ROLES OF GEOSCIENCES IN PUBLIC LANDS: NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA

Natural resource management is essential to the preservation and the protection of our national parks. The Southeast Arizona Group (SEAZ) of the National Park System includes Coronado National Memorial (CORO), Chiricahua National Monument (CHIR), and Fort Bowie National Historic Site (FOBO). Long term monitoring of the parks’ natural resources allows park management to make decisions that will promote conservation. As physical scientists, we focus on air, water, and land use monitoring programs in order to improve management within the critical zone. Multiple resource programs are currently underway at SEAZ; we aim to continue the already-established procedures and to implement a new Unstable Slope Management Program (USMP) at CHIR.

Air and water quality monitoring at the SEAZ parks are useful for documenting and tracking the vital signs of each park. Ground water and natural spring data are collected once a month from CHIR and FOBO, respectively. Rainwater data, atmospheric pollutant concentrations and atmospheric deposition data are collected once a week at CHIR. Results are sent to long term monitoring projects that are responsible for studying regional trends in air quality. The current cave and abandoned mine land management programs in CORO promote awareness and educate visitors about the unique natural resources associated with karst and abandoned mine environments. As climate change continues to accelerate, consistent monitoring will help us better understand the relationships between resources and how they may potentially respond to future change, especially within the critical zone.

Seasonal monsoons create geomorphic instability in arid southwestern parks each year. 63,132 people visited CHIR in 2017. The combination of traffic, heavy rainfall, and steep topography makes portions of CHIR extremely susceptible to mass wasting. We plan to categorize and rate zones with unstable slopes and possibly mitigate them prior to their failure. Bonita Canyon Road is a valuable asset, as it’s the sole access road in the park. A major rockfall or landslide event has the potential to block the road for an extended period of time, which may endanger the lives of people located in isolated areas of the park. The USMP will reduce risks associated with geologic hazards and promote visitor and employee safety.