Building Weirs, Catching Rain: Naturalist, Developers Partner to Invigorate Vital Sonoita Creek Watershed Near Patagonia
Jeffrey Cooper, a naturalist with 20 years experience as a land steward, is catching the rain in his outdoor office -- on 1,760 acres of high grassland near Patagonia in southern Arizona. His to-do list includes thinning mesquites, building rock and brush weirs to capture rainfall, reseeding native grasses, planting oak trees and monitoring the hydrological results. This is systematic and scientific invigoration of the landscape -- a new regenerative model of land development -- taking place in a landscape that is now part of a residential community called Three Canyons.
(PRWEB) November 10, 2006 -- Jeffrey Cooper's job is catching the rain.
His office is outdoors -- on 1,760 acres of high grassland near Patagonia, Arizona.
His to-do list includes thinning mesquites, building rock and brush weirs to capture rainfall, reseeding native grasses, planting oak trees and monitoring the hydrological results. This is systematic and scientific invigoration of the landscape -- a landscape that is now part of a residential development called Three Canyons.
Jeffrey Cooper is a naturalist with 20 years experience as a land steward, most recently as manager of The Nature Conservancy's Patagonia-Sonoita Creek and Hassayampa River preserves. Today he is executive director of La Semilla, a non-profit stewardship organization that is an integral part of Three Canyons, a new model of residential development created by David Parsons and David Hubbell of Conservation Properties. Ninety-five percent of the land will be remain open space.
Unlike many conservation developments where protected land is simply set aside, this new model centers around invigorating the land and involving the people who live there in a whole-system process of ecological balance, Cooper said. Three Canyons is part of the Sonoita Creek watershed, an area widely acclaimed for its unique biodiversity of plants, animals and migratory birds. The land lies between two sections of the Coronado National Forest in Southern Arizona.
Over the past 125 years, this quintessentially Western landscape has been disturbed by erosion, tree removal, fire suppression, overgrazing and sustained drought. These changes have combined to diminish the ability of the land to capture and hold water, Cooper said.
"Our goal is to sustain the hydrological cycle of the Sonoita Creek riparian ecosystem by restoring the capacity of the tributary watersheds to hold water for longer periods of time," he said.
Cooper's mission is to capture the rain. His focus is not on the amount of precipitation but the speed at which the water moves through the land at Three Canyons. Restorative steps include harvesting water, planting native vegetation and clearing sediment.
Rainwater harvesting technologies and integrated strategies are being utilized at Three Canyons to introduce water harvesting "nets," which allow rainwater to permeate and enhance soil moisture conditions.
Vegetation also is key. Since cattle were removed two years ago, native grasses have returned. Additional grasses and three species of oak trees are being planted to create a "forested hillside" effect that will slow, but not stop, the flow of water. These plants will help "anchor" the landscape and increase litter and organic matter in the soil.
Erosion at the upper levels of the watershed system led to increased sediment at the lower levels -- threatening Gila topminnows and other native fish species. Reducing this sediment will directly benefit the aquatic environment of Sonoita Creek.
As director of the non-profit stewardship organization, Cooper works with -- not for -- developers Parsons and Hubbell of Conservation Properties, Inc. Their Three Canyons development model is the result of two years of research, planning and community collaboration. Environmental components include:
| | - Situating roadways to follow the natural contour of the earth and serve as water-carrying drainages.
- Clustering building envelopes near roadways and away from ridgelines and valleys.
- Investing in a water district that will preclude drilling 198 unregulated residential wells and conserve water.
- Using water harvesting techniques and a wastewater processing system to help sustain the on-site organic community farm.
- Collaborating with noted restoration ecologist Mark Briggs, water harvesting expert Brad Lancaster and biological diversity researchers Drs. Carl and Jane Bock of the Audubon Research Ranch.
- Preserving 95 percent of the land as open space, partly by establishing a 995-acre conservation easement through the non-profit Sonoran Institute and the community stewardship organization La Semilla.
- Assessing every home site to identify physical characteristics, vegetation restoration potential, wind and solar exposures.
- Encouraging homeowners to use water harvesting and other eco-friendly strategies to invigorate their own acreage.
- Conducting on-going research on the impact of steps taken to improve the hydrology of the landscape.
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Developer Parsons said, "We believe the steps we have taken to preserve open space and ensure actual regeneration of the land sets a new standard for green living in the Southwest."
Cooper added, "We're doing this in a way that contributes to the health of the whole system. And what's exciting to me is that by involving the homeowners we are creating a path of personal stewardship, a way people can realize a much deeper connection to the land, actively nourish the land and be part of a larger process that depends on their commitment as well as ours."
For more information on this new model of development, visit www.la-semilla.org or www.threecanyons.com. Call Three Canyons at 520 394-2030 or 888 828-9122.
Conservation Properties, Inc.
Conservation Properties identifies and regenerates ecologically vital land in beautiful settings and protects it forever. The company develops areas large enough, and with enough biodiversity, to be of significant conservation value. David Parsons and Denny Hubbell are former holistic ranchers and a new generation of developers who are committed to whole-system planning that can enrich the land, the wildlife and the people who live there.
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