He owns the Running N Bar Ranch in St. David, and says ranchers are basically environmentalists.

"We only get so much ground," Monzingo said. "We have to take care of it." For Monzingo, part of taking care of his land means paying attention to the San Pedro River.

Even though he does not pump surface water from the river like some ranchers in St. David, he still has reason to be concerned about the river.

"This area is my livelihood," Monzingo said, adding that he depends on groundwater from the San Pedro to water his livestock and small farm.

Using groundwater instead of surface water or irrigation is not unique in the San Pedro River area.

According to Dave Matthews, district conversationalist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the amount of irrigated land has decreased from around 10,000 acres 20 years ago, to 4,000 or 5,000 acres today.

Because there is such a small amount of irrigated agriculture, Matthews does not think a dead river would have much of an impact on ranching in Cochise County.

"Most of the 40 or 50 miles of the San Pedro River that goes through Cochise County and up into Pima and Pinal County is dry anyway," Matthews said. "It's always been dry."

Still, some see problems arising if no surface water is available for ranching.
Dave Goodrich, a research hydraulic engineer for the USDA Agriculture Research Service, said that if the river is unreliable, people who would usually get their surface water delivered by gravity have to instead put in pumps that use electricity and increase costs.

Monzingo said he has seen some changes in the river since 1985 when he bought the ranch. He remembers a time when the water in the river was 12-14 inches deep.

Monzingo said it has been about 10 years since he has seen water that deep in the river.

Many ranchers intercept their water before it even reaches the river, Matthews said.

Even with what appears to be little threat to his deep wells, Monzingo still tries to conserve water.

One way he does this is by monitoring his pumping time.

"If I'm pumping water for livestock, I time it so I don't run any water onto the ground," Monzingo said.

He knows what dry wells and no water would mean for his ranch.

"The bottom line to groundwater: If you don't have water, you don't have anything," Monzingo said. "You're out of business. It's just that simple."