Our team recently published a new scientific paper led by Dr. Larry Stevens examining how tributaries connect, or sometimes fail to connect ecologically, to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. A small stream may support abundant aquatic life, while the river it flows into supports far less. This question sits at the heart of our work at SSI because the tributaries in this study are entirely dependent on springs for their baseflow. In Grand Canyon, springs sustain these streams year-round in an otherwise dry landscape, creating habitat that supports insects and other small organisms forming the base of the aquatic food web. We wanted to understand what happens to that life when spring-fed tributaries meet the dam-controlled Colorado River.

In 2023 and 2025, SSI partnered with Friends of the Verde River to map and inventory the headwater springs that provide critical baseflow to the Verde River and its tributaries. This project has been generously funded through a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow these links to learn more about the project and Verde springs ecology.

Photo courtesy of Joel Hazelton https://www.joelhazelton.com/.

In August 2025 SSI was honored to join the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). We’re especially proud to have co-sponsored a motion and host a session alongside partners including Re:wild, the Saint Louis Zoo, the International Water Management Institute, SHOAL, and others. Together, we’ll work to close critical gaps in knowledge, policy, and funding, chart a clear roadmap for conservation, and launch a dedicated IUCN Springs Specialist Group. This is the moment to ensure springs and their incredible biodiversity finally get the recognition and protection they deserve.

Springsnails are often highly endemic to individual springs ecosystems, a result of the role of springs as a paleorefugia for life developed when the Southwest was considerably wetter. Unfortunately, this endemism makes individual springsnail species vulnerable to extinction when spring habitats are degraded. SSI assisted the Springsnail Conservation Team (SCT), a group of partner organizations including state and federal agencies, in forming a comprehensive conservation strategy for springsnails in Utah and Nevada to safeguard existing springsnail species richness and diversity. The resulting Nevada and Utah Springsnail Conservation Strategy and associated Agreement is a comprehensive and proactive 10-year plan to protect 103 species of springsnails and their habitats (primarily springs). Successful achievement of Agreement objectives will protect springsnails and their habitats in the two states and avoid future federal listing of these species. The objectives of the Agreement cover compilation of ecological data, threat identification and reduction, habitat maintenance and restoration, and an education/outreach program. SSI continues to support the Springsnail Conservation Team to implement the Strategy and meet Agreement goals.

This photo is greatly magnified for detail — springsnails grow to a maximum size of 2-3 mm (about 2-3x the thickness of your fingernail).