Volunteers from Quail Unlimited and the Bighorn Sheep Society participated in a survey of springs at Mojave National Preserve during September 2005. Each participant was provided with coordinates for a cluster of springs to visit to determine if water was available for wildlife to use. The survey, called Spring Snapshots, will be repeated each year. As the project develops, it may reveal how many water sources are available in wet verses dry years, and how rainfall timing and quantity affects the availability of water at springs. Surveys are conducted in the fall, when the springs are most likely to be dry.
This year, 114 of over 160 documented springs were surveyed. Rainfall was much higher than average during the spring and summer of 2005, and over 80 percent of the springs surveyed had water. ?We couldn?t have visited so many springs without the help of the many volunteers from Quail Unlimited and the Bighorn Sheep Society,? said National Park Service hydrologist Annie Kearns. ?Their participation made it possible for us to collect this information and learn more about water availability for wildlife.? Results of the survey, along with precipitation records and a map showing spring survey sites are available at www.nps.gov/moja.
