Oak Creek Watershed Council

Protecting one of Arizona’s greatest treasures – and the habitat it supports

The Oak Creek Watershed Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to preserving the health and integrity of Oak Creek. Oak Creek is a perennial, spring-fed stream that stretches fifty miles from its headwaters in Oak Creek Canyon, and flows through Sedona, Page Springs, and Cornville to its confluence with the Verde River. As one of the last free-running streams in Arizona, Oak Creek is a precious jewel of riparian habitat in the desert Southwest, where human activity has destroyed over 90% of all rivers and streams.

With increased tourism and visitation, Oak Creek’s unique riparian ecosystem is being challenged like never before. Sedona alone gets an estimated three million visitors per year, and many of those visitors naturally want to be in or around Oak Creek. It’s simply beautiful, and a great place to be – particularly in warm weather. Sadly, the result is massive increases to littering, wildlife disruption, habitat degradation, and microbial contamination. Oak Creek is being loved to death.

Oak Creek Watershed Council works to mitigate that through stewardship engagement; partnering with local agencies and interest groups; outreach and education; and scientific monitoring.

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Our Mission

Maintaining a standard of excellence for watershed stewardship and preserving the integrity of Oak Creek.

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Happy Wildlife Wednesday! Last week we met a beautiful gopher snake while out collecting water samples. Gopher snakes are a generalist species, which means they survive and thrive in a wide variety of habitats. This has made them one of the most widespread reptile species in North America! Often mistaken at first glance for a rattlesnake, these snakes are non-venomous and do not pose a serious threat to hikers or dogs. As with all wildlife, admire them from a distance and remember that this is their home! ...

Many thanks to our friends at Northern Arizona Audubon Society for helping with our inaugural “plirding” outing! We picked up 12.6 pounds of litter while enjoying over two dozen species of local and migratory birds. #birding #littercleanup #keepoakcreekclean #keepoakcreekbeautiful ...

We’re all set up to celebrate #EarthDay2023 with all of our outdoorsy, environmental pals, including our hosts, @azstateparks ...

Thank you volunteers! This morning these amazing people called over 80 pounds of litter from the roadside of 89A north of Sedona 😍. ...

It’s highway cleanup time! OCWC stewards a two-mile stretch of Highway 89A between Sedona and Flagstaff (mile markers 392-394, to be exact). Today we’ll leave it better than we found it, thanks to the efforts of our hardworking volunteers. 😎☀️ #volunteers #littercleanup #cleanandbeautiful #safetyfirst @arizona_dot ...

In just a few hours today, these amazing volunteers from #SedonaWomen removed 41.6 pounds of trash from the Oak Creek watershed! Among the items collected were articles of clothing, a walkie-talkie, a lost Croc sandal, bottles and cans, and plenty of microtrash and food waste. We focused our efforts at Indian Gardens, Grasshopper Point, Encinoso Picnic Area, the Manzanita day use pullout, and the associated creek accesses at each location. Thank you volunteers for helping to preserve the health and integrity of Oak Creek. ...

It’s litter cleanup day in Oak Creek Canyon! Many thanks to our wonderful volunteers from the community group, #SedonaWomen. #keepoakcreekclean #leavenotrace ...

Thanks to everyone that supported Oak Creek Watershed Council during this week’s Arizona Gives Day!

Unrestricted contributions fuel the watershed council’s growth and ability to engage creek users throughout the year. We have big-time aspirations beyond our funded projects to keep Oak Creek free of litter and pet waste. Your continued support will help turn our dreams of educating, advocating, and building a strong network of Oak Creek Caretakers into a reality.

If you didn’t get a chance to donate on Tuesday, you can always make a gift through our website! Link in bio.

#AZGivesDay #OakCreekCaretakers #KeepOakCreekClean #Sedona #OakCreek
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Thanks to the generosity of three #OakCreekCaretakers, we're already more than 20% of the way towards reaching our fundraising goal for #AZGiveDay. Your contributions during this statewide day of giving will ensure that we continue to be engaged in monitoring the health and integrity of Oak Creek!
📷: OCWC Technicians, Nate and Cassidy, work with partners from @azdeqgov to prepare water samples for E. coli testing, summer 2022.
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TOMORROW, April 4, is #AZGivesDay and we're asking all of our faithful followers and watershed warriors here on Insta to consider making a gift in support of a #cleanandbeautiful Oak Creek. Donate via the link in our bio. ...

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