UA SRC Trainee Studies Wind Erosion Risk on the Navajo Nation
May 5, 2022
Marquel Begay (Diné/Navajo), UArizona graduate student in the Ecology, Management, and Restoration of Rangelands program, received funds through the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Southwest Biological Science Center to improve understanding of how Navajo communities perceive wind erosion and dust emission risk in relation to cultural and natural resources.
Climate change and land use intensification place tribal lands on the Colorado Plateau at risk to accelerated rates of wind erosion and degradation. Sediment transport from wind erosion has cascading effects on ecosystem (soil and vegetation productivity, climate) and human health (respiratory illnesses, pathogens) and has intensified in recent years.
The funded risk grant proposal, “Wind erosion risk on Navajo Nation lands of the Colorado Plateau,” aims to improve understanding of wind erosion risk to members of the Navajo Nation through active tribal engagement, foundational USGS datasets, and proven mapping and modeling methods. Surveys will help assess wind erosion risk among community members and connect wind erosion vulnerability to Navajo cultural and natural resource values at risk.
Wind erosion risk maps produced will help identify high-risk areas and deliver risk information to land-use planners and the Navajo communities. For example, maps can help evaluate potential locations for home and business sites, guide livestock grazing management, and inform cropping practices. Risk maps can be used to prioritize lands for protection and ecological restoration.
Specific objectives of this work are to:
- Identify areas of the Navajo Nation are most vulnerable to wind erosion under undisturbed and disturbed conditions
- Identify primary drivers of wind erosion on the Navajo Nation
- Identify cultural and natural resource values at risk from wind erosion, and how maps can help inform risk planning
This project will be led by the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) scientists, the University of Arizona, and the Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife.