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May 29, 2020 / Volume 8, Issue 21
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WRRC Office Update
Although the WRRC building will be closed to the public until further notice, our staff continue to work and engage as much as possible. You can reach us via email as listed on our
Directory. We wish you all the best - Stay safe and healthy!
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| Bruce Babbitt and Commissioner Burman to Present Keynotes at WRRC 2020 Conference |
We are delighted to let you know about our exciting keynote speakers for the June 18/19 WRRC Conference,
Water at the Crossroads: The Next 40 Years.
Former Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt will provide the opening keynote on June 18th,
and we cannot think of a better launch to the day's dialogue! Babbitt has deep roots in Arizona. As Governor, he negotiated and guided passage of the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act, oversaw the creation of the Arizona Department of Water Resources and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and propelled a major expansion of the state park system. The second day of our conference, June 19th, will open with a keynote address by
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman. Burman has more than 25 years of experience working on western issues. Serving as Commissioner since 2017, she led the Bureau during the development of the Drought Contingency Plans for the Colorado River Basin states. She brings a wealth of knowledge about water issues in the West and in Arizona in particular. Her talk, The Colorado River and Arizona's Water Management, will set the stage for later
discussions
focusing on choices to help us realize a resilient water future.
Register by the end of today, May 29, to receive a meeting packet in the mail, complete with this year's water ruler and a cloth document portfolio. If you have already registered, please make sure you have updated your registration to include your mailing address. Note that registrations after today will still have access to electronic materials. Registrations closes at midnight on Monday, June 15.
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Photo: Annelise Boyer |
 WRRC Director Megdal Presents at Conference on Tribal Water
On June 4 - 5, 2020, Law Seminars International will present The Seventh Annual Comprehensive Conference on Tribal Water in the Southwest. Designed for attorneys, Tribal, local, state, and federal governmental representatives, environmental professionals, water users, and others, the conference will feature experts on policy, regulations, settlement processes, infrastructure, and delivery challenges related to Tribal water rights. On June 5th, WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal will present on augmentation of water supplies: technological, economic, legal, water quality, and other considerations when weighing water supply augmentation opportunities.
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Endangered Fish Now in Agua Caliente Park
Years of conservation planning came to a head on May 13, when 500 Gila topminnows were released into the newly restored pond in Agua Caliente Park. The release of the endangered fish is part of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, a broader effort by state and county agencies to coordinate regional conservation of natural areas and provide the basis for how cultural and historical resources are protected. The Gila topminnow, once common throughout Tucson's waterways, was listed as an endangered species in 1967. Loss of habitat and predation from non-native fish has decimated the native species' population, only surviving in a few places in the Santa Cruz watershed, notably in Cienega Creek. The re-introduction of the species in Agua Caliente is an
important step for the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, according to Karen Simms of the Pima County Natural Resources, Parks, and Recreation Department, "we're giving people the opportunity that they might not otherwise have to see this species in their own backyards."
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Thank You to our Tucson Water Educators!
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Tucson Water Educators have become incredible assets for marketing our program and developing educational tools for teacher professional development (PD) as Arizona Project WET transitions to virtual learning for the summer. Shortly before completing her AmeriCorps term in March, Nichole Burkett set the stage by redesigning marketing content for APW's Discovery Journey program. To further our marketing efforts, Emillie Castrichini, Trinity O' Loughlin, and Matthew Hill have worked together to design and develop social media and website graphic content to help launch our virtual education programs and workshops online. In addition, Cora Thomas was instrumental to moving our Water Scene Investigation online by developing the website from the bottom up. In preparation for summer PD, Mackenzie Christensen has worked alongside Emillie to film videos demonstrating in-classroom models, including the making of tabletop-friendly watershed models for teachers to use. Furthermore, Kelsey Valdez has worked hard to develop online versions of interactive, group activities that model relationships and connections between water cycle places, desert lifeforms, and water careers. Andrea Landavazo resourced gamification tools, with which Matthew and Finn Bilden used to develop of interactive virtual games for teacher professional development. These games model the real-world cause and effect relationships between animals and changes to their habitat. As we roll out our new online programs, let's give a round of applause to our Tucson Water Educators for their invaluable contributions!
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WRRC Summer Intern Begins Work on 2021 Arroyo
Work on the WRRC's 2021 Arroyo
⏤looking back and ahead from this year's 40th anniversary of the 1980 Groundwater Management Act
⏤got underway with the virtual arrival of our summer intern, Brian McGreal. The Arroyo will take its inspiration from the upcoming WRRC Annual Conference,
Water at the Crossroads and the internship is funded through a conference sponsorship from the Southern Arizona Water Users Association. Brian is an MS student specializing in Applied Econometrics and Policy Analysis within the UArizona Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. He has studied a variety of western water resource issues, focusing his current research on the economic impacts of groundwater management. The COVID-19 precautions prevent us from welcoming him in person, but we look forward to working with him, nonetheless.
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Coworker of
This week's coworker is Mae, a delightful black and white cat, who works with WRRC Outreach Graduate Assistant Chloe Loos.
She is both the middle child of Chloe's three furbabies and the princess of the family. She was named after Mae West and definitely channels her with her extremely dramatic personality. Mae's hobbies include lying in the middle of walkways so all can admire her beauty, yelling at birds, and trying to sneak "people" food. Her favorite time of day is mealtime, and she will run around screaming if she isn't fed in (what she decides) is a timely manner.
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