Inventory of Verde Headwater Springs

Understanding the geographic distribution, ecology, and hydrology of springs on a landscape is a crucial first step in a well-planned management and restoration program. SSI began this process in the Verde River Basin by conducting ecological inventory and assessment of Verde headwater springs.

Staff and volunteers used SSI’s standardized spring inventory protocols to describe, photograph, and map the Verde Headwater springs ecosystems. The survey crews measured spring flow rate, water quality, soils, geomorphology, solar radiation, and animal occurrence and abundance. Crews also documented the vegetation, assessed site ecological integrity, and documented human impacts and uses.

We are recruited volunteers to help with this effort. Community members who volunteered to help with this project:

• Attended a one-day training on spring ecology and the spring inventory protocol, taught by SSI staff in the Verde Valley.

• Assisted SSI on one or more ecological inventories of Verde watershed springs in the summer of 2023 and possibly in future years if project funding is renewed.

• Worked independently to visit reported springs in the Verde watershed. Took photos and recorded the spring location, presence of flow, and other observations. We trained volunteers to record this information and deliver it to us so we can add it to Springs Online, our publicly accessible springs database.

The SSI has entered all springs inventory data into Springs Online, our collaborative online database where data is accessible to Verde River Basin partners. To learn more about Verde springs information management, click here.

If you are interested in helping with field work to inventory Verde headwater springs, please sign up using our volunteer application. Be sure to fill out the “interests” field with “Verde Watershed Springs.”