Friends of Sonoita Creek

08/06/2022

State Revokes Grazing Permit Along Sonoita Creek!
Thanks to everyone who joined Friends of Sonoita Creek's letter writing campaign to revoke the grazing permit at Patagonia Lake State Park.
See article in the Patagonia Regional Times

Concerned citizens have complained about ecological degradation by the cattle for years. The situation drew more attention last December when a hiker on a popular birding trail was injured by a cow.

07/14/2022

Summer Volunteer Opportunities with Friends of Sonoita Creek.
Springseeker training and field trip in the Patagonia Mountains
Wet/Dry Mapping
Water Quality Sampling
Check out our website for more information,

https://www.sonoitacreek.org

FoSC Summer Newletter is live;
Check it out here
https://mailchi.mp/d7333658efbb/may-e-news-a-very-busy-spring-6135038?e=957ffba0f0

06/07/2022

Letter Writing Campaign

The recent occurrence in the Patagonia Lake State Park of a woman being gored by a bull is the precipitating event for this letter writing campaign. The presence of cattle in the park has been a longstanding safety and environmental issue. This is due to a special land use permit by Arizona State Land Board which has allowed cattle into the riparian area of the park.

Our goal in writing letters is twofold: to ensure visitor safety and habitat restoration in the birding area of Patagonia Lake State Park through the removal of all livestock and the installation of secure fencing around said area.

Please help us protect the Sonoita Creek Watershed by going to our website Home Page to find Sample Letters, Talking Points
and Letter Writing Guide.
https://www.sonoitacreek.org

05/06/2022

Don't Forget! Discovering the Land tomorrow May 7th. If you haven't signed up yet just show up at any of the two venues (times listed below) there should be room for all. Also listed below are the speakers at each venue! Hope to see you there!
DISCOVERING THE LAND May 7th, 2022
9-11:30am Empire Ranch
1-5pm Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve,Patagonia

EMPIRE RANCH morning program:

Thomas Meixner (host),
Cienega Watershed Partnership and University of Arizona:
Welcome, Regional Hydrology

David Robinson, Tucson Audubon: Birding Walk

Catlow Shipek, Watershed Management Group: Empire
Gulch Tour

Alison Bunting and Faith Boice, Empire Ranch Foundation:
Historic Ranch House Tour and History

Mead Mier, Pima Association of Governments: Wet-Dry Mapping

Dennis Caldwell, Cienega Watershed Partnership and Caldwell Design: Amphibians

Jennifer Pressler, Arizona Game and Fish: Prairie Dogs

Gerry Berthelette, Arizona Gameand Fish: Antelope

Darrell Tersey, Antelope Foundation: Antelope

Austin Rutherford and Scott Jones, University of Arizona:
Mesquite Encroachment

PATAGONIA-SONOITA CREEK PRESERVE afternoon program

German Quiroga, Patagonia Museum, Mountain Empire Trail Association: Patagonia History andTrails

Sarah Truebe, Sky Island Alliance: Spring Seeker Program

Denisse Ortega, Borderlands Restoration Network:
Education and Environmental Stewardship

Taylor Hanson and Martin Lawrence,
The Nature Conservancy: Collaboration throughout the Sonoita Creek Watershed

David Robinson and Howard Buchanan, Tucson Audubon:
Tucson Audubon's Engagement in the Watersheds

Tricia Gerrodette, Sierra Club: The Water Sentinels Program

Carolyn Shafer, Patagonia Area Resource Alliance:
Community Organizing and Activism

David Christiana and Kathy Pasierb, Friends of Sonoita Creek:
Water Health Program and ADEQ Protocol

04/12/2022

Upcoming volunteer opportunities with Friends of Sonoita Creek.
Join Us!
Discovering the Land: May 7 at TNC--Call Bob (520) 559-1221
Healthy Water Program: May 13th, Grade 8; Grade 5 TBD--Call Kathy (530) 604-6679
RSRA (Rapid Stream Riparian Assessment): -- May 21-- Call John (406) 261-2506
Water Quality Analysis: April 27, May 25, June 29--Call Dave (602) 903-8296
Wet/Dry Survey: Harshaw Creek, June 4; Sonoita Creek, June 5--Call Dave (602) 903-8296

04/05/2022

Join us May 7th for Science on the Sonoita Plain Symposium!

The Cienega Watershed Partnership and Friends of Sonoita Creek are co-hosting the Science on the Sonoita Plain Symposium, but with a new twist. This year, we are taking it outdoors to Empire Ranch in Sonoita and the Nature Conservancy Preserve in Patagonia. We want to provide a wide network of regional partners the opportunity to highlight community science initiatives in the watershed. You are invited to share your experience with local and regional partners, stakeholders, and community members in a day of exploration. Sign up -here - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/294918247417 to attend and get more details soon about speakers, guests, and events.

Check out our latest newsletter https://mailchi.mp/da97be84b8a3/e-news-from-friends-of-sonoita-creek and website https://www.sonoitacreek.org for more info and events.

08/17/2021

Upper Loop on the birding trail- Patagonia Lake State Park
Taken 8-13. It will dry out someday

08/17/2021

For those of you that like to bird by boat-Sonita Creek just north of Patagonia Lake

07/17/2021

Sonoita Creek is furiously flowing!
Photo taken where Blue Heaven Rd crosses Sonoita Creek, just before the Paton Center for Hummingbirds

05/25/2021

MAKE A DIFFERENCE WEEK STARTS JUNE 5! Check out the link below for the the U of A's School of Natural Resources and Environment newsletter.
Find out about:
Training for Monarch Larva Monitoring
Webinars on Native Plants for Birds & Soil Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration
Bloom Calendars
Poisonous plants on Rangeland
and MORE!

https://mailchi.mp/12314b4b8aef/ecorestore-june-roundup?e=7342676be1

05/25/2021

CITIZEN SCIENCE OPPORTUNITY!
Join us in June 5, 2021, for FOSC's first Wet/Dry Mapping of Harshaw Creek located just outside Patagonia. What is Wet/Dry mapping? It’s a tool for monitoring water flow in intermittent rivers and streams during the driest part of the year and is usually done yearly. Check out the link below for more information.
http://azconservation.org/projects/water/wet_dry_mapping #:~:text=Wet%2Fdry%20mapping%20uses%20citizen%20scientists%20to%20map%20the,wet%2Fdry%20mapping%20Wet%2Fdry%20mapping%20has%20been%20used%20to%3A
The info we gather will be the baseline for the future and continued mapping of Harshaw Creek.
We provide onsite training and any needed equipment; all you need is to be comfortable walking 1 to 2 miles in a stream bed, a hat, sturdy shoes you don’t mind getting muddy, drinking water and a snack.


Contact Kathy Pasierb if interested and for meet up location at [email protected]

Your help is greatly appreciated!

04/25/2021

NOTE TIME CHANGE!!- Rapid Stream Riparian Assessment (RSRA) start time change.
We have changed the start time of the May 1, 2021 RSRA from 7am to 8am..Yay! An extra hour of sleep.
Check out our website for more info at https://www.sonoitacreek.org
Hope to see you at Patagonia Lake on May 1!