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The SVRA collaborates with the local Audubon Society<br />
chapter, whose volunteers assist staff to maintain a<br />
suitable bird habitat and prevent OHV trespass. Members<br />
of the Audubon Society also enjoy bird watching and<br />
perform species counts.<br />
When escrow closed on Onyx Ranch SVRA in 2014, staff<br />
determined that the entrance to Butterbredt Spring needed<br />
an updated look and enhanced protection. The existing<br />
barbed wire fence was removed and a new fence<br />
installed. After completing this update, staff installed<br />
boundary markers and interpretive kiosks to orient<br />
visitors to the SVRA and inform them of the rules<br />
and regulations.<br />
Interpretive kiosks<br />
Heber Dunes SVRA<br />
New fence installed at Butterbredt Spring<br />
Aquatic Resources Reconnaissance Survey, South Alamo Canal, Alamo River<br />
In 2016, surface water resources and riparian lands near Heber Dunes SVRA were<br />
investigated at a reconnaissance level for two purposes. Ocotillo Wells District staff<br />
reported visitors were fishing in the irrigation canals adjacent to the park. This occurs just<br />
beyond the east and south park boundaries.<br />
It is easy to access the South Alamo Canal and its distributaries from numerous locations<br />
around Heber Dunes SVRA. The land and facilities of these engineered waterways<br />
are owned by Imperial Irrigation District, which has not posted any rules or prohibitions<br />
concerning public access. There was little evidence of recent angler use of the canal<br />
and water quality appeared good. Fish were seen and one or two species of black bass<br />
(Micropterus salmoides and Micropterus dolomieu) were collected, and staff observed what<br />
appeared to be a tilapia (Oreochromis sp. or Tilapia sp.). The greater Salton Sea region is<br />
not conventionally within the established range of non-native smallmouth bass, but they are<br />
present in the Colorado River and thus presumably can be distributed through connected<br />
canal systems.<br />
A scheduled dewatering of the South Alamo Canal by Imperial Irrigation District for periodic<br />
maintenance activity preceded this reconnaissance visit by a few days. Ocotillo Well District<br />
resources staff took that opportunity to observe residual pools in the bottom of the canal<br />
that harbored live fish.<br />
2017 Program Report 141
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