Located northeast of Phoenix and 25 miles west of Alpine, the West Fork Black River drains White Mountain, runs right through Thompson-Burro Meadow, and is a major tributary of the Black River. The Black River watershed is part of the largest, contiguous Ponderosa Pine Forest in the United States. It is a crucial headwater source of water supply to the Salt River, a significant water source for Phoenix Valley.

The Thompson-Burro Meadow Restoration is currently being planned and designed through a collaborative grant funded by Bureau of Reclamation. The project is part of a larger, multifaceted forest management plan for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest that was addressed by a recent U.S. Forest Service NEPA process.

The Black River Aquatic Restoration Project presents a suite of integrated ecological restoration activities designed to reduce fire related risks and restore ecological resilience that will benefit fish and wildlife and improve water security. The project is innovative, comprehensive in scope, and collectively applies forest health and meadow restoration activities, such as thinning, riparian exclusion fencing, tree planting, barrier removal, and construction of process-based restoration structures to improve wetland and hydrologic function. The project’s climate resilience solutions are proactive and forward-looking: restoring natural systems and processes in this location will demonstrate ways to solve risk and water resilience issues in Arizona.