maintain, and benefit from all kinds of  NIDS, from gabions to one-rock-dams to BDAS, along with the long list of nature-based solutions they provide to reverse desertification and strengthen climate resilience. This was a 2-part session consisting of leading land and water-resource restoration practitioners, with 20+ years’ experience in ecohydrological restoration. Eight presentations and a summary overview are now available online for everyone to review: Human-Built Natural Infrastructure in Dryland Streams (NIDS) – Lessons from the “20-Year Crew” - YouTube.

Session Organizer: 

Laura M. Norman, Ph.D., U.S. Geological Survey “Introduction & Overview” Human-Built Natural Infrastructure in Dryland Streams — Lessons from the "20-Year Crew" | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov) (#BetheBeaver)

Valer Austin Clark, Cuenca los Ojos, "Re-Watering the Ground | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)"

Florance Cassassuce & Enrique Troyo-Diéguez, Ph.D, Alumbra Innovations & Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste S.C.(CIBNOR), "10-Years Experience in Building Rock Gabions and Check Dams in the Cacachilas Mountain Range, Mexico | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)"

Van Clothier, Stream Dynamics, "Hydrological Restoration of Degraded Grasslands in Arid and Semi-Arid Communities | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)"

A. Thomas Cole, Pitchfork Ranch, "Hinge-Felling, Best & Cheapest | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)"

Allen Haden, Natural Channel Design Engineering, "Lessons learned using stream morphology and simple erosion control structures from the past decade that improve longevity and project performance | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)"

Clark Richins, Teresa Goseyun, & Nicole Lister, San Carlos Apache Tribe, Range & Soil Conservation, "Juniper Tank, Pasture Rehab | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)"

Joaquin Murrieta-Saldivar, Ph.D., Watershed Management Group, " Think Like a Watershed, Act like a River: The Culture of Community Based River Restoration in the Arizona-Sonora, MX Binational Watersheds | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)"

Bill Zeedyk, Zeedyk Ecological, "Why the trilogy matters: Hydrology, Geomorphology & Ecology | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)"

Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

Learn more about the "Sky Island Restoration Collaboration" (SIRC) and the Aridland Water Harvesting Study | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov).

 Contacts

Laura M Norman, Ph.D.

Supervisory Research Physical Scientist

Western Geographic Science Center

Email: lnorman@usgs.gov

Phone: 520-670-5510

 "Sky Island Restoration Collaboration" (SIRC) | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov) 

Aridland Water Harvesting Study | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)