THE VERDE
Water. Clean, flowing water. It is our lifeblood.
We tend to take water and our surroundings for granted. The Verde River with its year- round water has always been here for us. The tall cottonwood trees and lush undergrowth have always lined the banks. Hawks and eagles still fly overhead, herons and ducks wade in the shallows, beaver and raccoon scramble along the edges, and fish swim in the rapids and lurk in the deep pools.
People have always been attracted to the river. Rivers make good transportation corridors for boats, railroads, and cars. Recreationists come to fish, hunt, canoe, swim, camp, hike, ride, and bird watch. People build their homes along the banks or on hills overlooking the scenic waterways. The serene beauty of a river view provides the essence of human comtemplation and rejuvenation. The rich, fertile soils make excellent cropland and pastures. The floodplains and streambeds are a source of sand and gravel necessary for the homes, businesses, and roads required by the people who choose to live in the Verde Valley.
The first human inhabitants of the Verde Valley migrated to this region for many of the same reasons we came here. Pleasing climate, attractive and diverse landscape, plentiful food and water, ample materials for building homes and communities, and close proximity to nearby desert and mountain resources are all drawing cards.
There has been considerable speculation about the disappearance of the prehistoric populations that once thrived in the Verde Valley. Although no one actually knows why the early inhabitants left the area around 1400 A. D., speculations include severe drought or other catastrophic environmental disaster, epidemics, constant warfare and raids by other tribes, and insufficient food supply and/or environmental degradation by too large a population base.
Currently, the Verde Valley is home to about 30,000 people. Even with all our modern technology, we are having trouble keeping our air, land, and water clean and unpolluted. Historians have estimated that several hundred years ago, there were over 35,000 Indians that lived in the valley. They had no sewage systems, monitored landfills, water quality controls, or modern medical treatments for typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis, and other hazards that could decimate populations. Could environmental pollution and subsequent health and safety factors have contributed to their demise or emigration (King, 1991)?
In recent times, many of Arizona's rivers have been taken for granted by the communities that developed next to them. Without much thought to the future, people diverted and pumped water, built dams or channelized the river, cut down trees for homes, fuel, and cropland, mined the sand and gravel, poured chemicals and waste downriver, and recreated without responsibility.
The result of this overuse without any long-range planning has been a dry, dusty, riverbed with no green vegetation, no fish or wildlife, no tourist or recreation attraction, and substantially reduced economic potential. For examples look to Tucson and the Santa Cruz River, and the Phoenix metropolitan area and the Salt, Gila, and Agua Fria Rivers. These cities are now spending millions of dollars trying to clean up, enhance, and restore these areas. Many other communities are facing potentially serious problems with regard to loss of adjacent river values, including Holbrook and Winslow along the Little Colorado River, Sierra Vista and Benson along the San Pedro River, Prescott along Granite Creek, and the communities along the upper Gila and San Francisco Rivers. Without proper planning, Arizona is in danger of losing enormous economic, aesthetic, and environmental benefits associated with flowing rivers and riparian areas.
The Verde Valley is fortunate. The communities along the Verde River still enjoy a clean flowing river, lush riparian vegetation, healthy wildlife populations, a quality of life, beautiful scenery, and economic attraction that can't be beat. But the demands on the river and its resources are increasing daily.
The population of the Verde Valley and the state as a whole is growing at a phenomenal rate. In 1980 the combined population of the general Verde Valley area totalled 16,865 people. By 1990 it had nearly doubled to 31,805 people (ADES, 1990). The Town of Camp Verde experienced the largest growth—from 1,125 to 6,450. In that same ten-year period, Arizona saw an increase of one million people—from 2.7 to 3.7 million (ADES, 1990). The Southwest is currently experiencing a new spurt of growth. In the past year, Arizona, the nation's 24th most populous state, jumped from 35th to 7th in creating jobs (Johnson, 1991). In most parts of the country, people follow jobs. In the desert region, with its stunning beauty and sunshine that accommodates outdoor recreation over 300 days a year, people often move first and find a job later. How many people can the Verde Valley accommodate and still maintain its quality of life?
We are becoming a more mobile civilization, and technology is enabling us to do more and go more places than before. Improvements in timber harvesting, agricultural practices, and mineral extraction techniques enable companies to move into remote areas and profitably utilize resources that were once too difficult and costly to take. New innovations in vehicles and recreational equipment, both motorized and manual, allow more and more people access to the backcountry. These increasing uses of our natural resources are a testament to human ingenuity, but the cumulative impacts are beginning to take their toll. Can we use our technological advances to reduce our impacts to the world we live in?
Water pollution and sedimentation of the river are affecting developments and opportunities. Water quality regulations prohibit cetain uses if water standards are not met. Previous land operations in the area, such as mining operations near Jerome and Clarkdale, have polluted lands and water and thus have complicated development and recreation opportunities. Increased scouring due to upstream uses is thought to be the primary cause of the structural instability of the Bridgeport Bridge, resulting in traffic closures of the bridge during high flows. How is it possible to provide for commercial use of the river resources and still protect the natural, scenic, and cultural values important to us all?
New developments along the river and disgruntled landowners tired of litter and vandalism have closed down traditional river access points. More people are finding it difficult to get to the river, and when they do find an access point they often find new fences and "no trespassing" signs that limit where they can go and what they can do. There are many landowners and businessmen who don't mind courteous recreationists using their riverfront lands, but many of these same people are now closing their gates because of increased liability risks. How do you protect private property owners' rights and still provide the public adequate access to the river?
Sometimes there are similar but competing uses which can raise controversy and divide communities. The recent furor over trails, specifically off-highway vehicle trails on National Forest lands, has brought out adjacent landowners, environmentalists, and other recreationists to debate the merits of this activity on public lands. While most people agree that multiple use of public lands is a fair and logical theory, in practice, this concept can break down when the lands are being designated for actual uses. How is it possible to fairly accommodate every desired use on a finite parcel of land, or should it even be attempted? If not, how can it be decided which uses to allow and which to turn down?
After asking all these questions, we hope that you have a better understanding of the task that faced the participants of the Verde River Corridor Project.
BACKGROUND
The Verde River is one of Arizona's most important resources, both in its richness and in its usefulness. It provides innumerable benefits to the state's economy, its residents' quality of life, and the natural, scenic, and cultural environment. The Verde is known for its beauty and diversity of landscape, its opportunities for recreation, the bounty of its water and riparian lands for fish and wildlife populations as well as for human communities, and for the link it provides with the past and the path it opens to the future.
There is widespread concern, however, that the attributes which make the Verde and its tributaries special are being increasingly threatened. Many area residents feel the overall quality of the Verde and its corridor lands have deteriorated in recent years. Most desert rivers in the Southwest have been so drastically altered that they are liabilities instead of assets to the communities through which they flow. In order to take a closer look at the issues facing the Verde, and to develop recommendations and a plan of action for dealing with them, local residents and organizations, with assistance from the Arizona State Parks and Arizona Department of Commerce, established the Verde River Corridor Project.
In the fall of 1989, the Verde River Corridor Project (VRCP) was initiated as a locally directed effort with the goals of examining all uses and values of the river corridor, agreeing on a vision, and developing a plan of action that could be supported by the public and managing agencies alike. Local town representatives of the Verde Valley appointed people to a steering committee composed of a cross section of the population. The steering committee was formed to direct the project and five subcommittees were established to tackle specific issues.
Local, state, and federal agencies and organizations established a technical advisory committee to assist the steering committee and subcommittees. A large mailing list of nearly 500 local residents, riverfront property owners, groups, and agencies was developed to keep interested people informed. The local newspapers and radio stations cooperated with news releases of meetings and open forums, and published frequent updates of the VRCP's progress and decisions.
Located in central Arizona, the VRCP study area covers the stretch of the Verde River from Tapco to Beasley Flat (Figure 1) which is approximately 55 to 60 river miles. Tapco is an old power generating station located along the river upstream of Clarkdale. Beasley Flat is a popular river access point located on a broad mesa downstream of Camp Verde. The project participants also wanted the upper headwaters from Sullivan Lake downstream to Tapco considered because of its direct impact upon the corridor. A corridor width that included the 100-year floodplain was chosen for the VRCP study area with the understanding that it could be modified if inventory data indicated it was needed.
Land ownership within the the VRCP study area is extremely varied. Much of the land is in private ownership. Three incorporated communities, Clarkdale, Cottonwood, and Camp Verde, are located within the corridor as are several unincorporated communities under the jurisdiction of Yavapai County. The area also includes scattered federal parcels managed by the Forest Service and National Park Service, limited Arizona State Land State Trust and State Park lands, and three separate parcels owned by the Camp Verde Yavapai-Apache Indian Tribe.
The upper and lower stretches of the Verde outside the designated corridor, approximately 130 river miles, are primarily Forest Service lands with some private inholdings. Forest management plans have already been completed for these areas, and these plans were considered during this process. The 39.5 mile stretch of river immediately below Beasley Flat has been designated by Congress as Arizona's only National Wild & Scenic River.
Some community members wanted the entire Verde River Basin to be included within the scope of this project; others wanted specific sites within the corridor to be addressed in detail. These options would entail a much larger study or a second study, both of which are outside the scope of this project. However, resource uses and management actions that occur within the Verde Basin which could have impacts on the river corridor have been considered when developing recommendations. Also, several recommendations suggest or support detailed studies and efforts on specific areas, such as the Verde River Greenway and Tavasci Marsh (see Recommendations and Major Findings section).
PURPOSE
The purpose of the VRCP is to develop a workable strategy for the use, management, and protection of the river that incorporates the views of its many users, residents, agencies, and elected officials. The recommendations contained within this report are meant as suggestions—as a starting point. These recommendations, in many instances, piggyback on existing community efforts, supporting the local actions. Some recommendations augment and strengthen existing policies and actions. No one group is responsible for the implementation of all the recommendations. These actions will require a concerted effort by many individuals, groups, and agencies.
The key to this process is establishing a consensus among the diverse river interests. This may sound ambitious given the wide range of topics that need to be addressed and the sheer size of the watershed. In many ways, it may be simpler to organize around a single river issue, such as stopping a new dam, protecting pastoral lands, or reducing chemical waste pollution.
The citizen-based VRCP will become a coordination and educational force in the community when there is cooperation between all the groups that use the river, not just those that have been traditionally concerned with use and management. An informed, involved public is a community's strongest asset. It is a worthy goal and one that the VRCP will strive to meet.
It is not the intent of the VRCP to create another level of bureaucracy, or to make sweeping changes in existing laws, regulations, or policies. The communities of the Verde Valley do an admirable job of trying to accommodate the uses and needs of their residents. The VRCP does see a need for a more comprehensive coordination effort between the incorporated communities and unincorporated county areas, and between the general public, special interest groups, and agencies. The region is experiencing tremendous growth that shows no sign of decreasing. This rapid growth will impact every facet of the valley, which may require some level of change in management, general plans, zoning, and ordinances. The VRCP encourages the county and communities to coordinate these new changes so that there is consistency in management and regulation along the river corridor.
The ultimate goal has not been to change the character of the corridor, but to conserve the river and its related resources in a way that is balanced with growth and economic vitality. The term "corridor" is not meant to be a designation of acquisition and protection like the six-mile Verde River Greenway now being planned by the Arizona State Parks Board. Rather it refers to the general study area chosen because of its complex land ownership patterns, economic, natural, scenic, and cultural values, and the high level of uses and conflicts. The intent of the VRCP is to study the corridor, its values, uses, issues of concern and needs, and to work with all interested parties to create a plan of action for the future management of the river corridor (Figure 2).
One of the overriding priorities of the VRCP has been the protection of private property rights. This concern has been included in all meetings, committee discussions, reports, and publications. The recommendations contained in this report include many references, suggestions, and action items intended to inform, involve, and protect the rights and responsibilities of all landowners.
The Steering Committee has stated that the purpose of the VRCP is to:
Identify and recognize all uses of the Verde River Corridor, encourage protection of the Verde River and its natural, scenic, and cultural resources, and promote coordinated decision-making for the continued enjoyment and use of the Verde River by future generations.
The VRCP has examined the resources of the Verde River Corridor and the opportunities they present to the communities. This document describes the natural, scenic, cultural, commercial, and recreational values of the Verde River Corridor, and presents a plan of action oriented toward the overall enhancement of these riverine characteristics. It also includes current and future growth trends of the Verde Valley; overview of corridor problems; a summary of the VRCP process and committee work; recommendations and major findings; supporting studies; summary of river conservation strategies; and a summary of other protection and management actions underway by various organizations.
SUPPORT
The Verde River Corridor Project is a locally-directed planning project. It is a grassroots effort initiated by community leaders and individuals who saw a need for coordinated planning along the Verde River Corridor. Joining these local citizens are organizations, businesses, elected officials, and agencies, such as Arizona State Parks and Department of Commerce, who also saw the need for such an endeavor. This current planning process is not an "official" mandated project with permanent staff and unlimited funds. Rather, it is a loose coalition of individuals, groups, and agencies with a common interest in planning for the future of the Verde River and its resources.
However, there is a growing recognition in Arizona and across the nation of the need for river corridor planning. A recent Executive Order (91-6) signed by the Governor of Arizona states:
"The State Parks Board will continue its planning efforts of multi-objective river corridor planning. All appropriate state agencies are directed to cooperate in this task, as this program has far-reaching benefits to the State of Arizona." (Sec. 11)
One of the best explanations in favor of river corridor planning was spoken by Congressman Joseph M. McDade of Pennsylvania. The following paragraphs were taken from the 1990 Congressional Record:
Any community currently taking an action in a river corridor must deal with a bewildering multitude of Federal agencies and regulations. There is no unified approach or contact for advice and assistance, no assurance that the technical information provided is state-of-the-art data, and no defined formula which aids communities in a reasoned participatory decision-making process.
The importance and complexity of river values clearly warrants a carefully considered and well-reasoned balance among the competing users. In order to achieve balance, future river efforts must recognize all legitimate beneficial public uses, encourage decisions which result in the maximum public benefit, and, most importantly, encourage consensus building and input from all interests and at all stages of the decision-making process.
What public laws and regulations sometimes fail to recognize is that river values and uses are quite broad. The spectrum of interest stretches from preservation of rivers in their natural state to multiple use, which historically and practically, has been the most acceptable use throughout history.
While advocating a policy which recognizes and balances conservation needs with high quality economic uses seems logical, achieving the goal is often difficult for communities.
The legislation I am introducing today was drafted to recognize and promote a wide variety of river uses—recreation, fishing, wildlife habitat, and economic revitalization. It also is designed to help local communities control sources of pollution, reduce flood and stormwater losses, and preserve the historical and heritage values of their rivers and waterfronts. Most importantly, the bill is intended to make Government more responsive to the State and local communities it serves through a combination of matching grants, technical assistance, and interagency cooperation.
There is considerable support and enthusiasm for river corridor planning. Many states and communities have successfully implemented plans within their own river corridors. This planning process has proven to be a productive, well thought out approach to problem identification and resolution. The VRCP is Arizona's first attempt at multi-objective river corridor planning. The high level of concern, interest, and enthusiasm of the local communities, the incredible diversity of natural, cultural, and scenic resources of the Verde River Corridor, and the potential challenges and opportunities within the corridor make the Verde River a natural choice for Arizona's first corridor planning project. All who joined together to create the VRCP did so with the hope that it would serve as a model for other Arizona communities with adjacent river systems.
VISION
During the beginning of the VRCP, the Steering Committee and other participants spent considerable time exploring possible visions for the future of the Verde River and its corridor lands. Together they developed the following vision statement:
The Verde River Corridor is an invaluable resource to the people of the Verde Valley and to the State of Arizona. It is an integral part of life in the Verde Valley affecting each resident, business, and tourist in some way. Planning for the wise use, protection, and enhancement of the Verde River and its associated natural, cultural, scenic, agricultural, economic, and recreational resources should be a priority for everyone.
Toward the end of the planning process, VRCP participants further defined their vision for the future of the Verde River Corridor. The guiding principles described in the Recommendations and Major Findings section admirably express that vision. It is a positive outlook enhanced by the enthusiastic participation and support exhibited during the Verde River Corridor Project. The guiding principles include strong statements of direction regarding the following issues:
• Private Property
• Economic Development
• Water
• Resource Protection
• Recreation
• Education
• Planned Growth
• Coordinated Management
In the past, there has been a recognized lack of information and coordination between individuals, groups, and agencies on some issues that affect the river corridor. The VRCP was formed to bring together these people, organizations, and agencies to facilitate discussion and decision-making.
The formation of a recognized coalition of those already established groups that now deal with the management and conservation of the river corridor has been identified as a priority recommended action as a result of this project. This coalition must include representatives of all interested groups and agencies, including landowners and members of the general public. All members must be willing to talk with each other and consider all sides of an issue.
The coalition should serve as an informational and educational force for the Verde Valley, letting people know about upcoming developments and changes. It should provide opportunities for the public to learn and openly discuss the issues. It should also strive to reach a consensus whenever possible. It should open the doors to coordinated, consistent management within the Verde River Corridor.
