Verde River

Viewpoint: Abuse of public lands forces restrictions

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[Source: Steve Ayers, Verde Independent, 3-20-2010] — Once again, vandalism and abuse of public lands is forcing those whose job it is to protect those lands to limit access.  This week, the Arizona Game & Fish Department announced that it would restrict motorized access to its Upper Verde River Wildlife Area beginning April 22.  The agency’s move comes in response to years of vandalism, along with the continued destruction of habitat from illegal use of off-road vehicles.

The 1,089-acre property is prime riparian habitat that includes three miles of the very upper reach of the Verde River along with a mile-long stretch of Granite Creek.  It was purchased by the state using Heritage Fund money from the lottery in 1996.  “The problem has been ongoing for several years now,” said Zen Mocarski, public information office for AZGF.  “There has been a lot of off-road vehicle abuse, a lot of fences have been cut, a lot of habitat destruction.”  Mocarski says the property is managed for its wildlife and riparian area and those management goals take precedent.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

State Parks purchases Camp Verde’s Rockin’ River Ranch

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[Source: CVBugle.com, Steve Ayers] — Chalk up another crown jewel for the ever-expanding Verde River Greenway. This week, Arizona State Parks and The Nature Conservancy have announced the purchase of the historic Rockin’ River Ranch, located on the Verde River at the southern edge of the Town of Camp Verde. The $7 million purchase was made with money designated for the specific purpose of acquiring land for State Parks. Funding for acquisition comes from the state’s Heritage Fund, which comes from the state lottery.  [Note: to read the full article, click here.]

Fishing for roundtail chubs at Fossil Creek in northern Arizona

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[Source: DeWayne Smith, Special for the Arizona Republic] — How many Verde trout have you caught lately?  No, we’re not talking about rainbow trout in the Verde River that drains into Horseshoe and Bartlett lakes in central Arizona.  We’re talking about the roundtail chub (taxonomically known as Gila robusta and more informally as the Verde trout) that can be found in perennial streams and rivers throughout the state, including the Verde River where there is a somewhat formidable population.  Yes, they are legal to catch and currently the limit is one fish measuring 13 inches or longer.

Roundtails are also found in Fossil Creek, the recently returned-to-nature stream that flows out from under the Mogollon Rim southwest of Strawberry.  And if the Arizona Game and Fish Department has its way, a stretch of the creek will become the state’s latest put and take fishery that will only be available to anglers during winter months.  That is one of seven proposals Kirk Young, state fisheries chief, is talking around during a series of public meetings prior to a formal proposal before the Arizona Game and Fish Commission in October.  “Since the reclamation of the stream, parts of it have a lot of roundtails in it and the fish are not fully established in other parts,” said Young of the chub which can get as large as 3 pounds.  [Note: to read the full article, click here.]

Trekking to the source of Arizona’s Verde River

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[Source: Steve Ayers, CV Bugle] — The Verde River begins its journey in a labyrinth of Proterozoic rock, Cambrian sandstone, Devonian dolomite, and Tertiary gravels interspersed with the surface flows and underground intrusion of volcanic lavas.  Its path to the sun is complex and only know is it beginning to be understood.  Nevertheless, it emerges in a series of springs that feed a forest of willows and cottonwoods and in the process provide the lifeblood for a variety of fish, fowl and wildlife.

In 1996 the Arizona Game & Fish Department, with money from the Heritage Fund, purchased a checkerboard of parcels just down stream from the point where the river emerges.  Then last December, the Nature Conservancy, after 20 years of trying, successfully purchased a 312-acre parcel that included the very springs themselves and also received an additional 160 donated by the former property owners Billy and Betty Wells.  In February of this year, the Nature Conservancy sold off all but 20 acres to Game & Fish, retaining the first few springs.  [Note: to read the full article, click here.]