Phoenix Area Office - Programs & Activities

Environmental Resource Management 
Protecting the Natural Environment

DESERT VEGETATION

The key to effective wildlife management is protecting the living space, or habitat, of the animals. Some of the habitat is permanently lost to the canals and maintenance roads, and some is degraded by disruption of the natural drainage patterns. Dikes, areas of temporary construction storage, and spoil areas, are revegetated to replace wildlife habitat and control soil erosion.

Some existing habitat has been removed by the CAP flood protection dikes. Satellite and aerial photographs show that the water temporarily impounded behind these dikes creates a "green-up" strip of revegetation along the aqueduct's upslope side. Grazing and off-road vehicles have been banned from these areas to maintain their wildlife values.

Before native vegetation was removed from lands needed for construction, Reclamation and the Arizona State Department of Agriculture and Horticulture salvaged as many of the cacti and other state protected native plants as possible for use elsewhere by allowing nurseries, municipalities, and private individuals to remove the plants.