The San Pedro River is a remnant of a once extensive network of desert riparian corridors that traversed the Southwest.
Photo courtesy of Robin Silver.
Now, head to your sink and turn on the water—to see how developers
in the nearby town of Sierra Vista view the river watershed. They've
been seeing it this way for decades.
Finally, draw a line in some dirt and see the future of the
Southwest's last free-flowing river if those developers are allowed to
keep turning on the tap.
This is a river that outlasted the mighty mammoths
who sipped it 11,000 years ago; the Clovis people, its first human
settlers; the 18th century Spanish and the fierce Apaches who harassed
them into leaving (only to meet defeat themselves in the late 1800s by
the U.S. Cavalry operating out of Fort Huachuca just an arrow shot from
the river).
The question is whether this ancient, stubborn waterway can resist
the growth ambitions of a little town filling up in part with those
lured to this literal hot spot by the benefits associated with living
near a fort. City officials have long encouraged this growth, and
developers have long filled the need—to the river's detriment. As people
move in, the San Pedro dwindles.
Species found along the San Pedro:
Rufous Hummingbird.
Courtesy of Robin Silver
Coatimundi.
Courtesy of Robin Silver
Southwestern Willow Flycatcher.
Jim Burns
More than 10 years ago, Earthjustice began
partnering with local landowner Robin Silver, his organization the
Center for Biological Diversity, and others to save the river. Legal
pressure secured a number of water conservation efforts, especially at
the fort; and heightened public awareness about the river's plight.
Unfortunately, Arizona's developer-friendly laws stymie attempts to stop
the kind of growth that is killing the river.
In 2013, things took a grim turn for the river when a state agency
ruled there was sufficient water to allow a 7,000-unit housing
development to go forward. Two Earthjustice attorneys, McCrystie Adams
and Melanie Kay, met with landowners and conservationists along the
river in April of 2013, laying the groundwork for a challenge of the
agency ruling because it failed to consider the development's impact on
the river. A lawsuit was filed the following month. The federal Bureau
of Land Management is also challenging the development over its threat
to BLM water rights.
"Each step along the river brings a new discovery … Walking the San Pedro is, simply, magic."
Adams, who has long spearheaded the legal effort,
said her recent visit to the San Pedro made her all the more determined
to save it. "The San Pedro River is one of the most 'alive' places I've
ever been. The river slowly winds its way through what is otherwise a
hot, dry and unforgiving landscape, providing a literal oasis for all
desert creatures."
"Each step along the river brings a new discovery: blue heron eggs,
mountain lion scat, tadpoles, bullfrogs, a rattlesnake, or a warbler
singing in a nearby tree. Walking the San Pedro is, simply, magic."
