Re-post: Ecosystem Services Assessment (ESA)--Coconino Plateau Watershed Partnership (CPWP)

In 2019, I completed with Sharon Masek Lopez Phase 1 of an ecosystem services assessment. This work has proved relevant in providing an understanding of convergent and divergent values for stakeholders on the Coconino Plateau.

My work (Task 1 of Phase 1) focused on stakeholder values. I personally met with 31 stakeholder representatives to identify what environmental issues they thought were most important and what is most vulnerable and at-risk. Sharon compiled a comprehensive bibliography (Task 2 of Phase 1) of the multitude of research that has been done on the Coconino Plateau.

http://www.cpwac.org/SWBreports/wresa_ph1_task1.pdf

Dr. Zachary Smith

Zachary Smith is deeply missed in the environmental field. The world is a better place because he was in it. His influence on his students, myself included, has been profound. There’s always that person you wish you could call when you have questions about work or research. For me, that was Zach. I’m extremely grateful to have also called him my friend.

I’d be remiss if I failed to mention the book we wrote together. What Water Is Worth is a book that looks beyond the monetary values of water. These are values that are often overlooked.

https://www.amazon.com/What-Water-Worth-Overlooked-Non-Economic/dp/0230340768

On June 11, 2015 authors Kira Artemis Russo and Zachary Smith, who was an NAU Regents’ Professor of Politics and International Affairs, were interviewed on “Arizona Horizon” by Ted Simons of PBS station KAET-TV.

GWPC Updates

I apologize that it’s been so long since I updated this news page. I hadn’t been particularly consistent even before the last post about Dr. Shiva. Then in September of 2018, I lost my younger son, Andy. As is often the case in life, people have carried me and led the way through tremendous grief. My older son, Alex, and I are on the path of continuous healing, and we’ve learned that there is meaning and purpose both in the middle of and on the other side of grief. If you find yourself in this or a similar position and need someone to talk with, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

I have slowly resumed my work. In 2019, I completed with Sharon Masek Lopez Phase 1 of an ecosystem services assessment. Following are links to that work. The first link is a PowerPoint from a presentation I gave to the Coconino Plateau Watershed Partnership (CPWP). The last one is a .pdf of the complete Task 1 of Phase 1.  

http://www.cpwac.org/presentationfiles/WRESA%20Kira.pdf 

http://www.cpwac.org/SWBreports/wresa_ph1_task1.pdf 

I have also taught part-time again at Northern Arizona University and was honored to serve as a visiting instructor for NAU’s Center for International Education (CIE) for three weeks in China between October and November of 2019. There I taught for two weeks at Yangzhou University in Yangzhou and for one week at Guangzhou University of Finance and Economics (GUFE) in Guangzhou. I continue to be grateful for that experience and the many wonderful people I have met as a result!

My sons, Alex and Andy

My sons, Alex and Andy

Sign for Kira Russo Lecture at Guangzhou University of Finance and Economics (GUFE), Guangdong Province, China. “The Colorado River: Its History and the Changing Nature of the River.”

Sign for Kira Russo Lecture at Guangzhou University of Finance and Economics (GUFE), Guangdong Province, China. “The Colorado River: Its History and the Changing Nature of the River.”

Lecture at Guangzhou University of Finance and Economics (GUFE), Guangdong Province, China. “The Colorado River: Its History and the Changing Nature of the River.”

Lecture at Guangzhou University of Finance and Economics (GUFE), Guangdong Province, China. “The Colorado River: Its History and the Changing Nature of the River.”

Northern Arizona University Presents Dr. Vandana Shiva

Tuesday November 15, 2016 Kira Russo attended a presentation by Dr. Vandana Shiva at Northern Arizona University.  Dr. Shiva spoke about global food security and environmental sustainability.  In addition, she addressed the political consequences of conflict over water and the effects of global climate change.

                                                                      &nbs…

                                                                           Dr. Vandana Shiva

Governor's Water Augmentation Council Meeting--October 28, 2016

Kira Russo attended the 5th meeting of the Governor’s Water Augmentation Council. Council members continued the discussion of Arizona’s water communication plan. In addition, Chuck Graf, principal hydrogeologist for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), presented on wastewater reuse in Arizona.  

 

For more information, cut and paste the following link into your browser:

http://www.azwater.gov/AzDWR/Arizona_Water_Initiative/documents/MeetingSummary10.28.16.pdf