   The Verde Watershed - November 4, 1998 Jeff Schalau, County Director, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County At the risk of disappointing some devoted gardeners, we depart from the backyard to explore a larger geographic area: the Verde Watershed. First, I'll define the term watershed: it is the land surface area which drains to a specific location on a water course. The specific location is usually a confluence of streams or rivers. For the Verde Watershed, that location is the Verde River's confluence with the Salt River near Fort McDowell. The Verde Watershed occupies about approximately 16% of the Arizona's land area (about 6,650 square miles). This impressive area extends from north of Seligman, over to the west side of the San Francisco Peaks, south to include Chino Valley, Prescott, the Verde Valley, and follows the river channel to Fountain Hills. Much of the area is in arid upland terrain with ranches and public lands occupying the landscape. These uplands are vegetated with grasslands, pinyon/juniper woodlands, chaparral, with conifer forests on the mountainous portions. Riparian vegetation, such as willow, cottonwood, and alder grow where there are perennial water sources. In the uplands, water is collected by numerous small drainages. Much of this flows underground to recharge underground aquifers. In places where the smaller drainages collect enough water or there is shallow bedrock, water may flow above ground for limited periods during the year. Eventually, these small upland drainages converge to form the larger ones we call seasonal streams. In the Verde Valley, we find many year-round or perennial streams. Most of these originate from springs and/or steams from sources above the Mogollon Rim. The perennial headwaters of the Verde River are just north of Chino Valley at Del Rio Springs. Near this site was the first Territorial Capital and these springs were an important historic water source for much of northern Arizona. In bygone days, rail cars hauled water from here to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, Williams, Flagstaff, and elsewhere. Like many others in Central Arizona, I've just spent a lot of time talking about water. As we all know, it is a very important renewable resource. The water brought people to this area in the past and is probably the major reason that humans are still inhabiting the area today. By better understanding our watershed, we can begin to comprehend the issues that affect the lives of others within it. Today, there is interest in making land management decisions based not on arbitrary lines drawn on a map, but by watersheds. John Wesley Powell, the first European to navigate the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, was also a proponent of watershed governance. In 1890, he proposed that the west be organized into "hydrographic" districts (watersheds). Powell proposed settlement based on natural limitations of land, water and climate in the arid and semiarid regions. This view was not politically popular at that time. Many land management concerns are best addressed at the watershed level. Some broad areas of concern within any watershed are water quality and quantity. Ranchers and agricultural producers take much of the heat when these issues arise, but we should also focus our attention on urban landscapes, recreational users, private wells, septic systems, and automobiles. We all live together in this watershed. To find out more or get involved, join the Verde Watershed Association (P.O. Box 1086, Sedona, AZ 86339-1086) or visit their web page at verde.org. The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension has publications and information on water resources. If you have gardening questions, call the Master Gardener line in the Cottonwood office at 646-9113 or E-mail us at mgardener@kachina.net and be sure to include your address and phone number. |