The Verde River Report Card project begins
IAN kicked off a new project with the first workshop for the Verde River Report Card November 13-14th in Cottonwood, Arizona. Alex, Andrew, and Emily facilitated the workshop with partners from The Nature Conservancy, the US Forest Service, and the Friends of the Verde River for about 25 participants. The workshop included great information and discussions about values, threats, indicators, and key stories for the Verde River Watershed. The Verde River is the last free flowing river in Arizona, and part of it is designated as one of the Wild and Scenic Rivers of the US.
Now available: Verde River Watershed Report Card Newsletter
Andrew Elmore, Alex Fries, and Emily Nastase kicked-off the Verde River Watershed Report Card at the stakeholder workshop in Cottonwood, Arizona, November, 2018. Participants of the workshop worked together to conceptualize the watershed, create a shared vision, and determine potential indicators for the report card. The outcomes of the workshop are summarized in this newsletter.
Verde River, AZ
Heath Kelsey and Andrew Elmore traveled to Camp Verde, Arizona to work with stakeholders from the National Forest Service, Friends of the Verde River, and The Nature Conservancy on a Verde River Report Card. This was our second workshop, which was designed to continue the process of selecting indicators, identifying data sources, and grading. Excellent progress was made in these areas due to the tremendous engagement we experienced with our project partners.
Verde River Watershed Report Card
The Nature Conservancy and Friends of the Verde River released the first-ever Verde River Watershed Report Card in February. Overall, the Verde Watershed earned a score of 57%, a C+.
Verde River conference in Camp Verde, Arizona
Bill Dennison, Andrew Elmore, and Emily Nastase attended the second biennial State of the Verde Watershed conference. Focus groups discussed the preliminary results of the Verde River Watershed Report Card. Report card indicator methods and scores were generally well-received, although some adjustments will be made moving forward. Thanks to the hard work of the report card team and input from conference participants, the Verde River Watershed Report Card is on track to be released in February 2020. Read Emily's blog about the conference here.
The first Verde River Watershed Report Card was released in Arizona
The Nature Conservancy and Friends of the Verde River released the first ever Verde River Watershed Report Card on February 18 in Camp Verde, AZ. This report card evaluated indicators that reflect three distinct values in the Verde watershed: Water, Habitat, and Communities. Overall, the Verde Watershed earned a score of 57%, a C+. This score indicates that while the watershed is in moderate condition, there is still room for improvement. In particular, some of the Water indicators scored poorly--or lacked data to be scored at all. Through their joint effort, the Nature Conservancy and Friends of the Verde River hope to raise the scores of these indicators, as well as the overall watershed score, in the future.