Contributed Article By Diane Drobka
MOUNT GRAHAM – Since 2022, a silent renewal has been shaping the future of the Pinaleño ecosystem as volunteers and hired hands help nature rebound from wildfires and other landscape-level alterations. Tucson-based nonprofit Taproot Collaborative, partnering with the Coronado National Forest’s Safford Ranger District, has led a series of watershed projects to restore the land’s resiliency in the high-elevation forests and meadows of Mount Graham within the Frye Fire impact zone.
Named the Pinaleño Sacred Springs Project, the work is a multi-year effort to restore springs, wet meadows, and creeks on Mt. Graham. Much of the work centers on constructing water-catchment assemblages to slow runoff, prevent erosion, boost soil moisture, and raise water tables to enhance vegetative recovery in damaged areas. Now spanning seven locations in three watersheds in the Pinaleños, the effort has enticed contractors and volunteers to travel up the slow, winding Swift Trail to reach the project sites at elevations as high as 10,600 feet.
In May of this year, Taproot Collaborative brought together a diverse collection of partners and began work at Treasure Park, Hospital Flat and other sites. It was a robust week of work, with teams moving 37 tons of rock by hand and building 88 water-catchment structures.
Local assistance came in part from the newly formed Gila Valley Land Stewards, a Safford-based group now seeking additional partnerships to restore watersheds in Graham and Greenlee counties. Their focus includes wildfire hazard reduction, riparian enhancement, native plant reintroductions and, in the case of Sacred Springs, erosion control.
“We’d like to thank Garland Speight with the Aravaipa Watershed Conservation Alliance for connecting us with Taproot and this project,” said Lance Vaughn, Executive Director of the Gila Valley Land Stewards.
The project reached far and wide to bring in others who want to accelerate nature’s recovery and restore healthy habitats. Partners included the San Carlos Apache Tribe, the University of Arizona, Natural Channel Design Engineering, the Arizona Conservation Corps, Strategic Habitat Enhancements LLC, Synthesis Consulting, and the Aravaipa Watershed Conservation Alliance.
Upon arrival at the site, Parker Brown of Natural Channel Design, who is managing the project, and Trevor Hare explained the project’s techniques and goals. “These wet, pine-laden higher elevations provide a rare Sky Island refuge for 18 species that are endangered and some found nowhere else in the world,” noted Hare.
The week spent at the various sites was originally intended as prep work for another crew to finish the project later in the year. But, with so many enthusiastic workers, all seasonally accessible areas were completed!
Much of the work was very labor-intensive, hauling heavy, unwieldy rocks through a human chain, shuttling them down slopes. Once at their planned destination, rocks were meticulously placed along stream beds like LEGOS popping right into place. In the Treasure Park meadow, where erosion was beginning, crews created a “half-moon”-shaped rock structure called a Media Luna.
“I personally feel that my eyes have been further opened to the critical role of maintaining diverse communities of life by these fragile, yet robust sacred wetlands, the sky island high-elevation ciènegas,” said Jonathan Dugi, Program Manager for the Gila Valley Land Stewards.
Restoring springs and wetlands is not Taproot’s only goal. The Sacred Springs Project is the brainchild of Taproot’s Founding Director, Scotty Johnson, who also aims to demonstrate the powerful, untapped role native soil fungi play in accelerating forest restoration.
“With this project we’re showing how water catchments in tandem with the right fungal inoculant during planting enhance tree survival and growth rates,” said Johnson. He cites extensive research showing that seedlings grow up to 60% faster when native soil fungi are present. Taproot is working with expert mycologists from the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University to advance this component.
These projects not only help nature heal but also offer valuable real-life lessons to youth who may pursue careers in land management. Every summer, Taproot leads San Carlos Apache Tribal youth groups, such as the San Carlos chapter of Future Farmers of America, on field visits to see firsthand how beneficial erosion control can be.
Known as Dzil Nchaa Si’an in Western Apache, the Pinaleños are among their four holiest mountains and are considered sacred by 12 regional tribes. San Carlos Apache Tribe members serve as project advisors to Taproot; the group visited Emerald Spring, where Taproot showed participants the 12,000-year-old, high-elevation, rare and culturally important spring that Taproot began restoring in 2022.
Foundation and agency support for various aspects of this project enables Taproot to hire contractors, providing much-needed employment in the community. Agency support has come from the U.S. Forest Service, and foundation support has come from the Catena Foundation, the National Forest Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and the Quinsey Family Trust.
Taproot plans more restoration and collaboration activities on the mountain in the years to come. If you would like to learn more about the effort or the organization, visit their website at www.taprootcollaborative.org, or send an email to info@taprootcolllaborative.org.
For more information about the Gila Valley Land Stewards, to financially support their efforts, or to request their assistance with land enhancement, call Lance Vaughn at 520-668-1796.
Collaboration is working well and will continue!
