A Native Species RESTORATION PROJECT

The southwestern United States is experiencing the third year of a perhaps long-term drought. Many places in the West are considered desert, with less than 10 inches of rainfall per year. Because of local drought conditions, conservation of water is essential. Leupp, Arizona, where the author teaches, is situated on the Colorado Plateau, a region that can be classified as a cold desert. The town is located on the Navajo Reservation. Temperatures range from near 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer afternoons to below 20 on winter nights, with rainfall averaging about 6.4 inches per year. Most of the native flora consists of scrub, and some willows and cottonwood trees along the Little Colorado River. There is little natural landscaping near homes or in the town due to grazing of livestock, lack of water availability, and low rainfall. Soil erosion is common near inhabited areas, resulting in bare rock exposure and steep gullies. To help combat erosion and improve the landscaping around local residences, the author's students decided to landscape their community using plants that required very little water--a technique known as "xeroscaping". The students chose to xeroscape around the dwellings of tribal elders on the reservation, but this project could be adapted for use in a low-income housing area, a vacant lot in a city, or at a senior center. (Contains 2 figures.)