Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable..
Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: August 11, 2022 @ 9:07 pm
Managed fires have already started the task of thinning dangerous tree thickets on the watershed of the C.C. Cragin Reservoir.
The Forest Service has begun thinning a 1,000-acre portion of the 64,000-acre watershed of the C.C. Cragin Reservoir, which provides Payson with 3,000 acre-feet annually thanks to $54 million worth of pipeline infrastructure.
Loggers are working on the Baker Butte and General Springs projects to help protect a portion of the 64,000-acre C.C. Cragin reservoir’s watershed.
Consulting Publications Editor
Managed fires have already started the task of thinning dangerous tree thickets on the watershed of the C.C. Cragin Reservoir.
The Forest Service has begun thinning a 1,000-acre portion of the 64,000-acre watershed of the C.C. Cragin Reservoir, which provides Payson with 3,000 acre-feet annually thanks to $54 million worth of pipeline infrastructure.
Loggers are working on the Baker Butte and General Springs projects to help protect a portion of the 64,000-acre C.C. Cragin reservoir’s watershed.
After years of delay, the Forest Service is finally moving to protect at least a key corner of the watershed that supplies Rim Country and the Valley with water.
Tri-Star Logging on Sept. 1 will start thinning the General Springs project on 3,500 acres on the 64,000-acre watershed that feeds into the C.C. Cragin Reservoir atop the Mogollon Rim. The Salt River Project and Payson pump about 11,000 acre-feet of water out of that reservoir every year and into a $300 million network of pipes and tanks.
The Forest Service has also started the Baker Butte project on the watershed, which is focused on about 1,000 acres around a fire lookout tower and other infrastructure.
The National Turkey Federation is managing the effort to thin the watershed in cooperation with the Forest Service, Salt River Project, Payson, the National Forest Foundation and the Arizona Department of Forest and Fire Management — a model for the type of coordination needed to protect both watersheds and forested communities from the growing threat of megafires.
The 3,000 acre-feet Payson receives remains the key to its long-term water future, even as a water crisis grips the rest of the state. Lake Mead and Lake Powell are at their lowest level since they filled after the construction of the dams. And despite three years of lobbying, the Arizona Legislature had spurned pleas to give rural counties authority to limit pumping of groundwater. As a result, water tables are dropping rapidly in many areas.
That makes the effort to save the C.C. Cragin watershed a national model.
“Our new agreement with the Coconino National Forest for the General Springs Project will conserve and enhance roughly 3,500 acres while also providing protection for the East Clear Creek Watershed and water pipeline, which supplies the town of Payson, Arizona with drinking water and is valued at over $300 million in water and hydroelectric infrastructure,” said Chuck Carpenter, National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) district biologist for Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. “The agreement also provides other important infrastructure protection, including power line corridor protection and roadside thinning.”
The 64,000-acre watershed is one of the most productive in the state — but it’s also one of the most endangered. Tree thickets with densities greater than 1,000 per acre cover most of the watershed, soaking up runoff — but also leaving the forest vulnerable to infestations of bark beetles and mistletoe as well as high-intensity crown fires. Such fires burn so hot they can destroy every tree — and leave the soil hydrophobic and unable to absorb water naturally.
The resulting debris flows could easily fill in the deep, narrow reservoir with mud and debris — as well as destroying the expensive infrastructure.
The project has been stalled for years by the cost of dealing with the low-value biomass of branches and saplings. Efforts to find a contractor that would deal with the wood scraps in return for the sawtimber have failed — prompting the Forest Service to finally provide a subsidy to move the project forward. The federal infrastructure and pandemic aid bills helped provide the money.
Salt River Project has been negotiating with Novopower, the only biomass burning power plant in the state. The Snowflake power plant has said it can process the biomass off the C.C. Cragin watershed, despite the distance involved — but only if it has a long-term contract from utility companies to buy the power it produces. The Arizona Corporation Commission refused to extend a biomass burning mandate for power companies several years ago, leaving the long-term future of Novopower in doubt.
The C.C. Cragin watershed project demonstrates the complexity of the partnerships and economic connections necessary to ultimately reinvent the timber industry and thin more than 4 million acres of unhealthy, overgrown, fire-prone forests in northern Arizona.
“Our partners have been there with us the whole time, both in planning this project and in implementing it,” said Linda Wadleigh, Mogollon District Ranger. “It has taken the combined energy of many to make this happen, and I’m proud of the work our folks have done alongside our partners. And we are not done, because as we work on this project, we are also simultaneously working with additional partners to do more work in this critical watershed.”
The initial General Springs thinning project will help provide a thinned buffer zone to protect the East Clear Creek watershed and the water pipeline.
The Wild Turkey Federation is involved as part of its nationwide effort to improve habitat for wild turkeys. The restoration of the watershed will prevent the kind of soil-searing, forest-consuming wildfire that is habitat for turkeys and many other species. That includes Mexican spotted owls, an endangered species now nesting on the watershed.
Moreover, the thinning project will restore natural conditions — with perhaps 100 trees per acre, meadows, forest clearings and greater diversity. Studies suggest dramatically reducing tree densities will not only improve wildlife habitat — it will increase runoff into the reservoir. However, that will also likely require reintroducing periodic, low intensity managed fires once the half century of fuel buildup has been removed.
“Restoring the forest through numerous management techniques reduces the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire by reverting the forest composition to match a more historical burn interval and intensity,” said Carpenter. “In addition to protecting a vital water supply, current and future turkey populations will also benefit from this forest management, as will a suite of other wildlife, including the endangered Mexican spotted owl.”
The Wild Turkey Federation was established in 1973, when the estimated number of wild turkeys in North America had dwindled to 1.5 million. The latest estimates suggest turkey numbers have risen to 7 million.
Since 2012, the NWTF has mobilized resources from hunters and conservationists to help conserve or enhance 4 million acres nationwide.
Contact the writer at paleshire@payson.com
Consulting Publications Editor
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Skies clearing late. Lows overnight in the mid 60s.
Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable.
Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable.
Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. High 83F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
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