Manzanita CreekWatch Group News
from Spring 2002

In February, a few of us CreekWatchers got together to share any recent creek news and plant a few trees down by the park. As you might expect, we all acknowledged how lucky we are in Mt. Club to have such a beautiful stream flowing through our neighborhood, and how important it is to keep it clean and healthy! We spent a few hours down at the park planting two potted ash tress in spots where our pole plantings were dead. We intended to replace more of the cottonwood and willow poles, but when we pulled out the third “dead” pole, it had a good set of roots established! At that point we realized that the other 10 or so poles that appeared to be dead could possibly still be alive, so we decided to give them another spring to show us signs of life.


Dan & Sheila Black plant two Velvet ash
(Fraxinus velutina) trees with Doug Hulmes.

We also spent some time that day voicing concerns over three recent creek and open space related incidents that really underscored the importance of watching out for our little Manzanita. One incident had to do with the section of creek that was cleared as part of the repairs to the low water crossing on Maricopa and Canyon Drives. We seriously questioned whether it was necessary for the county to clear 30 feet of vegetation on each side of the crossing (including a beautiful, large native ash tree), and wondered if it would be appropriate to ask the county (politely, of course) to help us with the cost of revegetating this section of creek. Secondly, several voiced displeasure with the county’s use of our neighborhood open space as a temporary “storage area” for road gravel. Even though this spot - which is adjacent to Manzanita Creek at the corner of Canyon and Arroyo Drives - is within an APS/county right-of-way, we wondered if it would be appropriate to ask the county public works (again, politely) to please clean up after their road improvement projects, especially when it impacts our open space and creek corridors. Lastly, we discussed “the back hoe incident” that occurred last October when a local back hoe company gained access to a property by crossing over Manzanita Creek and Mt. Club open space (adjacent to Arroyo Drive). This caused a very unsightly and ecologically damaging scar directly in the creek bed. Thanks to quick action by local neighbors and Mt. Club board members, the back hoe crossings were halted almost immediately, and the creek is healing slowly.

While none of these three incidents warrant drastic measures, they do highlight how the aesthetics and ecological well-being of our neighborhood creek can be compromised, little by little until “it’s just not what it used to be anymore”. Better communication and collaboration with the County Public Works Department, and even more importantly each other, about our Manzanita Creek and Mt. Club open space is a relatively easy step in the right direction. So, if you ever see something unusual along the creek (or in our open space) that’s a concern - or better yet, worth celebrating (like a spectacular wildlife sighting!) - you can contact the Manzanita CreekWatch Group through the Prescott Creeks Preservation Association web site at www.prescottcreeks.org. In addition to lots of information on our local creeks and Watson Woods Riparian Preserve, the Prescott Creeks web site has devoted a section to the Prescott CreekWatch Network with space for each CreekWatch group to contribute something to their own group and creek. When is our next Manzanita CreekWatch meeting? We don’t know yet, but check the Prescott Creeks web site periodically and you’ll know as soon as we do.


Manzanita Creek under a blanket of snow.