Sonoran & Chihuahuan Deserts Seeps, Springs, & Tinajas Monitoring

Monitoring seeps, springs, and tinajas in national parks of the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Desert networks will improve our understanding of patterns in the amount and quality of water in these features, as well as in associated aquatic biota, and help us to gauge the overall status of water resources in SODN parks. In addition to being important surface waters themselves, many seeps and springs feed tinajas and other critical surface waters, and provide a measure of interaction between groundwater and surface water. These waters are among the most restricted habitats for focal and threatened plant and animal species. As such, they are important to resource managers. In some cases, identifying the condition of seeps and springs is also important for reasons of human health and risk.