High Elevation Gardening Web Log "Blog"

Grand Canyon Impact Study

Do you want to be part of an interdisciplinary team to help measure human impacts to vegetation, wildlife and cultural resources in Grand Canyon's backcountry? This spring there are several volunteer opportunities to join Grand Canyon National Park staff on 3-8 day backpacking trips to gather data on human impacts to natural resources.

While several studies have examined ecological changes and recreation along the Colorado River, little information exists on the impacts of visitor use on vegetation and small mammal communities in backcountry areas. In preparation for the revision of the Backcountry Management Plan, we will be conducting integrated recreational impact, soil, vegetation, and small mammal surveys in the inner canyon over the winter and spring of 2004-2005. We will compare human impact indicators and the distribution and abundance of plant and small mammal species in areas that receive high visitation with those that receive little visitor use.

To learn more, please contact Kate Watters, Backcountry Vegetation Specialist at the Grand Canyon National Park Science Center: 928.226.0158 or Katherine_Watters@nps.gov.

Monitoring Workshop April 25 and Field Work funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant, The Arboretum at Flagstaff

The Arboretum at Flagstaff will host training workshops for plant inventory and monitoring volunteers. The focus this year is monitoring seven threatened and sensitive plants in northern Arizona that may be incurring effects from long-term drought. Workshop topics include: how plant conservation is different from animal conservation; rarity in plants; species concepts; threats; population evaluation; demography, population viability; seed collecting and storage techniques. The first workshop will be held April 25th at The Arboretum and in the field. Additional field days will be scheduled in coordination with local land management agencies. The workshop is free; however, trainees should anticipate assisting in some field monitoring during the summer and fall. Contact Sheila Murray sheila.murray@nau.edu for more information on the workshop.