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The Madrean Archipelago, or Sky Islands is one of the most ecologically diverse and rich landscapes in North America. Due to historic overgrazing, drought  and climate change these lands face stress and degradation. The Watershed and Habitat Restoration Program takes a multi-pronged approach to restoring degraded landscapes to a trajectory of recovery and climate resiliency. BRN works with nonprofits, government and state agencies and individuals to repair and protect our landscapes. 

​Since inception, the Watershed and Habitat Restoration Program has improved 500 acres of public and private land retaining an estimated 1140 tons of soil, improving hydrologic and soil condition to enhance wildlife habitat, and recharge shallow groundwater tables.

Restoring Physical Processes

At the foundation of every successful restoration effort is the strengthening of the physical processes that drive ecosystem change. Using hand- and machine-built erosion control structures, our restoration crew creates masterful rock and wood structures to mitigate the erosive flow of water across degraded landscapes.

Our erosion control activities reduce habitat loss, increase surface water availability, improve soil infiltration (potentially recharging groundwater sources over time), stimulates vegetation, and promotes the accumulation of sediment and other organic materials.

To date, we have restored over 1,000 acres of crucial wildlife migratory habitat, increasing connectivity across the Sky Islands.  Despite drought conditions of the past decade, streams are once again flowing and vegetation and wildlife are returning to sites where this work has been completed, such as at Cuenca los Ojos and the Borderlands Wildlife Preserve.

​Publication: Hierarchical Clustering for Paired Watershed Experiments: Case Study in Southeastern Arizona, U.S.A.

​Contact: wsr@borderlandsrestoration.org

Rebuilding Habitat & Food Sheds

In collaboration with the BRN Native Plant Program, we revegetate denuded landscapes with native vegetation to provide forage and habitat to wildlife, address nectar gaps on the landscape, stabilize soils, and promote native species richness and diversity in our landscapes.

We pay special focus to at-risk pollinators and work with plants designed to fill temporal gaps in the nectar landscape. By working with plants with this directive in mind, we support the landscape from the bottom-up. The combined efforts of BRN's Watershed Restoration Program and Native Plant Materials Program have resulted in the return of nearly 2,000 Agave spp to a critical migratory path for the Lesser Long-nosed Bat, enhanced upwards of 200 acres of Montezuma Quail habitat with forage species, and are revegetating riparian corridors.

Pollinator & Habitat Restoration Projects
Quail Habitat Restoration
Smith Canyon Restoration

​Removing Invasive Plants

Invasive plants have broad impacts on water quality, biodiversity, fish and wildlife habitat, tree cover, fire risk, and costs. Because invasive plants spread quickly and can displace native plants, prevent native plant growth, and create monocultures, they often reduce plant species diversity also increasing threat of fire and habitat loss.

Our invasive plant management activities focus on high-priority threats to the landscape, including invasive plants in riparian locations and encroaching on endangered species habitat. We strive to prevent and control invasive plants, thus giving an ecological advantage to the native plants that enhance habitat for our special fauna, better stabilize our soils, and help the Sky Islands continue to be one of the most biodiverse regions in the United States. ​

Invasive Plant Management Projects
Pectis imberbis habitat enhancement
​Arizona Department of Forestry & Fire Management- Johnsongrass Removal
Mansfield Canyon Restoration
Invasive Grass Management- Sonoita/Elgin, AZ

THANK YOU GRANTORS & PROJECT PARTNERS

Frances Seebe Trust