Inventory & Monitoring Program National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Casa Grande Ruins NM Chiricahua NM Coronado NMEM Fort Bowie NHS Gila Cliff Dwellings NM Montezuma Castle NM Organ Pipe Cactus NM Saguaro NP Tonto NM Tumacácori NHP Tuzigoot NM Volume 3, Issue 2 The Heliograph Summer 2013 Official Newsletter of the Sonoran Desert Network The Desert Research Learning Center Inside this Issue Our New Home Away from Home Project Updates ................................2 Student Scientists .............................4 While all 11 Sonoran Desert Network Since our move to the new location, we On-site Weather Station Up and (SODN) parks are home to our staff, have been busy making the space feel Running ............................................5 Tucson is our central base of operations. like home. On top of normal fieldwork Where Are We? ................................6 In August 2012, we moved our offices duties and meetings, renovations are un- from a leased space in east-central Tuc- derway—and so are discussions about son to a building and grounds vacated the vision for use of the new facilities. try of the great room has been demol- several months earlier by the Bureau of ished to make space for a future visitor Land Management (BLM). As the BLM Building Updates and education center. Exciting plans are is currently in the process of transferring To meet federal building codes and up- in motion to install student-designed na- the building and land to the National date the facility for SODN operational tive landscaping in the courtyard, and Park Service, we have eliminated our needs, several assessments have been install directional signage to and around leasing costs. conducted with the aim of improving the building. In addition, our collateral- The news gets even better: our new loca- the building’s efficiency and making duty safety officer has been working to tion, designed and built as a classic 1970s environmentally friendly modifica- ensure that the building is up to code for Tucson ranch house, sits on 40 acres adja- tions. Projects already underway include fire hazards and other safety concerns, cent to Saguaro National Park (NP). This converting lighting to energy-efficient and a bathroom and the front door will new location, and the resources it pro- LEDs, improving energy efficiency with be modified to meet the requirements of vides, supports our efforts to engage in R12+ insulation, establishing a dry lab the Americans with Disabilities Act. continued collaboration, obtain proper for soil analysis, painting walls, and in- . Continued on page 3 data analysis facilities, and promote sci- stalling solar-tube lighting and a solar ence- and park-based service learning. water heater. Cabinetry in the front en- . Continued on page 3 1 Official newsletter of the Sonoran Desert Network Project Updates Groundwater Invasive Exotic Plants In June, July, and August, a permanent mount for water-quality instruments Spring quarterly water-level monitoring Exotic plant surveys were completed at and stream-gaging equipment will be was completed and processed for Chir- Casa Grande Ruins NM and and Tu - installed on Wet Beaver Creek at the icahua NM, Coronado NMEM, Fort macácori NHP in March, and at Coro- Well unit of Montezuma Castle NM. Bowie NHS, and Saguaro NP (West). nado National Memorial in April. Water-quality logging instruments will Groundwater-level monitoring at Sa- be deployed and retrieved at Tumacácori guaro NP by volunteer par excellence Landbirds NHP, Montezuma Castle NM, and Tuzi- Chuck Perger continues on a biweekly The 2013 field season of landbirds moni- goot NM. Aquatic macroinvertebrates schedule. With Chuck’s able assistance, toring has been completed, with the same and quarterly water-quality samples will a well discovered at Hope Camp a cou- transects sampled at each park as were be collected at Montezuma Castle NM, ple of years ago was characterized, in- in previous years. The annual report for Tuzigoot NM, and Tumacácori NHP. strumented, and added to the monitor- the 2012 field season is now available at ing program in March. http://go.nps.gov/sodnbirds. The aquatic ecologist presented results from streams monitoring at Tumacá- Updating of the groundwater database cori NHP at the 2013 Santa Cruz River has been ongoing since last fall. The da- Natural Resource Research Days at the Sonoran Desert tabase has undergone extensive revision, Condition Assessments Museum. Copies of all the presentations especially the metadata portion, which Our NRCA effort took an unfortunate are available at http://www.sonoran- is being brought into conformance with step backward when our key coopera- institute.org/where-we-work/south- federal interagency data-sharing stan- tor (the Sonoran Institute) withdrew west/santa-cruz-river/672-research- dards. A draft of the groundwater proto- from the project. We are currently work- days-2013.html. col was sent for peer review. Comments ing with the new Intermountain Region were received and addressed; this proto- NRCA coordinator to get the effort back Uplands col is currently being prepared for pub- on track. lication in the NPS Natural Resource Annual reporting is underway. The data Report series. Springs from all parks have been evaluated to as- sess the adequacy of the sampling design Planned activities under this protocol (number of plots), allowing us to sched- were cancelled due to the federal budget ule this year’s field work more efficiently sequestration. and determine whether additional or National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior fewer plots may be necessary at certain Streams parks. In March, April, and May, vegetation- density plots were read and part of Vegetation Mapping The Sonoran Desert Network is one of the riparian vegetation module of the Field work was initiated at Saguaro NP– 32 National Park Service inventory and Streams Protocol was implemented at Rincon Mountain District in March, and monitoring networks nationwide that are Tumacácori NHP. Implementation of implementing vital signs monitoring in order is ongoing. Data from Gila Cliff Dwell- to assess the condition of park ecosystems the rest of the module is scheduled for ings NM have been analyzed in prepara- and develop a stronger scientific basis for September, when vegetative cover is tion for map finalization. stewardship and management of natural highest. A permanent mount for water- resources across the National Park System. quality logging instruments was installed Washes at Pecos NHP, and instruments were de- Sonoran Desert Network Planned activities under this protocol 12661 East Broadway Blvd. ployed at that park as well as Bent’s Old were cancelled due to the federal budget Tucson, Arizona 85748 Fort NHS and Gila Cliff Dwellings NM. sequestration. Phone Water-quality samples were also collect- 520-546-1607 ed at those three parks, and aquatic mac- roinvertebrates were collected at Bent’s Internet http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/sodn Old Fort NHS. https://www.facebook.com/npssodn The National Park Service cares for the special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. 2 Official newsletter of the Sonoran Desert Network DRLC conduct cultural- and natural-resource velop interagency monitoring protocols Continued from page 1 research, communication, and protec- and share expertise. Two Intermountain tion across the Southwest. The DRLC Region Office NPS employees—a hy- will provide office and lab space for re- drologist and the Southwest Exotic Plant Desert Research Learning search, housing for volunteers and re- Management Team Coordinator—also Center searchers, and an outdoor classroom for work in the building. students and working professionals (see Our new building and grounds also Many projects, initiatives, and big ideas story on page 4). serve as the physical location of the are materializing at the Desert Research interagency Desert Research Learn- Learning Center, so keep an eye out for ing Center. Research Learning Centers Share and Share Alike new developments. If you are interested (RLCs) were established in 19 areas of Only about two-thirds of our office’s -oc in learning more about our efforts or the country as part of the National Park cupants actually work for SODN. Our have a great idea yourself, we would love Service (NPS)’s Natural Resource Chal- new building also hosts employees of to work with you. lenge in 2001 to increase the effective- the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts ness and communication of scientific Zone of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- —Anna Iwaki, research in national parks. They com- vice’s natural resource inventory and Biological Science Technician municate and host scientific research monitoring program. Our common —Alice Wondrak Biel, in parks, integrate current scientific re- space helps strengthen efforts to de- Science Writer-Editor search into service learning programs, and promote science knowledge and re- source stewardship. Before During While the initial creation of RLCs was NPS-specific, the Desert Research Learning Center (DRLC) will col- laborate with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, other federal agencies, college institutions, local K–12 schools, and non-profit organizations to promote and Top: Before and during the process of installing R12+ insulation in the program manager’s exterior wall. Bottom: Replacing the original Before After monochromatic pink color scheme with contrasting paints has effectively improved the lighting for vegetation staff assigned to this room. 3 Official newsletter of the Sonoran Desert Network The New Wave of Student Scientists Science communication and education have always been pri- connecting scientists and local experts with high-school stu- orities for SODN, and the Desert Research Learning Center dents to enhance science learning, skills, and literacy. As part (DRLC) grounds are providing us with opportunities we could of the FSS, the SODN streams team visited City High School’s only have dreamed of before. A variety of service-learning field-ecology course several times last fall.