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Title: The San Pedro Basin: A Case Study of US and Mexican Strategies to Connect Science to Societal Needs 1917

Author
item Scott, Russell - Russ
item Goodrich, David - Dave
item BROWNING-AIKEN, A. - UNIVERISTY OF ARIZONA
item RICHTER, H. - NATURE CONSERVANCY
item VARADY, R. - UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
item SHUTTLEWORTH, J. - UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Submitted to: Trans American Geophysical Union
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2007
Publication Date: 5/1/2007
Citation: Scott, R.L., Goodrich, D.C., Browning-Aiken, A., Richter, H., Varady, R., Shuttleworth, J. 2007. The San Pedro Basin: A Case Study of US and Mexican Strategies to Connect Science to Societal Needs. Eos Trans. AGU, 88(23), Jt. Assem. Suppl., Abstract H53G-04.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The San Pedro River originates in northern Sonora near the town of Cananea and spans the U.S. – Mexico border into southeastern Arizona. The San Pedro Basin and perennial portions of its river support one of the most ecological diverse regions in the world. The regional groundwater aquifer which largely supports perennial flow and the associated riparian ecosystem is the primary water source for a number of communities, and for the Cananea copper mine in Sonora, which produces roughly two to three percent of the world’s copper, and Ft. Huachuca, a major military installation in Arizona and the largest employer of southern Arizona. This presentation will discuss strategies and efforts over the past decade on both sides of the border to link hydrological, ecological and social sciences to aid elected officials and decision-makers in managing the basin, its growing population, and the water it so vitally depends upon. The disparate legal, cultural, economic and scientific environments, as well as the unequal degrees of decentralization and regional autonomy on the two sides of the border have resulted in distinct concerns and approaches to water resource management and varying rates of success. In the Sonoran portion of the basin water quality is the primary concern and in Arizona, water quantity is the major concern. The paper will report on sustained binational efforts and constraints encountered by researchers at the University of Arizona’s NSF-funded SAHRA project and several NOAA-supported efforts in the basin region.