Changes in Sierra Blanca Spring and Sierra Blanca Canyon [Note: this page and some of its links are out of date. We hope to update it soon.] Sierra
Blanca Watershed includes our only permanent springs. When we acquired this
area in 1990, the Sierra Blanca Canyon bottom had clumps of deer grass and patches
of moist soil indicating potential for improvement. Our neighbor helped rebuild
the fences in the area, and we provided almost daily herding of the cattle when
they entered the canyon. By 1993 the canyon bottom had grown a dense stand of
deer grass, but subsequent floodings, drought, and other events have altered the
picture. We hope to update the picture soon, but for now provide some links that
illustrate some of our previous efforts: The Confluence of Sierra Blanca Spring and Sierra Blanca Canyon Wash Jim'sWillow Spring and below -- photostations To protect the Sierra Blanca Canyon bottom we have fenced the Sierra Blanca Spring and its environs, and have provided a solar pump installation there to move water up to an adjacent saddle and the uplands beyond when cattle are present. As a result, cattle will have better access to the upland grasses and the Spring area is protected from trampling. We have since completed a more ambitious project to fence not only the area of Sierra Blanca Spring, but also the larger Canyon bottomland, with its deer grass and Corbett (Willow) Spring.
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