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Arizona groups continue to work toward Wild and Scenic status for Upper Verde River

Advocates are working toward a Wild and Scenic River designation for the Upper Verde River and Sycamore Creek.
Upper Verde Wild and Scenic Coalition
Advocates are working toward a Wild and Scenic River designation for the Upper Verde River and Sycamore Creek.

A coalition of environmental groups, cities, chambers of commerce, and local businesses is working to add federal protections to the Upper Verde River and Sycamore Creek via a Wild and Scenic River designation. The river is threatened by groundwater pumping and long-term drought.

The Wild and Scenic River designation only applies to free-flowing rivers. If granted to the Upper Verde, it would require a comprehensive management plan to protect what's known as “outstandingly remarkable values,” such as wildlife, scenery, and recreational opportunities. It doesn’t affect existing water rights or property rights.

Rachel Ellis of American Rivers says there’s widespread, nonpartisan support for the proposal.

"What makes it really unique, in the broader spectrum of this type of designation work, is the depth of engagement and care by the local communities… It’s unequivocally supported."

Joe Trudeau, a consultant for the Wilderness Society, says it’s an urgent time to draw attention to the Upper Verde, which may have stretches begin to go dry within the next two decades. "The challenges we’re facing on the Verde are systemic across the Southwest. Most of our rivers are diminishing before our eyes."

Trudeau calls the Wild and Scenic designation one tool among many to protect rivers. Arizona currently has two Wild and Scenic Rivers, the Lower Verde and Fossil Creek.

Melissa joined KNAU's team in 2015 to report on science, health, and the environment. Her work has appeared nationally on NPR and been featured on Science Friday. She grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where she fell in love with the ecology and geology of the Sonoran desert.
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