In early January 2022, two appeals, one by PARA and one by Chris Werkhoven, of Sonoita, were heard by the Office of Administrative Hearings concerning a Significant Amendment to an Aquifer Protection Permit, granted by ADEQ in 2021, that would allow mining company South32 to dewater the Patagonia Mountains and start extracting underground minerals on an […]
David Ellis
Posted inOpinion
Groundwater Threats to Sonoita Creek Watershed
The Nature Conservancy has recorded Sonoita Creek surface water flow at its riparian preserve near Patagonia since 1992. Water flows from there into Patagonia Lake, joins the Santa Cruz River at Rio Rico, and flows north toward Tucson. The average flow has been about 3,500 acre-feet per year. Mining company South32 is seeking permits for up […]
Posted inCommunity
Forging a New Trail With the Dirtbags
The Dirtbags crew flags the course Chris and Mary Strohm migrated from Lake Tahoe, California, to Patagonia several years ago. Chris is a master trailbuilder, and some years ago he led a ragged band of mostly guys, self-named “Dirtbags,” who rerouted and generally upgraded trails at the Sonoita Creek State Natural Area downstream from the […]