Author Archives: Administrator
April 6th @ 6pm: Update from the Board
Free Public Meeting:
“Update from the Board”
Board of Directors, Friends of the Rio de Flag
Thursday, April 6th at 6pm
Montoya Community Center
Board members of the Friends of the Rio de Flag with Mayor Coral Evans at the Rio de Flag in front of City Hall prior to their meeting to discuss the future of flood control for this section of the Rio. March 10, 2017
The Board of the Friends of the Rio de Flag has been busy at work on a number of projects and initiatives! As such, we would like to dedicate the April 6th membership meeting to an update from the Board and discussion with membership. The following will be covered:
- Master Rio Plan – partnerships and draft components of the plan
- Flood Control Project – discussions with Mayor Evans and City Manager Josh Copley
- Low Impact Development – suggestions for Water Commission
- Community Outreach – stakeholder meeting and community survey
- Adopt-the-Rio – classroom presentations and field trips
- Stream Team – data collection in the county
- Volunteer Opportunities
Join us at 6pm on Thursday, April 6th at the Montoya Community Center for a fruitful discussion with the Board!
Walk the Walk with Jack Welch – Rio de Flag Series
Join Jack Welch as he takes us on a tour of the Rio de Flag during his “Where’s the Water?” series in April and May. If you haven’t joined Jack in the past, this is a great time to check out his Walk the Walk program! You can find the schedule here. Thanks, Jack!
World Water Day encourages us to ask “why wastewater?”
Arizona Daily Sun • March 22, 2017 • Special to the Daily Sun by Chelsea Silva
A purple reclaimed wastewater irrigation sign in Flagstaff.
The purple signs indicating use of reclaimed water that are scattered throughout Flagstaff are a familiar sight for the average Arizonan. If you aren’t familiar with the purple pipes and signs don’t worry – as a transplant from Idaho, a state rich in fresh water resources, I had very little experience with reclaimed water prior to moving to Arizona.
But for the sake of this article, let me bring you up to speed: reclaimed, or recycled, water is treated wastewater. In Flagstaff, the Wildcat Hill and Rio de Flag water reclamation plants deliver treated water for irrigation of public spaces, manufacturing, and a variety of other purposes. Reclaimed water accounts for 20% of water delivered to the community.
In addition to the reclaimed water delivered to its customers, Flagstaff discharges 100 gallons per minute of reclaimed water into the Rio de Flag. The flows provided for the stream by this reclaimed water support wildlife habitat, groundwater recharge, and recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike.
Arizonans are accustomed to the idea of reusing wastewater, but this is not the case globally. Worldwide, over 80% of wastewater produced by society flows back into the environment without being treated or reused.
And that’s why this year’s theme for World Water Day asks us to consider, “why wastewater?” This day of action, held every year on March 22nd, is an effort to take on the global water crisis.
But in the arid State of Arizona, reclaimed water use has become necessary to meet our daily water demands. And so, you might be thinking to yourself, “Why wastewater?! Well, out of necessity, of course!” But the global organizers of World Water Day are challenging you and me to think beyond necessity. What can we do as individuals and a community to address decreasing water supplies and growing water demands?
As an individual, you can reduce your freshwater consumption by irrigating with grey water- wastewater that originates from your washer, bathtub, or sink (but not the kitchen sink, dishwasher, or toilet). Additionally, you can sign up for Conserve2Enhance (C2E) to track your water savings and donate the money you save on your water bill to local environmental enhancement projects.
Make sure to check with the City of Flagstaff regarding the specifics of using grey water, as well as to take advantage of City rebates that support high-efficiency toilets, rainwater harvesting, and xeriscaping.
As a community, we can work together to address two uncertainties associated with wastewater. First, we can support further research on the potential health effects of wastewater on humans and the environment. Second, we can encourage further discussion regarding the 20-year agreement between the City of Flagstaff and Arizona Fish and Game which provides in-stream flows to the Rio de Flag. The agreement will end in 2030, and we need to be proactive in opening these discussions. These flows provide important riparian habitat and create a unique amenity for Flagstaff residents.
Why wastewater? Share your thoughts with us on our Facebook page.
A Message from Chelsea: Discovering Science Along the Rio
Chelsea explains how to fill out a plant data collection sheet during a BioBlitz at Frances Short Pond, September 2016.
What an exciting year I’ve had as an AmeriCorps STEM VISTA member with Friends of the Rio de Flag working with Flagstaff schoolchildren and teachers. Our local stream, the Rio de Flag, is the biological heart of our community and flows through most neighborhoods. The Rio is a great outdoor classroom for the sevens schools that I worked with when they joined our new Adopt-the-Rio de Flag Stewardship program.
I’d love your support to continue for another year as a STEM VISTA member, building on the success of the Adopt-the-Rio program and developing a new program for citizen science, which will ask for community volunteers to monitor and collect environmental data along the Rio. My goal is to inspire a lifelong stewardship of the Rio’s remarkable educational, recreational, and biological resources.
The Friends of the Rio de Flag needs to raise $3,500 in matching funds so we can again be a Project Host Site for my position, and we’d like to raise an additional $1,000 for materials to be used in these projects for a total of $4,500.
Please help reach our goal of $4,500 by Earth Day on April 22nd! Donate today and make sure to “Share” our GoFundMe project on your Facebook!
Follow us on Facebook during our fundraising campaign to discover something new about the Rio and our watershed every day!
March Walk the Walk with Jack Welch
Last month we goofed up and forgot to post Jack’s February Walk the Walk series! Our sincere apologies to anyone who missed out! If you are interested in receiving notices directly from Jack, you can always email him at ADILLLO@aol.com. Please see this schedule (updated 3/13/2017) for Jack’s March walks.
March 2nd @ 6pm: The Future of Water-Based Recreation in Northern Arizona
Membership Free Meeting: The Future of Water-Based Recreation in Northern Arizona
Charles Hammersley, PhD, NAU
Thursday, March 2nd at 6pm
Montoya Community Center
Chuck Hammersley canoeing the Verde River.
Water-based recreation activities comprise an important source of revenue and enjoyment for visitors and residents alike in Northern Arizona. However, development and groundwater pumping projects threaten recreation along many waterways in this part of the state.
Join us on Thursday, March 2nd for a discussion of these issues related to the Verde River and Fossil Creek. We will hear from Dr. Charles Hammersley, Professor in the NAU Parks and Recreation Management Program, who has lived in Flagstaff for the past 20 years and has served as the first Chairman of the Coconino County Parks and Recreation Commission and was a member for 12 years. He has also served as Chair and member of the Flagstaff Parks and Recreation Commission for seven years. He was a member of the 2003 Coconino County Comprehensive Planning Commission and he also created, organized and directed the Verde River Canoe Challenge from 1999 to 2012.
We hope you can join us for Dr. Hammersley’s presentation this Thursday!
If you value America’s public lands, you need to help save them
Standard-Examiner • January 25, 2017 • Special to the Standard-Examiner by Jack Troyer
Could we really lose our treasured national forests and public lands?
The short answer is maybe. It will depend upon how much the tens of millions of people who love and use these lands are willing to become involved to save them.
If you enjoy camping, hunting, fishing, skiing, mountain biking, snowmobiling, taking an OHV ride, horseback riding, bird watching, rafting, mountain climbing, and many other outdoor recreation activities without having to face a No Trespassing sign, then you should get involved in efforts to save them.
Very few of you enjoy these activities on private land. You go to the wonderful public lands that every American owns. If you do not oppose the efforts to dispose of our public lands, there certainly is a chance it could happen. It will not happen through the court system, despite the wishes of those who want to keep trying in the face of decades of settled law. But it could happen if Congress changes its mind and decides we don’t need them any more. One bill passed by Congress and signed by the president could do it.
I think President Theodore Roosevelt was right. Our public lands belong to all Americans and should be managed under federal protection. Roosevelt acted to save America’s diminishing natural resources and brought 230 million acres of public land under increased protection as national forests, refuges, parks, and monuments. These public lands are the envy of the world and managed using scientific principles that have become the bedrock of public land management policy. Go in any direction here in Utah and enjoy the fruits of those wise decisions we have enjoyed for well over 100 years.
History shows giving the national forests and public lands to the states would be a step to their eventual sale to the highest bidder. Most of the Western states have land they were given at statehood. In total, Western states have disposed of about 31 million acres of their lands, according to National Wildlife Federation data. Here in Utah, of the 7.5 million acres of state trust land Utah was given upon statehood, Utah manages 3.4 million acres.
Make no mistake about it — the next state budget crisis or $100 million fire suppression bill will bring calls to raise money from a land sale. And there goes your heritage, along with your favorite mountain or lake. Worse yet, for many of you who work in the incredibly large outdoor recreation industry that depends on these lands being available for average Americans, there goes your job.
You might have heard of the recent sale of 172,000 acres of Boise Cascade timberland north of Boise, Idaho. The billionaire Wilks brothers from Texas bought it and immediately closed it to hunting and other recreation. They cancelled leases with Valley County to maintain roads that provided access to snowmobile trails on public land. All of this is their prerogative, of course, because it is now their land. But think for a moment how you would feel if this happened to the Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest you see from your front door.
The folks who want to transfer our public lands to state or private ownership won an early victory in the new Congress. On the first day of its new session, the House passed a new rule designed to make it easier to transfer lands to states, local communities, or Indian tribes by assuming these transfers would not cost the federal government anything. Not a single dollar. This eliminates one budgetary barrier to land transfer bills.
So what to do? We in the National Association of Forest Service Retirees believe the answer is to get involved in whatever way you can. If you are an elk hunter, join the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. If you snowmobile, join your local snowmobile association. If you enjoy watching birds, join the National Audubon Society. There is an organization for every outdoor pursuit. Then you can work together with friends and make a difference.
And above all, as an individual, contact all your legislators, go to their town hall meetings, and let them know what you think.
I think the saddest question I might hear someday will come from a child who asks his or her grandparents this question: What was it like when you could just go to the mountains?
Jack Troyer retired as an Intermountain regional forester after a 39-year career with the U.S. Forest Service. He serves as a board member of the National Association of Forest Service Retirees and lives in Ogden.
February 2nd @ 6pm: What Happens to the Water After It Leaves Picture Canyon?
Membership Meeting: What Happens to the Water After It Leaves Picture Canyon?
Hannah Griscom, Arizona Game and Fish Department
Thursday, February 2nd at 6pm
Montoya Community Center
Canyon of the Rio de Flag at Logan’s Crossing. Photo courteous of Tom Bean.
Join us Thursday, February 2nd to examine the mystery of diminishing water at Logan’s Crossing through preliminary data collected by Hannah Griscom, Arizona Game and Fish Department. Hannah will discuss the factors that may be contributing to the decline, discuss the role of the County and the Friends of the Rio, and ask for your input on the future of effluent discharges into the Rio.
The Rio de Flag is an ephemeral stream that relies upon storm events to provide intermittent flow. At the same time, treated effluent delivers water to the Rio de Flag at several locations throughout the City.
Last year, community members expressed concern over diminishing water levels in the Rio de Flag at Logan’s Crossing, just downstream of Doney Park. What is happening to this water? Is there a hope of getting it back? Join us Thursday, February 2nd to find out!
***In addition to Hannah’s presentation, we will have a short conversation at the end of our meeting to discuss the current state of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control project
January Walk the Walk with Jack Welch
Check out the schedule for the rest of January for the Walk the Walk series with our favorite Jack Welch!