1997 CPEO Military List Archive

From: Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 13:20:41 -0700 (PDT)
Reply: cpeo-military
Subject: SAN PEDRO RIVER RUNS DRY
 
SAN PEDRO RIVER and FORT HUACHUCA, ARIZONA

The Phoenix-based Southwest Center for Biological Diversity continues 
to protest the Army's excessive pumping of groundwater at Fort 
Huachuca, Arizona, because the base and other users are cutting off the 
San Pedro River at its source.

In a July 5, 1997 letter to the Garrison commander, the Center 
explained the significance of the San Pedro: "The San Pedro River is 
the last living river in the Southwest. It is home to the most 
extensive surviving expanse of the rarest forest type in North America, 
the cottonwood/willow gallery or broadleaf riparian association forest.

"The San Pedro River is acknowledged to be one of the last great 
relatively intact, surviving ecosystems on Earth. Four hundred and 
eighty-nine species of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, and reptiles 
reside there. Nearly one half of the 800 total North American birds 
frequent the San Pedro River at some point in their lives. The San 
Pedro River supports the second highest number of mammal species in the 
world. This is second only to the montane forests of Costa Rica."

Members of the Center reported, this July, that the River is nearly dry 
at the Charleston narrows, a key site for measuring river vitality.

The Center places the blame on the Army: "The U.S. Army still refuses 
to publicly discuss and to admit the fact that Ft. Huachuca's more than 
30,000 ground water dependent troops and associated personnel represent 
the single greatest short-term threat to the San Pedro River." It says 
that the April, 1997 Finding of No Significant Impact for the addition 
of troops to base, under the 1995 round of realignments, is "inaccurate 
and illegal." It asserts: "After all, owing to excessive local ground 
water pumping, (1) dry season flows in the San Pedro River have 
decreased by 67% in the last fifty years, and (2) flows in the section 
of the San Pedro River closest to the area of Ft. Huachuca/Sierra 
Vista ground water pumping are now showing even more evidence of 
recent declines." It also suggests that most of the Fort missions could 
easily be conducted elsewhere.

Lenny Siegel

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