Verde River

The movement to declare the Upper Verde River Wild and Scenic has widespread support both throughout Yavapai County and nationally, but is it enough to get the support of Congress?

The designation only comes from Congress and the Wild Verde River Coalition has been working on this for years; many in the coalition have been working on it for more than 10 years. The Wild Verde River Coalition used an April 5 Wild Rivers Film Tour at the Elks Theater in Prescott to raise funds for urging Congress to support the measure.

Anyone who has been to the Upper Verde River wants to return to enjoy its recreation and national beauty. The designation of the Upper Verde River would protect the river in five ways.

*Banning dams and water development projects;

*Ensuring water quality;

*Protecting outstanding values such as scenery, culture, recreation and wildlife;

*Making sure the river has the minimum flow necessary to maintain the water’s outstanding values; and

*Requiring the forest service to develop a comprehensive river management plan.

The designation does not restrict development on private lands, does not impact livestock grazing, does not prohibit motorized vehicles, does not impact hunting or fishing, does not impact water rights and does not affect access tor recreation.

Joe Trudeau, a Prescott resident and member of the Wild River Verde Coalition on behalf of the Wilderness Society, said the pursuit of the Wild and Scenic River designation for the Verde River and Sycamore Creek is really picking up steam.

“We’ve received endorsements from a spectacular list of businesses, government bodies, and conservation groups – from hyper-local to national scale. We’ve had very productive conversations with members of Congress, and we remain committed to engage in an honest dialogue with them. Nobody has spoken out in opposition to this designation, which I think reflects how much people love and respect the Verde River,” he said.

Trudeau recounts why this issue is so personal to him.

 “My father was a homebuilder, and through my adolescent years I worked with him and my grandfather developing a beautiful little neighborhood. What made it special wasn’t just the architecture and layout – it was also that we set aside half of the acres to conservation, built a boardwalk for visitors to explore a rare wetland, and then we gave the land to the Audubon Society. What this world needs more of is balance. I’m dedicated to protecting the Verde River because Yavapai County is going to continue to grow at an increasingly rapid pace, and if we don’t take steps to protect the most special natural places out there, we will regret it beyond measure, and our grandchildren will shame us.”

Trudeau said Prescott is blessed with amazingly diverse and vibrant surroundings.

“The Upper Verde River is surprisingly one of the more underappreciated wild places we have access to. No matter your interests – be it plants, birds, fishing, long hikes, swimming holes, human history, stunning scenery, or silent prayer – the Upper Verde and Sycamore Creek are as good as it gets in Arizona. These are not mediocre, two-dimensional backdrops to our busy modern lives. These places played a huge role in this regions human story and they will increasingly so, as society learns to better honor where we came from. By honoring these rivers, we honor the best of ourselves as well.”

Wild and Scenic River status is no small thing. A stream must be truly remarkable to earn the national designation. Trudeau said the Upper Verde River and its tributaries are textbook examples of why Congress created the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1968.

Rachel Ellis, Associate Director of the Southwest River Protection Program for American Rivers, said the film event in Prescott was a big success as they raised a good amount of money for the effort, secured a number of new business supporters, and were grateful to host Chairman Wheeler of the Ne Perce Tribe to discuss our feature film, “Covenant of the Salmon People.”

Ellis went to Washington D.C. a couple weeks ago along with Chairwoman Lewis from Yavapai Apache Nation, Nancy Ruiz from Yavapai Apache Nation, Tony Gioia (former mayor of Camp Verde), Nikki Check (former mayor of Jerome), Mike Fiebig from American Rivers, and Kestrel Kunz from American Whitewater.

They met with U.S. Rep Eli Crane and U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema’s offices as they search for bipartisan support for the protection of the Upper Verde River.

“We asked each office to work with us on developing and introducing our draft legislation for the Upper Verde Wild and Scenic River. The meetings were positive and we’re engaged in follow up conversations,” she said.

Ellis, a former Prescott resident, said it’s Impossible to know a timeline for bills in Congress at this point in time.

“Bills of this nature sometimes take years to be successful but we’re hopeful that the resounding local support for the designation will lead to designation more quickly,” she said.