Earth Matters / A.T. Cole on Cienegas

Named by Spanish explorers, cienegas are riparian marshlands of the Southwest that have almost disappeared from our arid landscape.

Our guest on this week’s program is AT Cole, co-owner with his wife, Cinda, of the 11,000 acre Pitchfork Ranch located south of Silver City . AT and Cinda have partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore the Burro Cienaga located on their ranch to restore flows in the Cienaga, stabilize streambanks from erosion in order to benefit imperiled species, such as the Aplomado Falcon, Gila Topminnow, and Chirichahua Leopard Frog.

Allyson Siwik, Executive Director of Gila Resources Information Project, hosts this program that will examine the importance of cienagas to the southwest and why we’ve lost over 70% of known cienagas, what’s being done to protect and restore these unique waterways, and specifically what the Cole’s are doing to restore Burro Cienaga on the Pitchfork Ranch.

For more information on cienagas, you can visit:

• Ciénegas - Vanishing Climax Communities of the American Southwest

Earth Matters airs Tuesday & Thursday at 10am and 8pm
Or listen any time via this link
Earth Matters / A.T. Cole on Cienegas