The mission of the Springs Stewardship Institute (SSI) is to promote and improve scientific understanding and stewardship of spring ecosystems across the Earth. The Spring Stewardship Institute (springstewardshipinstitute.org) was established in January 2013 by Dr. Larry Stevens to improve understanding and stewardship of springs. SSI continues to grow as it collaborates with organizations, agenci
es, tribes and researchers to identify and protect these critically endangered ecosystems. SSI is a private nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. Springs support more than 10 percent of the endangered species within the United States and are among the most biologically diverse and productive habitats in the world. No conservation organization has yet taken sufficient interest, nor made a systematic effort, to improve the availability of geographic and biological information for ecological assessment. This lack of attention has resulted in inadequate protection and insufficient understanding of these endangered ecosystems. Of the hundreds of thousands of known springs in the United States, tens of thousands more are unmapped and unnamed. Relatively few springs remain intact, as human activities have devastated their ecological integrity through groundwater pumping, diversion, recreational use, road construction, livestock grazing, mining, poor wildlife management practices, and the introduction of non-native species. The largely unregulated and controversial practice of Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), uses 7 million gallons of water per well. With thousands of new wells drilled each year, aquifers and springs are threatened with depletion, pollution, and disruption of flow. Because of the isolated, harsh nature of arid landscapes, springs are of extreme importance. In these regions, springs function as islands of habitat for high volumes of unique species, including many endangered and rare species. In both arid and temperate climates, rural families, Tribal communities, and towns often rely on springs as their primary source of water. Springs also hold sacred value for many indigenous cultures, using their water and biota for medicinal, ceremonial, and teaching purposes. For these reasons, we have developed the Springs Online Database to foster communication and improve stewardship of these ecological and economically priceless resources. Visit https://springsdata.org.
