Thinking Like Water docuseries follows restoration pioneer Bill Zeedyk, and his collaborators, as they transform degraded watersheds into more resilient ecosystems – girding against the ravages of drought and climate change.
Today, “water wizard” Bill Zeedyk is a legend in the ecological restoration community. But when he began this work over 25 years ago, after retiring from the U.S. Forest Service, his ideas were considered almost heretical.
Building on the work of Luna Leopold (son of famed conservationist Aldo Leopold), the river guru Dave Rosgen, and influenced by indigenous practices of tribes in NM and AZ, Zeedyk coaxes straightened streams back on their natural meandering course, lifts the creek, raises the water table and recreates lost habitats. All while using simple restoration techniques he designed or innovated upon. These constellations of “Zeedyk structures” have slowly gained favor and now his methods have even been institutionalized.
Each episode is guided by a different host (along with Zeedyk), in a different location highlighting different tools from the toolbox. While each episode builds upon the prior, each can stand alone.
Episode 1: “Willing to Try Things” lays the foundation of Zeedyk’s pioneering contribution of induced meandering to the field of nature-based restoration and how it began to take off.
Episode 2: “All about a Bird: A 1000 Acts of Restoration” highlights the Endangered Gunnison Sage Grouse and how a host of partnerships and private landowners’ pull together to save this unique bird.
Episode 3: “Fire & Flood” illustrates restoration in the age of increasing catastrophic wildfires and their post-fire impacts and how hybridizing treatments comes with the terrain.
Episode 4: “Country Roads, City Roads” explores the biggest impact on watersheds and how practical approaches make win-win-win scenarios possible.
Episode 5: “Watershed Wide: Putting it All Together” in Zeedyk’s hometown watersheds: A river’s re-winding through a town center, pushing the boundaries of induced meandering on a wildlife refuge, and a large family ranch implementing Bill’s techniques.
– Maryann McGraw, Wetlands Program Coordinator, NM Environment Department Water Quality Bureau
– Joan L. Bybee, Mesteno Draw Cattle Co, Mountainair, NM
– Mollie Walton, Comanche Creek Project Director / Quivira Coalition
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“The work we’ve been doing in neighborhoods inspired the City of Tucson to establish a Green Street policy, where new road construction or major renovation must include spillways that direct water to adjacent landscaping – satisfying much of the irrigation demand while also reducing flooding.
In the old paradigm, street runoff would flow down this pavement directly to the storm drain, kicking it out of the system, dehydrating an already dry environment.”
By combining animation sketches, remote sensing, before/after photo points along with stories of historic, cultural, economic and geographical significance, we hope to elevate the practical knowledge gained from these cutting-edge practitioners.
Got less than a minute? Watch this short animation on upland slope treatments. Treatment Design by Bill Zeedyk and Steve Vrooman, Implementation and GIS by Keystone Restoration Ecology in partnership with Los Amigos de Valles Caldera, Funded by Wildlife Conservation Society. Cartography and Video by Renea Roberts, R3 Productions. Pictured location at the entrance to Valles Caldera National Preserve in Northern NM at Hwy 4 Main Entrance.