Sources of salvaged chunks of concrete sidewalk or “urbanite” for check dams

Nearby construction zone (ask first).

The landfill (some landfills separate concrete and brick from other wastes, and allow you to take it for free).

Recycler’s World, www.recycle.net

Craigs List, www.craigslist.org

Freecycle, www.freecycle.org

Suppliers of pre-manufactured gabion baskets

Maccaferri Gabions, www.maccaferri-usa.com.

Induced meandering

An Introduction to Induced Meandering: A Method for Restoring Stability to Incised Stream Channels, by Bill Zeedyk. Earth Works Institute and the New Mexico Environment Department, June 2003. Online: http://quiviracoalition.org.

Let the Water Do the Work: Induced Meandering, an Evolving Method for Restoring Incised Channels, by Bill Zeedyk and Van Clothier. Quivira Coalition, 2008, www.quiviracoalition.org.

Observing and understanding water flow

Applied River Morphology, by D.L. Rosgen. Wildland Hydrology, 1996.

Fluvial Processes in Dryland Rivers, by William L. Graf. Blackburn Press, 1998.

A View of the River, by Luna B. Leopold. Harvard University Press, 2006.

An Introduction to Erosion Control, 2nd ed., by Bill Zeedyk and Jan-Willem Jansens. Earth Works Institute and Quivira Coalition, 2006. Online: http://quiviracoalition.org.

One-rock check dams

An Introduction to Erosion Control, 2nd ed., by Bill Zeedyk and Jan-Willem Jansens. Earth Works Institute, March 2006. Online: http://quiviracoalition.org/.

An Introduction to Induced Meandering: A Method for Restoring Stability to Incised Stream Channels, 3rd Edition, by Bill Zeedyk, Earth Works Institute and the New Mexico Environment Department, April 2006. Online: http://quiviracoalition.org/.

Brush check dams

“Recommendations for the Control and Reclamation of Gullies,” by Quincy C. Ayres. Bulletin 121, Iowa Engineering Experiment Station, Iowa State College, March 13, 1935. Photocopies can be ordered from the Special Collections Department of the Park Library at Iowa State University, phone: 515-294-6672. Use Library of Congress call number TA1 Io8b.

“Native American Methods for Conservation and Restoration of Semiarid Ephemeral Streams,” by J.B. Norton, F. Bowannie, P. Peynetsa, W. Quandelacy, and S.F. Siebert. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 57.5, Sept-Oct 2002): p. 250 (9).

Jay B. Norton (University of Wyoming) website, http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/UWRENEWABLE/Faculty/Norton.htm, for links to additional articles on Zuni brush dams, runoff farming, and traditional agriculture.

An Introduction to Erosion Control, 2nd ed., by Bill Zeedyk and Jan-Willem Jansens. Earth Works Institute and Quivira Coalition, 2006. Online: http://quiviracoalition.org/.

Restoring Streams in Cities: A Guide for Planners, Policymakers, and Citizens, by Ann L. Riley. Island Press, 1998.

“Living fencerows of the Rio San Miguel, Sonora, Mexico: Traditional Technology for Floodplain Management,” by Gary Paul Nabhan and Edward Sheridan. Human Ecology, Volume 5, Number 2, June 1977, pp. 97-111.

Gabion variations, including single or double fence gabions

“Gully Development and Control: The Status of Our Knowledge,” by Burchard H. Heede. USDA Forest Service, Research Paper RM-169, May 1976. Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521.

Teran Watershed, Cascabel, AZ: Check dams building community

Video and online

The “Teran Project: Easing the Effects of Erosion” video. Redington Natural Resource Conservation District, http://redingtonnrcd.org.

The Teran Watershed Project and Rock Wedge Workshop,www.saguaro-juniper.com/i_and_i/rockwedges/wedge_seminar/wedge_seminar.html.

El Coronado Ranch

Publication

Agroecological Restoration in Southwestern Woodlands: A Comparative Analysis of Water Harvesting and Erosion Control Methods, by Craig Sponholtz. July 2005. Write Craig at 607 Salazar St., Santa Fe, NM 87505.

DVD

“Harvest Rain,” a DVD showcasing the El Coronado Ranch transformation. See www.elcoronadoranch.com/. Send a $15 check made out to the Fundacion Cuenca Los Ojos, mailed to El Coronado Ranch, 12626 E. Turkey Creek, Pearce, AZ 85625.

Check dam case studies, other

“Improving Southwestern Riparian Areas Through Watershed Management,” by Leonard F. DeBano and Larry J. Schmidt. General Technical Report RM-182. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526.

Making Water Everybody’s Business: Practice and Policy of Water Harvesting, edited by Anil Agarwal, Sunita Narain, and Indira Khurana. Centre for Science and Environment, 2001, www.cseindia.org. In particular, see “Dramatic Turnaround” in chapter 3 for a multi-village effort that revived five rivers.