Northern Arizona University researchers will benefit from the efforts of citizen scientists who will monitor springs in the areas of northern Arizona\u2019s recent forest thinning.<\/p>\n
NAU, along with the conservation group Wildlands Network and the Museum of Northern Arizona, has received a $110,000 grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust<\/a>. Funds will be used to develop a monitoring program for the region\u2019s springs and to train volunteers to collect data in the forests.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project was motivated directly by the environmental assessment with the Four Forest Restoration Initiative<\/a>,\u201d said Abe Springer<\/strong>, a professor of hydrogeology and ecohydrology, referring to the restoration of 2.4 million acres in northern Arizona.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been 75 springs identified as receiving benefit from the restoration activities but there were no resources to assess the springs\u2019 response to the thinning, so we developed this project,\u201d Springer said. \u201cWe will engage the power of citizens to assist with monitoring the response of these springs to forest restoration.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to learning how to observe and monitor springs in the forest during the upcoming year, volunteers will be trained to use a\u00a0smartphone application to record observations. \u00a0Volunteers are not required to have a scientific background.<\/p>\n \u201cThis application and training will help the public become better stewards of these critical but overlooked ecosystems and will provide vital information about springs\u2019 health,\u201d said Larry Stevens<\/strong>, NAU alumnus and director of the Museum of Northern Arizona\u2019s Springs Stewardship Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the years ahead, students and researchers at NAU will evaluate data collected by citizen scientists, analyzing the springs\u2019 response to forest treatments and possibly complementing the forest restoration best practices.<\/p>\n The grant that funded this project is one of just 21 awarded to Arizona nonprofit organizations by the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust during the second of two grant cycles this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"