An Inventory of Riparian Habitat Along Rincon Creek united specialists in the fields of botany, ecology, hydrology, watershed management, and geographical information systems (GIS) modeling to determine and analyze the current condition of riparian habitats along a significant portion of Rincon Creek, Tucson, Arizona. The project manager conducted the majority of the fieldwork associated with this project. Each specialist oversaw data collection and helped determine how the data were analyzed. Below is a list of the individuals involved in this project and their qualifications.
Dr. Bill Halvorson, Unit Leader of the National Park Service Cooperative Park Studies Unit, University of Arizona (CPSU/UA) and a plant ecologist, was the project supervisor. He has published extensively on topics related to the effects of various environmental factors on plant community distribution, structure, and function. One of his areas of expertise is how water and soil characteristics affect plant growth. He received a B.S. and M.S. in botany from Arizona State University and University of Illinois respectively, and has a Ph.D. in botany from Arizona State University.
Mark Briggs, M.S., project manager, is a biologist with the Rincon Institute. His research interests focus on evaluating the condition of riparian ecosystems and developing strategies for improving the condition of degraded riparian areas. His thesis evaluated the effectiveness of using revegetation to improve the condition of degraded riparian ecosystems in Arizona; he is currently writing a guidebook for resource managers on how to evaluate degraded riparian ecosystems. He has recently been appointed to the City of Tucson's Urban Runoff Technical Committee to advise the City on ways to manage runoff while preserving natural ecosystems. He has a B.A. in biology from the University of Delaware and a M.S. in watershed management from the University of Arizona.
Randy Gimblett, supervisor of the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) model, is an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Arizona. His research interest focuses on the development and use of GIS for a variety of applications, including understanding environmental perception, simulation and visualization, and dynamic spatial models in investigating landscape processes and interaction. He has a Master's of Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph and a DPLA from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto, Canada.
Dr. Guy McPherson is an Assistant Professor in the School of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Arizona. He is a terrestrial plant ecologist, and has conducted considerable research on basic and applied aspects of plant ecology. His teaching expertise includes courses in ecology and natural resources management. He is the author of over 50 publications, and has been recognized in American Men and Women in Science and Who's Who in Science and Engineering.
Dr. Waite Osterkamp is a research hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, specializing in geomorphology and ecology of desert bottomlands. He has directed numerous studies of geomorphic processes and has published widely on topics relating to fluvial processes, geomorphology of extreme events, vegetation, and ground water hydrology. He has a B.A. in geology from the University of Colorado, an M.S. in chemistry from the University of Arizona, and a Ph.D. in hydrology from the University of Arizona. One of his current areas of interest is relating riparian vegetation characteristics to changes in channel morphology.
Dr. Bruce Roundy is Associate Professor of Range Management, School of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Arizona. He has directed numerous studies of seedbed ecology, and has published widely on the distribution and structure of salt desert plant communities. One of his areas of interest is studying the effects of revegetation on arid and semiarid rangeland.
Dr. William Shaw is Professor of Renewable Natural Resources and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Arizona. He has directed numerous studies of wildlife ecology, public interests in wildlife resources, and urban ecology. Dr. Shaw has published widely on topics dealing with urban wildlife and wildlife conservation, and was the recipient of the 1988 Daniel Leedy National Award for Urban Wildlife Conservation. He has a B.A. in biological sciences from the University of California at Berkeley, a M.S. in wildlife ecology from Utah State University, and a Ph.D. in natural resources from the University of Michigan.