Arizona Rivers

 “In this sometimes turbulent world, the river is a cosmic symbol of durability

and destiny; awesome, but steadfast. In this period of deep national concern,

I wish everyone could live for a while beside a great river.”

  –  Helen Hayes, American actor

We can’t disguise it.  This is an appeal for support.  But we’ll keep it brief.

You and I both know that Arizona’s environment has taken some big hits, policy-wise, in 2010.  The Arizona legislature raised the politics of distraction to a new (and highly unprofessional) level, drowning reason in a rising ocean of ideology.  Arizona’s parks and environmental protections suffered greatly at the hands of our legislature this session. 

The message couldn’t be clearer.  It’s going to be up to the citizens to protect our rivers.

And not a minute too soon.

In 2006, Shaun McKinnon and the Arizona Republic printed a scathing series on Arizona’s ruined rivers. 

Ruined.  Their word.  Sadly, it’s an apt description.

Since then, some things have gotten better.  And Arizona Rivers board members and staff have been hard at work.  Fossil Creek has been restored with full flows, native fish stockings, and multiple bankside clean-ups.  In 2009, this incredible stream received federal Wild and Scenic River designation, and a comprehensive resource management plan is in the works.  The Verde River gained national attention as an American Rivers “Most Endangered River” in 2006, and grassroots opposition to the Big Chino pipeline — as well as the economic slowdown — has put the biggest individual threat to the Verde on a back burner for the time-being.  Most recently, the U.S. Supreme Court gave Arizona’s rivers a boost by refusing to take the state’s side on the navigability issue, which means that the federal government can indeed protect rivers.

But too much hasn’t changed since the Arizona Republic report – and in some cases, things have even gotten worse.  The San Pedro River barely flows in the summer.  The Verde River is still facing the threat of depletion due to population growth, development, and diversion.  The Salt River is still dammed and is, in most places throughout the Phoenix area, a dry wash.  The Santa Cruz River through Tucson only flows in response to storms and sewage treatment plant returns.

Your support for Arizona Rivers could, in fact, change history for Arizona’s rivers.

Your support for Arizona Rivers could write a new story – one that profiles recovery, not ruination.

Please support Arizona Rivers.

We work for rivers, and we work for you.  We educate the public, and gather comments in support of greater river protections (as with the Fossil Creek Comprehensive River Management Plan expected in 2012).  We contribute commentary and technical information to the media, to blogs, and to investigative reporters throughout Arizona who cover river issues.  We continue to engage in the public process to protect the Verde River from the proposed Big Chino pipeline and other threats.  We build grassroots campaigns.

Over the next ten years, we’ll lead a collaborative “10 in 10” campaign with conservation partners and citizens from all over Arizona to single out 10 of Arizona’s imperiled rivers for special attention and protection through Wild and Scenic Rivers Act designation. Building this grassroots effort takes a steady flow of revenue – a river of support.  Please be as generous as you can.  Arizona’s rivers need you.

You can make your donation via Paypal on our Membership and Donations page. Checks can also be mailed to 1639 W. Roma Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85015.

Thank you, as ever, for your support and camaraderie!

Sincerely,

Michelle T. Harrington
Executive Director
michelle@arizonarivers.org

P.S. Please mark your calendars for Friday, August 5 at 5:30 p.m., for a special evening featuring the Verde River Exhibit and a reading by Thomas Lowe Fleischner from his new book “The Way of Natural History.” The event will be held at the lovely Sedona Public Library, 3250 White Bear Road. Hope to see you there! MAP

It’s been half a decade since the Arizona Republic printed a series of articles on the ruined rivers of Arizona, and not much has changed. The San Pedro River is still going dry (less than 1 cubic-foot/second at the Charleston stream gage with no rain in sight). The Verde River is still facing the threat of depletion due to population growth and development. The Salt River is still dammed and generally a dry wash through Phoenix. The Santa Cruz River through Tucson only flows in response to storms and sewage treatment plant returns.

Of course good things have happened, too. Fossil Creek received federal Wild and Scenic River designation in 2009 and has been restored with full flows, native fish stockings, and multiple bankside clean-ups. A comprehensive resource management plan for Fossil Creek is in the works. The Verde River gained national attention as an American Rivers “Most Endangered River” in 2006, and grassroots opposition to the Big Chino pipeline — as well as the economic slowdown — has put the biggest individual threat on a back burner for the time-being.

Much has yet to be done. Your interest in preserving rivers in Arizona is needed! And action speaks louder than words.

SUPPORT Arizona Rivers

PARTICIPATE in river clean-ups and restoration work – Volunteers for Outdoor Arizona is a great source

LEARN MORE about the rivers in Arizona that desperately need your help – starting with the Ruined Rivers series

Join us for an Earth Day celebration at Pink Spot!

49 W. Thomas Road, Phoenix – next to zpizza

Saturday, April 23, 2 – 5 pm

Select readings by David Charleton
Information tables & talks:
Arizona Rivers
Maricopa Audubon Society
Sierra Club – Grand Canyon Chapter

Save the date!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

5:30 – 9:00 p.m.

Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center

3131 S. Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85040

(SE Corner of the Central Avenue bridge, about 2 mi. south of downtown)

Join us early to take a look around the facility, take a quick hike down to the wetlands, or mix and mingle!

Contact: michelle@arizonarivers.org

Special thanks to wonderful volunteer Scott Mittelsteadt!! He recently held a “book sale” at his office clearing his home shelves in prep for a move and donated all $150 to Arizona Rivers! Arizona Rivers will also get the books left over to sell for donations in the future. What a great idea, Scott!

Time for a spring cleaning? Take a look through your own books, cds, and dvds. Maybe you have some that are collecting dust that you could donate to Arizona Rivers. Or maybe you could hold a sale and donate the proceeds. Either way, your donation is tax deductible.

Contact us at michelle@arizonarivers.org or 602-628-9909 to make your donation!

Thank you!! As this was primarily a Facebook/Web site membership drive, the number of new members and funds raised  for the week was pretty good.  Arizona Rivers has 20 new official members and raised $800. The Web page received 69 hits on Day 1 of the drive, and our second highest number of hits was 43 on Day 5. The Facebook page had some of its greatest number of interactions this past week. And most surprisingly, only a couple people “unfanned” the Facebook page during the week, the same number we got as new fans.

Of course it’s always a good time to become a member of Arizona Rivers — membership drive or not! We still have a long way to go to reach 2,010 members for 2010. And if you’d just like to find out more about the organization or would like to participate as a volunteer, contact us. We need people for restoration and monitoring projects, outreach and tabling, office work, grant writing, etc. and etc. With your help, Arizona’s rivers will be healthy and vital for many generations to come.

Its the final day of our first membership drive!

Day7. And SEVEN is the number of  dams controlled by the Salt River Project on the Salt and Verde Rivers. Four storage dams are sited within a 35-mile stretch of the Salt River: Theodore Roosevelt, Horse Mesa, Mormon Flat, and Stewart Mountain dams. They control two storage dams on the Verde–Horseshoe and Bartlett–and a diversion dam on the Salt below all of them, Granite Creek. They also control a seventh storage dam on East Clear Creek, the C.C. Cragin Dam.

The total capacity of the seven storage reservoirs is 2,328,201 acre-feet, or 758,646,624,051 gallons. Yes, that’s more than 758 billion gallons. The biggest, of course, is Roosevelt Dam and reservoir, with a shoreline of 128 miles and which spills over 21,493 acres.

The Phoenix area has obviously grown dependent on the water delivered from these dams over the past century, as well as the groundwater and Central Arizona Project (our Colorado River diversion) water that pours from taps, irrigates agriculture, waters golf courses and lawns, and flows from fountains. Granted, some of the water other than tap water is “recycled” treated effluent, but big Phoenix has a big thirst. These dams aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Though growth has slowed significantly since the big fall of 2008, people will still move to Arizona to escape snow, cold, and seemingly ceaseless rain in other parts of the country. Will that mean more dams to hold more water? More groundwater pumping?  More diversions? Or will it mean more “recycling,” more conserving, and more conversion of agricultural lands (that currently use upwards of 70% of the state’s water)?

Arizona Rivers is a voice for flowing rivers. We will encourage the most conservative/conservation-minded route in order to protect the state’s natural heritage, including responsible farming. Please join us in standing up for rivers, for wildlife, and for natural places.

Day 6 of the drive, and today’s reason is personal. It’s the SIX major areas around which Arizona Rivers is organized.

1. Native Fish Tank Program. We are working cooperatively to develop and implement the Native Fish Tank Program for participant elementary school classrooms. The program will introduce native fish and the knowledge of their river ecosystems into the lives of school children.
2. Wild and Scenic. We hope to significantly increase the river miles designated as Wild and Scenic in Arizona. Currently, only two streams in the state have this federal designation—a 40.5-mile section of the lower Verde River and the 16.8-mile Fossil Creek, a tributary of the Verde. Arizona Rivers is actively participating on the steering committee for a Wild and Scenic designation for more than 40 miles of the upper Verde River. In the coming year we will be identifying and initiating campaigns for other eligible streams in the state.
3. Specific River Campaigns. Arizona Rivers will conduct campaigns focused on the specific rivers in Arizona that are most threatened and/or offer the best chances for restoration and protection. We are reviving a campaign to protect the upper Verde River from large-scale upstream groundwater pumping and expanding it to advocate for flows in the middle Verde. We will champion stronger management measures at Fossil Creek to better protect the extraordinary values for which it was congressionally designated as a Wild and Scenic River.
4. Native Fish Management and Restoration. We hope to significantly increase the number of river miles managed as native-only fish communities in the state and participate in restoration projects. This will likely require changes to current management goals and plans and changes to the current funding structure of the state’s wildlife agency, Arizona Game and Fish Department. We are in the process of analyzing the needed changes and preparing proposals.
5. Water Law and Policy. We are working to change Arizona’s water laws and policies that are detrimental to rivers and riparian habitat and improve protections for rivers and instream flows. We are beginning this task by participating in state-sponsored water policy and planning groups, advocating for protections, and exploring legislative improvements.
6. Public Awareness and Activism. Arizona Rivers is working to advance public awareness of the importance of healthy river systems including viable native fish populations through outreach, presentations, and educational materials. We also hope to involve hundreds of citizens in restoration activities for and activism on behalf of rivers and river-dependent wildlife.

Please join us today so we can protect Arizona’s rivers for today and for the future. Your tax-deductible membership is essential to our success.

FIVE is the number of Active Management Areas (AMAs) in Arizona: Phoenix, Pinal, Prescott, Santa Cruz, and Tucson. An AMA is an area designated for special management under the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Code due to their mining of groundwater–withdrawing significantly more than is recharged. The Code also established the Irrigation Non-expansion Area (INA), of which there are three: Douglas, Harquahala, and Joseph City. Just as the name suggests, the INAs cannot expand agricultural land use and irrigation within their boundaries. Visit the ADWR site for more information about AMAs, INAs, and the Arizona Groundwater Code.

These groundwater management strategies were visionary when enacted. Unfortunately, there’s been little progress since that time.

We understand very well that many rivers, streams, seeps, and springs in Arizona rely on groundwater for their perennial or intermittent flows. Groundwater pumping lowers the water table and substantially decreases surface flows. Del Rio Springs, once a feeder spring to the upper Verde River, is expected to go dry within 20 years due to groundwater pumping within the Prescott AMA. Groundwater pumping in the Tucson and Santa Cruz AMAs has decimated the Santa Cruz River.

Arizona Rivers will explore every opportunity to bring recognition of groundwater/surface water connections to Arizona water law and install protections for streams and riparian habitat. We are currently participating in the governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on water sustainability as a Conservation sub-group member and will continue to educate citizens and decision-makers as to the importance of healthy stream ecosystems.

Join us today! Together we can make important gains for Arizona’s rivers.