RIVER EDUCATION
o THE FLOW, our periodic newsletter, continues to provide news on river-related concerns, activities, and
opportunities for citizen action
o We have run three Speaker Series that covered varied water and river issues through events like Chatauquas (living
history re-enactors), slide shows, lectures, and field trips for the general public
o Slide shows to community groups have introduced many to FOSCR’s mission and the value of riparian habitat
o Guided River Walks at Tumacacori National Park are run by FOSCR volunteers from autumn through spring
o In cooperation with the Park, we are educating hundreds of schoolchildren using an award-winning river-based
curriculum developed by FOSCR Board member Roy Simpson
o The Rambler’s Guide to the Life of the Santa Cruz River was written and illustrated by FOSCR members Sherry
Sass and Joel Floyd. When published (within a year, we hope), it will help introduce anyone walking along the Anza Trail
to the great diversity of life the river supports
o Signage FOSCR designed and funded will be visible along the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail in Rio
Rico, where it will provide food for thought about the river’s past, present, and future.
MONITORING/PROTECTION OF WATER QUALITY
o RiverWatch, our water quality monitoring program, has been keeping tabs on the river’s health since 1992. We have
compiled the most complete water quality database that exists on the river, and have shared it freely
o Since 1994, FOSCR has participated in the planning for upgrading the binational wastewater treatment plant which
is both the river’s current lifeblood and its major source of nutrient pollution.
ON-THE-GROUND CONSERVATION PROJECTS
o “In 2003-2004, FOSCR President Ben Lomeli not only cleaned up Oso Wash with the help of other volunteers, but he
also pursued the source of the trash that was flowing north across the border, and is working with Mexican officials to stop
the dumping
o trash removal along the river’s mainstem—a task never completed!
o tammy whacking” (removal of invasive Asian tamarisk)
o fencing to keep livestock and ATVs out of riparian areas
o Our hydrologist President Ben designed the South River Road revegetation project, where a flood washed out part of
a road along with protective riparian vegetation. With the help of the county and many FOSCR volunteers, over 200 new
trees were planted to protect the road and riverbank, and restore some riparian habitat.
WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY
o Over the years, we have worked with local and regional government on modifying floodplain ordinances,
establishing a wellhead protection program, sharing information with Mexican officials, supporting increased funding for
rural water issues, and much more
o Our “Riverway Partnership” program, funded by an Environmental Protection Agency grant from 1998-2000,
established relationships of trust with riverside property owners, and developed mutually beneficial conservation projects
to protect and enhance their properties. This project helped established FOSCR as a mainstream community conservation
resource
o Several members of the FOSCR Board of Directors, especially Emilio Falco, and other FOSCR members spent two
years helping to shape Santa Cruz County’s revised Comprehensive Plan, which has recently been enacted. Now we are
directing energy and time to help the County develop ordinances and other conservation tools to implement the parts of the
Plan that relate to riparian lands
o We recently won a grant from the Sonoran Institute to help bring riverside landowners into a collaborative task force
that will develop conservation strategies that can provide win-win solutions to riparian land use issues; a first step is
riparian habitat mapping, which we are now pursuing with the help of grant funding
o FOSCR was instrumental in the Barrio de Tubac development’s innovative use of a constructed wetland to treat
sewage generated on site. Also in this development, we set up bird and bat houses, and revegetated part of the disturbed
area around the constructed wetland
o We helped Tumacacori National Park expand its boundaries and acquire 300 acres of land, much of it prime riparian
habitat, which will now enjoy federal protection and management
o We worked with Rio Rico Properties to fence out livestock from a portion of the river, and continue to have input
they plan to turn most of their riparian lands into a State Park-owned recreation/conservation area
ADVOCATION FOR THE RIVER
o FOSCR Board members have written letters to the editor and opinion pieces, and have been on local television and
radio news programs supporting urging water quality and riparian protection and speaking out against projects that would
threaten the river and its habitat
o FOSCR encouraged the creation of the Santa Cruz Active Management Area (SCAMA) to help focus attention on
water issues unique to the upper SCR watershed, and FOSCRite Sherry Sass has been a governor-appointed member of
SCAMA’s Groundwater Users Advisory Council since its establishment in 1994, where she watches out for the river’s
interests
o FOSCR has been urging the IBWC to get the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Rio Rico upgraded for years (see above—
water quality), and our RiverWatch data helped insure that this upgrade will remove ammonia—most toxic to fish and
aquatic life—from effluent discharged into the river
o Since 2002, FOSCR President Ben Lomeli has served on IBWC’s Citizen Taskforce, where he can monitor more closely
that agency’s progress on matters critical to the river’s health and future survival. He was just voted Chairman of this
important regional advisory group.
o FOSCR members have attended hundreds of meetings, hearings, etc. and have provided critical input on everything
from local issues, like new residential development plans, to statewide processes like the development of drought
management programs. Our concerned presence has often made the difference between consideration of river impacts on a
proposed action and no consideration at all. We are the voice of the river!
o FOSCR was instrumental in Santa Cruz County's Planning Division recently receiving an $85,000 Environmental
Protection Agency grant to map the riparian vegetation in the county. This mapping will provide information critical to
protecting riparian habitat under the County's new Comprehensive Plan guidance.
The County is currently putting all of its geographic data onto a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) computer database.
When the riparian vegetation layer is developed through this grant, which will be funded in September, and added to this
database, many questions can be answered about our river-dependent habitats, such as: what is the location, extent and
condition of riparian vegetation in the County? Where should protection efforts be focused? Who owns the riparian lands?
How much riparian habitat is encompassed by the official "100-year" floodplain? Where is tamarisk, an invasive Eurasian
tree, gaining a stronghold in the riparian zone? Where are the remaining mesquite bosques, and what is their condition?
And many more!
Not only did FOSCR members put work into the grant writing process, but they will also participate in the grant's
implementation. Sherry Sass, FOSCR Board member, is currently enrolled in the County's GIS class, and will donate time
and her developing expertise to digitize the vegetation 'hardcopy' maps that will be produced by outside contractors. The
end result should be a series of maps and analyses that will provide a clear and hopefully very accessible picture of the
state of our riparian resources, so that the County can assure their health into the future.
FOSCR is grateful to the County for taking on this added responsibility in the name of environmental protection.
