In 2023 Taproot Collaborative coordinated to begin the restoration of Emerald Spring. We set out to restore the spring. We ended up saving it.
In the fall of 2022 Taproot Collaborative learned from hydrologists that Emerald Spring could be fully eroded as early as 2024. We jumped into action. Our design team at Natural Channel Design completed a comprehensive restoration blueprint. Dozens of planning calls and online meetings were conducted. Three crews from Ancestral Lands Corps and the Arizona Conservation Corps were contracted to conduct restoration work. All this involved close coordination with the U.S. Forest Service, fire management teams, and local tribes.
On June 21, 2023, crews began implementing the watershed restoration plan. Approximately 1500 rocks were split, forty-three 10’ X 12” fallen trees were bucked and moved, and trailers of Aspen cuttings were moved to site. After 3 weeks of hard work by all involved, 22 erosion control structures were installed.
Emerald Spring is a high-elevation spring that’s been forming since the retreat of the Pleistocene Ice Age thousands of years ago. The spring is Critical Habitat for the endangered Mt. Graham red squirrel and the headwaters of a concerted downstream effort to restore the endangered Gila trout.
Work is not yet completed. We still have another 20 structures to build. Please consider being a part of this important effort. Help us Save Emerald Spring. Please donate today.
