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Project Description - Gila River Watershed
The Gila River basin, above San Carlos Lake in Arizona, is located in the southern portions of eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. Merging of the Chihuahuan, Sonoran and Southern Rocky Mountain eco-regions within the watershed and the vertical change from desert shrub to the sub-alpine vegetation types results in a highly diverse and unique ecosystem. In addition, the river is relatively unique in the southwest as it has a mostly unimpeded flow (only a few relatively small irrigation diversions present). Habitat within the watershed supports a number of federally listed species which include spikedace, loach minnow, southwestern willow flycatcher with critical habitat, peregine falcon, bald eagle and Mexican spotted owl. The State of New Mexico listed species include Roundtail chub, speckled dace, longfin dace, Sonoran sucker, Desert sucker, Hot springs snail and Gila springs snail.
Portions of the basin have been degraded over time through past fire management, logging and domestic grazing practices. These activities altered the natural sediment transport and flow discharge regime, flood plain function and stability in the fluvial morphology of the Gila River. This in
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