In the Oak Creek Watershed, harmful recreational use is impacting water quality, wildlife habitat, and scenic beauty. These impacts not only threaten the fragile riparian ecosystem but Sedona’s natural resources and quality of life. It is a collaborative effort to protect the Oak Creek Watershed. Read about partnering groups and how COVID-19 has worsened these impacts in the recent AZ Daily…
Notice of Meeting September 10th 4:00-5:00 pmTraffic, Visitation, Litter: Protecting an area that is loved to death Join us on September 10th for an interactive virtual meeting with Zoom. Learn about the visitor impacts threatening the health of Oak Creek, and what the Oak Creek Watershed Council, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, City of Sedona, and Traffic Matters are working…
Oak Creek Watershed Council is concerned to learn of a sewage spill into Oak Creek, where a reported 15,000-20,000 gallons of untreated, raw sewage flowed into a storm drain and immediately drained into Oak Creek. The incident occurred between 5 – 7:30 pm on August 4th along SR179 at the Hillside Sedona Shopping Center. Kinney Construction Services is responsible for…
Take a look at water quality trends in Oak Creek and Fossil Creek in 2018 and 2019. Oak Creek Ambassador Emma Harries took on writing this comprehensive report as her capstone project for her undergraduate studies. We are so excited to share this report with you and could not be more proud of Emma. View the report here.
Are you tired of seeing trash at your favorite outdoor spots? We’re partnering with our friends at Friends of the Verde River to host a virtual trash pick-up challenge! This challenge, to be held July 5-12, encourages the greater Verde Valley community to pick up as much trash as possible from along our waterways and other vital habitats within the Verde Watershed.…
Please join us for a virtual meeting presentation through Zoom on June 11th, 9:30 a.m. Learn about the measures we’re taking with COVID-19 and how we’re continuing to protect Oak Creek during these unprecedented times. Then, join us for a presentation on Climate Change in the Verde Valley: In Sedona, climate change is impacting temperatures, water availability, and wildfire risk.…
We encourage you to #KnowBeforeYouGo and to #RecreateResponsibly. Please visit the Leave No Trace Center’s website to learn more by clicking here. Additionally, learn about the 7 Leave No Trace principles straight from the Leave No Trace Center’s website! Click here.
Because of COVID-19, we are seeing massive increases in visitors fleeing to the creek and Sedona trails, which means increases in littering and habitat degradation, significantly impacting the fragile riparian ecosystem. And it’s an eye-sore! Our small team is working tirelessly to pick-up after visitors, so that creek sites are pristine upon their arrival, hopefully encouraging them to leave it…
Thanks to our volunteer cleanup efforts since 2019, there have been 3,105 pounds of trash removed from the watershed. Litter is not only an eye-sore, but it contributes to habitat and water quality degradation. Over the course of a year, we have educated over 1000 people and recruited over 240 volunteers, totaling 1,080 volunteer hours. We also recruited many volunteers…
