Long-term monitoring of herpetofauna along the Salt and Gila Rivers in and near the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, ongoing since 2012

Waterways are often the focus of restoration efforts in urban areas.
In arid regions, passive discharge of urban water sources may
stimulate the recovery or growth of wetland and riparian features in
dewatered or ephemeral aquatic systems. In the greater Phoenix
metropolitan area (GPMA), sections of the Salt and Gila Rivers have
been the targets of active restoration through seeding, planting, and
irrigation. At the same time, revegetation has occurred in some
sections of the rivers in response to runoff from urban water sources
(e.g., storm drains). This dataset catalogs the results of
herpetological surveys conducted at several locations along the Salt
and Gila Rivers in and around the GPMA beginning in March 2012. Survey
locations include riparian areas in urban and non-urban locations that
have been (actively) restored or have revegetated in response to urban
runoff, and that feature ephemeral or perennial sources of water. This
is a long-term monitoring effort of the CAP LTER with on-going data
collection.