Aravaipa Creek is one of the rare spring-fed continuously-flowing streams in the Sonoran Desert.
Carving its canyon into the foothills of the Galiuro Mountains, Aravaipa Creek passes below Saguaro-clad cliffs that make a picture-perfect playground for desert bighorn sheep.
A fragile riparian zone lines the creek’s banks, and although it is federally-protected as the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness, this ecosystem is not without its threats. For instance, the green mat-like plant you see in the photo is Watercress (Nasturtium officinale).
Watercress is an invasive species that thrives in cool, flowing waters and will choke out native vegetation. It looks beautiful but its effects on the natural environment are ugly.
And in our modern internet-driven world where influencers will provide geographic coordinates of sensitive places to get thousands of “likes” and earn monetization dollars, it would be easy for Aravaipa to be loved-to-death.
Fortunately, the agency that manages Aravaipa — the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) — has instituted a permit system and a limited number of hikers that can enter the canyon on a given day.
This protects the delicate area from overuse and abuse by humans, because Lord knows we are damn good at abusing things.
It also means that anyone wanting to visit must plan ahead, and may not even be able to snag a permit during busy times of the year — spring and fall when the weather isn’t too hot or too cold.
So the next time you find yourself getting upset while you navigate a reservation or permit system to visit a beautiful place, remember that its essential in these places to keep the masses from destroying them.
That’s it for today’s Daily Dose! Click here to see more of my Aravaipa photos and read about my visit.
Much love,
-Jake
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