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Verde
Watershed Symposium
State of the Watershed In 2001
Symposium
Addresses Verde Water Issues
The Cliff Castle Casino Conference Center in Camp Verde was the site of
the Verde Watershed Symposium State of the Watershed in 2001 held on May
18-20. Sponsored by the Verde Watershed Research and Education Program (VWREP)
at Northern Arizona University (NAU), the symposium focused on a variety
of water-related issues in the Verde Watershed. Nearly 250 persons from
the watershed stakeholder community, local, county and state government,
and the general public attended and participated in sessions that covered
growing concerns about water and the future of the Verde River and its
tributaries.
Keynote speakers included Vincent Randall of the Yavapai Apache Nation,
Yavapai County Supervisor Chip Davis, Dennis Sundie of the Arizona
Department of Water Resources, and State Representative Tom O’Halleran.
Technical sessions included: watershed science, the riparian corridor,
water supply, and water quality. These sessions provided information on
the latest advances in our knowledge about the watershed. An all-day trip
into the Verde River ‘headwaters’ area in the Chino Valley and Big Chino
Valley areas attracted nearly 80 participants and provided an overview of
water-related issues as they appear on the ground and in the field.
The symposium program coordinators, Dr. Charlie Schlinger, Assistant
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Dr. Abe Springer,
Associate Professor of Geology, were responsible for organizing and
planning the highly successful conference and field trip.
Review documents,
maps, abstracts and presentations:
Sponsors:
Established in the summer of
2000, the VWREP is operated through the Center for Sustainable
Environments at NAU. The program is funded by a 5-year $250,000 gift from
the Salt River Project to NAU. The program was developed through the
College of Engineering and Technology and is intended to support an NAU
presence in the watershed, student research on problems of interest to
watershed stakeholders, development of a digital archive of Verde
Watershed information and data, and an annual event, such as this year’s
symposium. Additionally, Dr. Schlinger and Dr. Springer attracted $16,500
in co-sponsor contributions for support of the symposium, which was
heavily subsidized to promote public participation. Contributing
co-sponsors included: Arizona Department of Water Resources, United States
Geological Survey, Arizona Public Service/Pinnacle West Energy, Phoenix
Cement, USDA Forest Service (Coconino, Kaibab, Prescott, and Tonto
National Forests), and the Yavapai County Water Advisory Commission. |
