Recent News
FaLL 2022
SSI is excited to be embarking on a major effort in the Verde Watershed, mapping and inventorying the headwater springs that provide critical baseflow to the Verde’s tributaries. We received a generous grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust to support this work, and we are looking forward to collaborating with citizen scientists from Friends of the Verde River to conduct ecological monitoring of these ecologically important springs.
SUMMER 2022
Measuring flow in Bears Ears National Monument
In 2022 we completed our second year of mapping and inventorying springs within Bears Ears National Monument on land managed by the Manti-La Sal National Forest. We are very excited about our work in Bears Ears, a stunningly beautiful and culturally important landscape in southern Utah. This year we completed our second year of mapping and inventorying springs within Bears Ears on land managed by the Manti-La Sal National Forest. One of our crews spent six days backpacking in Woodenshoe Canyon and the Dark Canyon Wilderness, surveying 20 springs that included 12 not previously mapped.
June 2020
SSI is exploring recently emerged areas of Glen Canyon as the level of Lake Powell reservoir declines, finding springs in almost every side canyon.
june 2020
This year, we transformed the SSI Springs Inventory and Assessment workshop into a virtual experience, and it was a smashing success. Due to safety concerns, we adapted the workshop to be accessible online, making our tutorials in springs fieldwork and management available to a wider audience in a safer capacity. SSI staff utilized all new tools, including videos, polls, and handouts to engage workshop attendees from home. We were excited to engage in ongoing dialogue with our wonderful workshop participants, who asked questions and inspired us with their ideas and springs stewardship goals. In adapting our workshop format, SSI staff were able to get training in new technology and virtual techniques to help us up our outreach game and provide more accessible training options in the future.
September 2020
Watch this extraordinary presentation by Jeff Jenness at the Wildlife Society 2020 Virtual Conference on September 29. Jenness, J.S., L. Stevens, J. Ledbetter, A. Mendoza, A. Hazelton, and B. Mann. 2020. Springs Online: A Long-Term Database of Springs and Spring-Dependent Species, and Its Application in the Springsnail Conservation Strategy. The Wildlife Society 2020 Virtual Conference. September 29, 2020.
Grand Canyon trail, AZ
march 2020
Dr. Larry Stevens published a new paper on the springs biome, an analysis of springs ecosystems with an emphasis on arid regions. Check out the abstract for this new, informative piece of literature, here.
February 2020
Larry Stevens and Jeri Ledbetter have been acknowledged in the USDA Rangeland Water Development at Springs document for their expert opinions in contribution to this document. This is one of many ways SSI is proud to collaborate in meaningful research and management practices. Read about the Best Practices for Design, Rehabilitation, and Restoration of springs here.
January 2020
Alek Mendoza, presenting at the AZ/NM Wildlife and Fisheries Meeting
Last weekend, three employees of SSI presented at the Arizona/New Mexico Chapter of the Wildlife Society Meeting in Prescott, AZ. It was a wonderful opportunity to engage with the scientific community and share some of our ongoing research. SSI presented on Spring ecosystem spatial trends, the Springsnail Conservation Strategy, and springs dependent species.
December 2019
SSI published an article on springsnails and our ongoing work on the Regional Springsnail Conservation Strategy in the Arizona Daily Sun. We hope to engage the public by sharing the incredible diversity and ecological significance of these aquatic organisms. Read about it here.
October 2019
Workshop participants in Chihuahua, Mexico
SSI traveled to Manuel Benavides in Chihuahua, Mexico to teach their Springs Inventory and Assessment Protocol to Mexican land managers. The workshop participants were primarily employees of the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP), which is a Mexican federal agency comparable to the National Park Service in the United States. After discussing springs inventory concepts and techniques in the classroom, we visited several springs in a protected area called the Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Cañón de Santa Elena. It is one of three Mexican protected areas that border the Rio Grande River that are considered Sister Parks to Big Bend National Park in the US.
While we did not visit the Rio Grande River during this workshop, we did inventory springs in two strikingly beautiful canyons near the town of Manuel Benavides. Las Pilas Canyon is named for its large pools of water which are fed by warm springs; one of the pools is called “the jaccuzi” because the travertine bedrock forms a comfortable seat in the water, and right next to the seat is a perfect place to set one’s beverage. We also visited San Carlos Canyon, where numerous springs lined the canyon walls, including a picturesque fern-covered hanging garden and another, much larger spring that is piped into town and provides the municipal water supply.
In spite of the language barrier, SSI staff thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the workshop participants, who were in turn quite enthusiastic about learning our springs assessment process. Like much of western US, the water supply in this part of Mexico is quite limited and the demand is beginning to outpace the supply. Because of these conservation concerns, throughout the 3-day workshop the participants maintained an ongoing conversation about how best to evaluate the condition of springs and prioritize their management options.
January 2019
Springsnails grow to a maximum size of 2-3 mm (about 2-3x the thickness of your fingernail). Magnified here by MNA’s macroinvertebrate imaging lab.
SSI is excited to announce that we are embarking on a Regional Springsnail Conservation Strategy. 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 due to the vulnerability of springs to human and natural disturbance and change. The purpose of this project is to develop a comprehensive conservation strategy for springsnails in Utah and Nevada to safeguard the existing springsnail species richness and diversity. This strategy will help the Springsnail Conservation Team (SCT), and a group of agencies working under the 2017 springsnail Conservation Agreement, to develop a Conservation Agreements and Strategies (CAS) document that will allow for conservation actions and threat abatement. The long-term goal is to protect the 93 species of springsnails and prevent any new listings under the Endangered Species Act.
You can view the first of five webinar’s that SSI will host as the Conversation Strategy is underway.
June 2018
SSI, in partnership with the National Park Service, hosted the first Springs Ecosystem Science Symposium at the Museum of Northern Arizona. The event was a great success, with researchers and collaborators from federal agencies, tribes, and non-profits coming together to further the individual and collective knowledge about the latest in springs ecosystems and innovative research across the West. You can find the program and presentations here.
June 5, 2017 - Grand Canyon Springs Smartphone App
SSI has developed a second smartphone app. The latest one is specifically for the Grand Canyon, and allows back-country users to report about the condition of springs, upload photographs, find new springs, and to improve mapping accuracy. If you spend time in Grand Canyon and want to get involved, you can find more information here.
November 8, 2016 - Springs restoration project
Last year, the U.S. Forest Service partnered with the Hopi Tribe in an effort to restore two culturally significant springs ecosystems on Kaibab National Forest. The Hopi-Kaibab National Forest Spring Restoration Project engaged Hopi youth, elders, and cultural resources managers, and the Springs Stewardship Institute was honored to be invited to participate. We sincerely look forward to future collaborations with the U.S. Forest Service and Tribal communities.
December 15, 2015 - SSI to Develop a Springs App
We are pleased to announce a new collaborative project with the Wildlands Network and Northern Arizona University to develop a springs app for smart phones and tablets. This project will engage the public in monitoring springs. We deeply appreciate the support of the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust for making this project possible. See an article in the Arizona Daily Sun.
August 3, 2015
The Springs Stewardship Institute co-hosted a "Springs Assessment and Climate Adaptation" workshop with the Mountain Studies Institute in Durango, CO. The workshop included participants from the Bureau of Land Management, National Forest Service, and Environmental Protection Agency, as well as members of the Hopi and Southern Ute Tribes, students from University of Nevada Las Vegas and Northern Arizona University, and more. The workshop was a major success and SSI will be hosting more workshops in the future that will feature beginner and advanced curriculum.
July 14, 2015
Apache National Forest. Photo by Molly Joyce.
Recently returned from Apache Sitgreaves National forest, SSI is busy at work entering in data from the many springs surveyed. Many of the springs surveyed were affected by the Wallow Fire of 2011. The good news is that the forest looks like it is recovering nicely.
May 29, 2015
The Springs Stewardship Institute was featured on the front page of the AZ Daily Sun, who covered our "Springs Inventory and Assessment Protocols" workshop. SSI was pleased to have 18 participants from land management organizations across the southwest. The level of involvement and interest exhibited by participants ensures that our work is moving in a positive direction. Read more about the current status of springs on our website and in the featured article here.
May 18, 2015
The Springs Stewardship Institute spent three days at Vermilion Cliffs, surveying monitored springs for the Grand Canyon Trust. Management efforts are showing positive signs of rehabilitation. Continue to follow us on Facebook or Instagram for updates on Springs Inventory and Assessment projects.
April 16, 2015
KNAU, Arizona Public Radio, aired a segment featuring Dr. Abe Springer of Northern Arizona University, discussing Dr. Springer's and the Springs Stewardship Institute's groundbreaking research on springs ecology. Listen in to the segment at KNAU.org.
April 14, 2015
Whilst in Vienna, Austria for the 5th International HydroEco Conference, Dr. Larry Stevens and Jeri Ledbetter met with curators at the Naturhistorisches Museum of Vienna to examine a type specimen of Anisoptera, Brechmorhoga pertinax, collected in Mexico in 1871. Dr. Stevens is comparing this specimen to one found in Grand Canyon, which he speculates could be a new species.
April 3, 2015
The Springs Stewardship Institute has launched its redesigned website. The new site is mobile friendly and offers improved navigability for researchers, land managers, and other site visitors. Springs Online, SSI's online database, is still located at its domain, springsdata.org, and the previous domain, springstewardship.org will automatically forward visitors to the new site.
March 31, 2015
Dr. Larry Stevens and Jeri Ledbetter will be attending the 5th International Multidisciplinary Conference on Hydrology and Ecology in Vienna, Austria. They will be presenting their research, “Springs Ecosystem Inventory, Assessment, and Systematic Information Management: A Global Approach,” to members of the European Union to spread awareness of Springs Stewardship. They will be representing SSI and the Museum of Northern Arizona at this prestigious international event.
Arizona Tiger Salamander, discovered along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park by Dr. Larry Stevens and his team.
March 25, 2015
A wandering Arizona Tiger Salamander was found by Dr. Larry Stevens, along with a group of Prescott College students and faculty, along the banks of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. The salamander has never been seen in this habitat before, and it was believed to prefer higher elevations. Read more about this discover in the Arizona Daily Sun's feature article.
February 20, 2015
The Arizona Daily Sun quoted Dr. Larry Stevens in an article concerning the declining water levels of springs in Grand Canyon National Park.
February 20, 2015
National Geographic interviewed Dr. Abe Springer about springs resources and the work of Springs Stewardship Institute.
July 23, 2014
Grand Canyon National Park released a new video featuring Dr. Larry Stevens and park hydrologist, Cynthia Valle, surveying springs on a river trip in April 2014. View the 9-minute movie here.
July 11, 2014
Jeri Ledbetter and coauthor Dr. Larry Stevens regularly give presentations at regional conferences. In July they presented a paper at the Society for Conservation GIS Annual Conference in Monterey, California.