In cooperation with the City of Prescott and the Prescott Chamber of Commerce, Prescott Creeks is pleased to present a video showcasing Watson Woods Riparian Preserve. Join Michael Byrd, Prescott Creeks Executive Director, and others in this approximately 7 minute video to learn about Watson Woods Riparian Preserve – a rare and threatened cottonwood/willow forest
Important Bird Area Did you know that Watson Woods Riparian Preserve is part of the Watson and Willow Lakes Important Bird Area (IBA)? An IBA is a site that is small enough to be entirely conserved and differ in its character, habitat, or ornithological importance from the surrounding habitat. In the United States, the Program
The continued restoration efforts within Watson Woods Riparian Preserve have resulted in tremendous improvements in the riparian and wetland habitat and its associated animal species. Since 2009, over 20,000 trees have been planted, 3,500 ft of Granite Creek has been restored, and over 25 acres of wetlands have been created! Also, with on-going management activities
Prescott Creeks and the Yavapai Weed Management Area are hosting a volunteer event out at Watson Woods that will involve hand-pulling /digging invasive weeds within a portion of the Preserve. All are invited to attend. Specifically, we will focus our efforts on Spotted Knapweed and Scotch Thistle, which are common invasive species to the Prescott
-March has been the month of learning, service, and the first signs of spring in Watson Woods. Although our winter hasn’t produced precipitation like we had initially hoped, the warm weather has allowed us to have various groups of school children out at the Preserve, and we are still making great progress giving firewood out
-Last month I discussed how APS donated a crew of 20 professional sawyers to cut a majority of the large, downed, woody debris at Watson Woods. Since that time, we have made much progress in removing the firewood and getting it out to the community and those in need. This has been an especially exciting
-We have had lots of activity going on at Watson Woods this past month! One thing that is especially exciting is that we are making significant progress in getting much of the large, downed, woody debris that has been scattered throughout Watson Woods since our forest fires in 1997 and 2005. This past week (January
Arizona Water Protection Fund is in jeopardy and your help is needed. During this past legislative session, the Arizona Legislature voted to permanently eliminate general fund appropriations to the program. This is of critical importance to Prescott Creeks and Watson Woods Riparian Preserve. Please write a letter (example attached below) to your elected officials to help Watson
I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is almost here! Time goes fast when you are having fun, and my job here at Prescott Creeks is exactly that. This past month I have worked a lot with various volunteers and community groups, which has been an enriching experience…fitting for the upcoming Holiday Season. Here is the latest
It has come to our attention that the Arizona Water Protection Fund is in jeopardy and your help is needed. During this past legislative session, the Arizona Legislature voted to permanently eliminate general fund appropriations to the program. This is of critical importance to Prescott Creeks and Watson Woods Riparian Preserve. Since 1995, the Arizona Water
–Last month I mentioned that Prescott Creeks is working on an invasive management plan for Watson Woods, being composed by Mari Echevarria for her senior project at Prescott College. For the past few weeks, Mari and I have done a lot of work in the office and out at Watson Woods learning about 4 specific species-Scotch
So far so good-I have been working here at Prescott Creeks as the Field Projects Coordinator for almost 2 months, and I am already feeling a strong connection with Prescott. My co-workers are great, I have met lots of cool people who are passionate about the environment, and I am beginning to understand the challenges
Well, it’s July…monsoon time! As always, lots has been going on. For starters, there’s been the irrigation system in Watson Woods. I really don’t know where to begin but it’s been an uphill battle to get water flowing to our trees. I mentioned in my May blog post that we supply supplemental water to about
Cottonwoods are a native riparian vegetation along our local creeks. During the restoration of Watson Woods all three varieties of local cottonwoods were harvested and planted throughout the Preserve. This informative article discusses the cottonwood’s role in Southern Arizona, but is applicable to our area as well.
June has arrived and it’s my favorite time of the year. The solstice happens around the 21st and that means summer is here…finally! Now I understand from some of you that it isn’t your favorite time because it’s “hot” but I love it because it’s not winter. Did I say that May wouldn’t be as
April! I am so ready for warm weather. Not that it has anything to do with Watson Woods Preserve, but on Saturday (April 2), Kris (my wife and our office manager) and I took a ride on our motorcycle out to Skull Valley for lunch and scenery. It was the first time in about two
After getting back from spring break week in the North West, I’m a little water-jealous. I had to opportunity to view rivers as wide as our lakes flowing with snow-melt and spring rains. Prescott may not have the same sort of large, perennially flowing rivers, but we do have nine creeks and many tributaries throughout
March is here and even though there is still another week of winter according to the calendar, the signs that this year’s winter is over are very apparent. One of the best places to see spring “happen” is down in Watson Woods. I’ve been seeing robins, bluebirds and humming birds for a couple of weeks
January is gone! I don’t know about you but it went by fast for me! In my last post I talked about the need to add “brush revetment” to some of the newly constructed creek banks. Brush revetment means that we take discarded Christmas trees that the city has collected and anchor them sideways along
Here’s wishing you all a great 2011! I hope your holidays were great. I also hope that last storm of 2010 didn’t cause a lot of problems for you. Since the last time I wrote, we’ve had some pretty significant weather. The rains that came before, during, and after Christmas caused Granite Creek to flow
The 2010 year ended on a high note for Prescott Creeks. We’d recently completed a second phase of fieldwork for our Watson Woods Riparian Preserve Restoration Project and we then had weather in the form of rain and snow. While this was a nerve-wracking time (as the newly completed work was at risk for scouring
Whew! The planting is done! Since last month’s post, lots of volunteers took lots of cuttings (over 3,000!) and got them into water for soaking. Fann Environmental and Natural Channel Design companies moved massive amounts of dirt and rock to recover from the damage caused by last year’s floods and also to make Granite Creek
Founded in 1990, it is hard to believe that Prescott Creek Preservation Association has reached its 20th Anniversary (and that I have been involved for almost three-quarters of those 20 years)! As we celebrate two decades of restoration, preservation and celebration, we’ve had the opportunity to look back through Prescott Creeks’ accomplishments and remember those who made
What a fantastic start to November this has been! The weather has been sunny and warm and the trees in the woods are golden. I don’t seem to ever get used to that golden color against the blue sky. I recommend taking a hike in Watson Woods before it gets cold and the trees are
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Prescott Creeks is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with a mission to achieve healthy watersheds and clean waters in central Arizona for the benefit of people and wildlife through protection, restoration, education, and advocacy.
Prescott Creeks
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