Rebirth of the Santa Cruz: Rapid Return of Aquatic Species to the River Downtown

Wednesday, November 4, 2:00 pm MSTThe current time in the MST timezone is 6:09 pm
Duration: 30 minutes

Dr. Michael Bogan, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona

Dr. Bogan will be speaking about the rapid return of dragonflies and other aquatic species to the Santa Cruz River in downtown Tucson. Historically, the Santa Cruz River had year-round flow downtown. However, diversions and groundwater pumping dried up the river in the early 20th century. Since that time, the river only flowed during periods of heavy precipitation. In June 2019, Tucson Water restored perennial flow to the river via the discharge of treated effluent. Dr. Bogan and his collaborators are documenting the surprisingly quick return of many aquatic species to the river after a 100+ year absence.

Dr. Bogan is an aquatic ecologist and an assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona. He has been studying the critters that inhabit streams and springs of the western USA and northern Mexico for the last 20 years.

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