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Eagle
Creek
THE EAGLE CREEK WATERSHED
The Physical Environment
The Eagle Creek Watershed is located in central eastern Arizona at the base
of the White Mountain range. It is a tributary to the Gila River, an important
source of water for southern Arizona.
The watershed is unique in that it consists of elements of the
upper Sonoran desert, grasslands, and Ponderosa forests. The watershed
is remote and undeveloped. Because of its remoteness and unique
ecological characteristics it was chosen as the primary recovery zone
for the Mexican wolf reintroduction, and is one of the few places in
Arizona where antelope aren’t being threatened by development.
The watershed is split down the middle between the San Carlos
Apache reservation and the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest. The
primary industry on the watershed is cattle ranching, with small
amounts of private land supporting forest service leases.
The Eagle Creek Watershed Group
The watershed group was formed in 1998, when a local rancher, and
his ranch’s management team, decided that in order to affect
meaningful change in watershed restoration, a larger, more diverse
group must be included. It was decided that the group would take a
holistic approach to its work, addressing the environmental, social
and economic aspects of all opportunities and challenges. The group
expanded to include the forest service permitees, Apache tribal
members, hunters, recreationists, county leaders, Arizona Game & Fish,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Arizona Department of Water Quality, Bureau of
Indian Affairs, the U.S. Forest Service, and university personnel.
The initial issues identified included: non-point source pollution,
riparian erosion, rangeland restoration, the change of Eagle Creek
from a perennial to an ephemeral stream, the drought, and the effects
of threatened, endangered and reintroduced species.
By holding workshops and facilitated meetings, the group has been
able to see the value of a collaborative approach. The group is on the
path to translating that spirit of cooperation into meaningful
on-the-ground projects, monitoring, and mutually beneficial
environmentally sensitive economic ventures.
Current Focus
Goals:
1) Conservation of natural resources and enhancement of the
environment for all users while maintaining or improving the economy
in the local watershed.
2) Increased recreational opportunities, increased water quantity and
improved water quality, and reduced damage from large storms, floods
and other natural disasters.
Objectives:
1) Improve communication and cooperation through:
a. Develop a “good neighbor” policy in regards to stray cattle and
fences
b. Work to enhance communication and cooperation, in the local
community, across agency linesand across tribal borders
2) Incorporate monitoring and restoration activities into rangeland
management by:
a. Improve rangeland and riparian conservation education
b. Establish a cooperative demonstration area that will focus on
rangeland and riparian restoration
c. Establishing a watershed-wide monitoring program
3) Explore alternatives that would reduce the interactions between
cattle and threatened, endangered, and reintroduced species
4) Explore economic development and/or diversification
On-Going Projects
1) The Eagle Creek Watershed Group has applied for a grant from the
EPA for improvement of the Point-of Pines Gate. Improving this gate
area will decrease the sediment load in Eagle and Willow Creeks, allow
for the natural migration of wildlife, and decrease the number of San
Carlos Apache cattle entering the riparian area.
2) A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the agencies and the
permitees. The MOU will base management decisions for rangeland and
riparian habitat on a more thorough monitoring system, rather than the
controversial and limited method of Utilization monitoring. This will
give ranchers more knowledge and help them to make better decisions.
3) The formation of a community herd. A community herd has several
advantages including:
- Decreased grazing time
- Increased rest of grazed areas
- Enable the community to hire a 24-hour herder, effectively
eliminating cattle in sensitive areas,
reducing fencing, proactively reducing predator problems, and
maximizing grazing utilization.
- Decrease our labor costs by 50% or more.
- Enable the community to economically diversify by offering “working
ranch vacations”
This past winter, a community herding demonstration project was
held in the Eagle Creek area. Cattle were moved from a ranch that was
having numerous predator problems, to a neighboring ranch where the
cattle could be monitored more effectively. The local community saved
taxpayers many thousands of dollars by avoiding having a wolf trapped
and relocated because of predation.
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