Stream Monitoring in the Sonoran Desert Network

Riparian areas supply food, cover, and water for a large diversity of animals and serve as migration routes and habitat connectors for a variety of wildlife. They are also important in controlling water pollution, reducing erosion, mitigating floods, and increasing groundwater recharge. Riparian systems also perform numerous ecosystem functions important to human populations, yet are one of the most endangered forest types in the United States. Because of their importance, streams were chosen as a focus for monitoring in the National Park Service (NPS) Sonoran Desert Network. Portions of three major river systems (or their tributaries) are found within four Sonoran Desert Network park park units: Gila Cliff Dwellings, Montezuma Castle, and Tuzigoot national monuments, and Tumacácori National Historical Park.