Riparian Migratory Bird Habitat on the Upper San Pedro River

The Upper San Pedro River Study has been initiated by the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) under the North American Agreement for Environmental Cooperation, also known as the “side agreement” to the North American Free Trade Act, entered into between Canada, Mexico and the United States in January, 1994. The CEC, which is equally funded by Canada, Mexico and the United States, is based in Montreal, Canada.

The Council is the governing body of the CEC, composed of USEPA Administrator Carol Browner, Mexican Secretary Julia Carabias, Canadian environment Minister Christine Stewart and their representatives. The Secretariat provides technical, administrative and operational support to the Council, as well as to committees and groups established by the Council. The Secretariat’s professional staff is recruited in all three countries. The Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) is composed of 15 individuals representing a wide cross-section of the North American public who advise the Council on any matter within the scope of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation.

UPPER SAN PEDRO RIVER

Communities living along the shared watersheds of the U.S. - Mexico border face one of the most pressing challenges of the next century -- water scarcity. In addition to providing sustenance for a broad range of economic and human activities, water is essential to sustaining many of the ecological functions that in turn support a healthy economy and environment.

Economic and ecological values converge dramatically along the Upper San Pedro River. Originating in Sonora, Mexico, the San Pedro River runs north into Arizona where the river, and the aquifer that helps supply it, nourish a diverse and growing community of ranchers, farmers, urban dwellers and military base residents. The San Pedro watershed is also home to perhaps the largest surviving expanse of Southwestern broadleaf riparian forest, serving as an important corridor for millions of migratory birds. The riparian area along the San Pedro is a lifeline for a great variety of birds that winter in Mexico and breed during the summer months in the United States and Canada.

The CEC Council highlighted the San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area in the 1996 session of Council in Toronto, Canada by recognizing the site as an “Important Bird Area”. The identification of important bird areas supports efforts undertaken by the CEC to implement the project “Cooperation in the Conservation of North American Birds”.

Federal, state and local governments have launched a number of initiatives to preserve the unique and fragile San Pedro riverine ecosystem. In 1988, the U.S. Congress established the San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area to protect the riparian habitat, its wildlife and the scientific, educational and recreational resources of the San Pedro. In 1996, American Bird Conservancy and the Bureau of Land Management designated the conservation area as “Globally Important Bird Area”. Today, a number of initiatives are under consideration at the local, state and national level.

THE UPPER SAN PEDRO RIVER STUDY

On May 26, 1997 the Secretariat of the CEC informed the Council of its intention to prepare a report for Council on the Upper San Pedro River. Given the breadth and complexity of ongoing initiatives to protect and enhance the San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area, the Secretariat focused its efforts on establishing a small, interdisciplinary team of experts to assist in

· describing the most salient ecological features and values of the Upper San Pedro watershed, surface and groundwater hydrologic characteristics, including transboundary connections, and presenting the social and economic context and patterns dependent upon the hydrologic endowment as well as the legal and institutional framework

· identifying the linkages between hydrologic conditions and the riparian habitat characteristics and values, including a summary of existing research on transboundary flow and groundwater characteristics and trend analysis

· analyzing the economics of water use for all sectors and identifying legal and institutional opportunities for enhanced conservation strategies, and

· describing potentially efficacious conservation and sustainable development initiatives, including bi-national cooperation.

The Study will proceed in two phases. First, a team of six experts will develop a status report and evaluation concerning the matters listed above. In phase two, the Secretariat will convene a panel to consider the expert report and develop policy recommendations, as appropriate. The Secretariat will then assemble a final report for Council, which shall make the report public within 60 days unless the Council decides otherwise. Public participation is essential to the successful outcome of this initiative and the Secretariat welcomes any comments, questions or other relevant input to the study.

Ultimately the study is intended to promote cooperative efforts to recognize and protect habitats of special continental importance; to catalyze and call attention to existing efforts to protect such resources and to educate a broader public of North Americans about the importance of the sustainable management of valued transboundary resources.

Expert team:

Dr. John Bredehoeft: Hydrologist
Dr. Ronald Lacewell: Natural Resource Economist
Dr. Jeff Price: Ornithologist
Dr. Hector Arias Rojo: Watershed Management
Dr. Julie Stromberg: Plant Ecology
Greg Thomas: J.D. Public Policy