January 1998
Confluence Newsletter
ENDANGERED SPECIES PRESENTATION--—Information about the endangered species in the Verde Valley including the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, the razorback sucker, spikedace and Arizona cliffrose will be presented to the public January 28 at the Camp Verde Community Center. An Open House from 4-6 p.m. will allow property owners and land managers to gain information and share their thoughts with staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). A public presentation at 7 p.m. will discuss the Endangered Species Act, species biology, riparian habitat and outline possible approaches to developing a broad-based conservation strategy focusing on the Verde River corridor.. FWS staff will provide details about the regulatory implication of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher’s endangered species status and help attendees better understand the role of critical habitat in ongoing efforts to prevent the small bird’s extinction. The free event is co-sponsored by VWA and the Town of Camp Verde. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jackie Record @ 1-602-640-2720
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DECEMBER REMAINS NORMAL--—Verde River runoff into Horseshoe Reservoir was 19,060 acre-feet in December or 99-percent of median even though overall watershed precipitation was about 14-percent below normal. River flows at Camp Verde ran between 150-200 cubic feet per second for most of the month. Horseshoe Reservoir is 87-percent low and Bartlett is half full. January’s median flow can be expected to be 22,720 ac.-ft. Record high was in 1993 at 714,175 ac.-ft. and the historical low was logged in 1961 at 13,780 ac.-ft. The last big El Niño year in 1983 produced a January flow of 44,280. Last year’s runoff during the year’s first month was 17,910. January normal watershed precipitation is about 1.5 inches. Some areas of the watershed already received over an inch in early January. The Verde River rose to 632 cfs at 6 p.m. on Jan. 5 due largely to flows from the Dry & Wet Beaver Creek watersheds. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Charlie Ester @ 1-602-236-2587
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NON-NAVIGABILITY RECOMMENDED--—Arizona’s Stream Adjudication Commission voted unanimously in December to find and recommend to the Legislature that the Verde River showed no characteristics of navigability as of February 14, 1912. A final report to the Legislature detailing the Commission’s findings will be up for approval at the group’s February 18 meeting in Cochise County. Verde navigability has been a hot issue since the mid-1980’s The topic has often produced heated emotions from hundreds of property owners who feared losing portions of their floodplains into state ownership. However, the latest round of navigability debate stirred little public response. Among eight people who provided public testimony during May and July hearings on Verde navigability, only two reside in the Verde watershed. A chronology of the various laws and action regarding the ongoing issue is detailing on the Commission’s Internet website (http://aspin.asu.edu/ansac). The Commission’s findings do not impact laws which allow recreational boaters to use the water’s surface to paddle cross private property. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Christina Waddell @ 1-602-542-9214
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FLOATER’S GUIDE FEATURED--The details of navigating the Verde River by canoe and other recreational watercraft will be featured at the January 20 VWA meeting in Chino Valley. Prescott educator-author-canoeist Bob William will also describe the Verde River from top to bottom with a presentation designed to help the public understand the geologic, topographic and developed zones through which the watercourse flows. Williams recently published the 143-page “A Floater’s Guide to the Verde River” after eight years of field work. His program for VWA is designed to foster awareness about the 200-mile river’s recreational navigability and diversity of scenery, wildlife and whitewater features. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Bob Williams @ 1-520-778-3407
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LOOKING FOR WILDLIFE?--—Have you noticed fewer waterfowl, songbirds, beaver or eagles in your floodplain land? Do you want to see more quail, rabbits, javelina and deer on your uplands? Ever wonder how you can attract more of Arizona’s birds, animals and reptiles onto your property? If so, there may be a way to WHIP up some more wildlife on your lands through the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program of the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). WHIP can fund up to 75-percent of the cost of fencing, water development, tree planting, nest site construction, wetland enhancements, innovative landscaping, seeding and many other conservation practices designed to create those places wildlife loves to live. WHIP is an NRCS cost-sharing programs available to landowners with no agriculture production activities and has no minimum acreage restrictions. WHIP application will be accepted until September and reviewed every two months. Hundreds of Verde area properties could possibly benefit from WHIP, even though current funding is limited. However, landowners can now obtain free professional onsite technical advice about the suitability of their land for wildlife habitat improvements. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Mark Jalving @1-520-567-2496
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LAWSUIT STATUS REPORT--An injunction which banned logging on numerous Arizona and New Mexico National Forests was lifted in December. The lawsuit by the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity (SWCBD) could have also affected many Verde-area grazing allotments. Meanwhile, another SWCBD lawsuit against the Forest Service targeting 92 grazing operations is pending a motion for summary judgment. Also, Forest Guardians of Santa Fe filed a lawsuit in mid-December which could terminate grazing on 107 ranches. The Forest Guardian’s lawsuit also demands that all cattle be taken off public forest lands along the Verde River, as well as many other Southwestern streams. A spokesman for the SWCBD has indicated the lawsuits are part of a larger strategy to rewild the Gila River basin to recover endangered wildlife. The Arizona Cattlemen’s Association has sought to intervene in the lawsuits. Elsewhere, a local lawsuit (Powers vs. King) regarding the West Bear-Del Rio allotments on the Upper Verde appears to be nearing a settlement. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Devin Wanner @ 1-520-771-4820
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WATER STUDY PONDERED--—Sedona and Yavapai County officials are considering whether to fund a hydrogeological study which could provide an objective evaluation of long-term groundwater availability near the burgeoning communities of Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek. The study would also assess potential impacts of groundwater withdrawals. Sedona resident and former VWA Chairman Ed McGavock, a retired USGS hydrologist, has outlined an investigative approach to: update data for water levels and aquifer thickness; calculate aquifer storage volume; project water level declines for various pumping scenarios; expand the observation well network; and prepare maps showing aquifer yields to well north and west of Sedona. The study area extends west along the Mogollon Rim to the Red Cliffs and south to the Page Springs area. The study is projected to cost nearly $175,000 and Sedona officials are discussing funding participation with Yavapai County and other entities. Whether to proceed with the study is currently a much-debated topic in the city. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Ed McGavock @ 1-520-282-5826
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DID YOU KNOW--How many vehicular bridges span the Verde River and its perennial tributaries above the reservoirs? (Answer at the end of this paragraph.)-----The fifth anniversary of several of the largest floods ever recorded in the Verde watershed occurred on January 8. Peak flows took place then on Wet Beaver, West Clear Creek, the Verde near Scottsdale, and river inflows were measured into Horseshoe and Bartlett. Oak Creek and river flows near Paulden, Clarkdale and Camp Verde produced their records on February 20, 1993.-----It’s official. There’s now no limit to the number of bass and catfish fisherman can catch in the Verde and its tributaries from Granite Creek confluence to Horseshoe Reservoir. Meanwhile, trout stocking continues at six sites along the river and their catch and possession limit remains at six. Elsewhere, the catch limit on trout at Blue Ridge Reservoir has been eliminated from Sept 1. to May 1. -----There are 19 bridges spanning Verde perennial waters. For a full list and an explanation click here to go elsewhere on this Home Page
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