Compiled by Michael Byrd, Betty Sigfried and Eric Glomski
Did you know that there are creeks in Prescott? It may be difficult to notice them because they either rarely have water in them or the roads we drive and walk upon have walls that obstruct any view we might encounter. But, they are there and they are a vital part of our community. In the mid-1980s, Prescott Creeks Preservation Association (PCPA) was formed to protect those elusive creeks flowing through the City of Prescott. Founding PCPA members Betty Bridgewater, Betty Sigfried, and Jay Eby worked on the Keep Prescott Beautiful Granite Creek Clean Up Day for several consecutive years and realized it would be an asset to the downtown area if Granite Creek was kept clean and a nature trail was developed and maintained along it. After some research, the two Bettys learned that the idea was not a new one. Originally, Jeri Wagner discussed a nature walk during her second term as Mayor of Prescott in the late 1970s.
Later, during Ken Schaefer's term as Mayor (1987-1989), the Future Farmers of America were given a grant to make a trail along Granite Creek between Goodwin and Gurley Streets (near the Dinner Bell Cafe). Shortly after this trail was completed the City-sponsored The Keep Prescott Beautiful Committee formed a group to oversee and maintain all of the trail along Granite Creek between Leroux St. and Granite Creek Park. This group later became PCPA. The trail was divided into segments based upon the city blocks paralleling the creek. The Telephone Pioneers of America, Prescott College, APS, the City of Prescott, and the Chiropractic Association of Prescott made walkways along their blocks and maintained them for a short time. While the trail system was never fully adopted by the City of Prescott Parks department, it has endured in most places despite seasonal flooding problems. It is still accessible from Goodwin Street all the way downstream to Granite Creek Park.
Later, PCPA obtained a Coors Pure Water 2000 grant for $2000 to aid development and maintenance of their block (Willis St. to the railroad trestle crossing Granite Creek). After receiving the grant some trail users voiced concerns about feeling unsafe along the Creek Trail. When both the City of Prescott and Prescott Police Department declined to fully involve themselves, PCPA decided that it was too dangerous to encourage public use of the trail. The Coors grant funds were never spent despite a plan developed by local landscape architect Kermit Johansson.
Following this setback, PCPA became an inactive group with $2000 sitting in the bank waiting for a local creek project. It was then that Prescott College students, Eric Glomski and Jim Donovan showed an interest in preserving an area owned by the City of Prescott along Granite Creek before it ran into Watson Lake. This riparian area was known as Watson Woods.
In 1989, Glomski was completing his first semester at Prescott College. He was amazed at the similarities between Watson Woods and the forests of the northeast where he grew up. He was shocked by the poor condition of the area, so he organized a cleanup of Granite Creek and Watson Woods. He then went on to set up a community tree planting effort, funded by Coors (through Nick Awalt at Name Brands Distributors) and the Prescott Kiwanis Club. Over 100 volunteers contributed their time to plant 600 native trees at this event. Encouraged by these initial successes, Glomski founded "Riparia," his private business to restore creeks to their original condition, and set out to bring his love of creeks and riparian ecology to the Prescott community.
Glomski created an hour-long slide show in 1992, discussing the plight of Watson Woods and the creeks of Prescott. An educational element was added to heighten people's awareness of creeks and riparian areas in Prescott. Over the course of a year the show was presented to the Prescott Kiwanis Club, the City of Prescott, the City of Prescott Valley, Yavapai College, Prescott College, the Monday Club, the Prescott chapter of the Sierra Club, the Prescott Audubon Society, several churches in the Prescott area, and the Arizona State Senate Environmental sub-committee. Through his efforts, public interest grew dramatically.
After two years of building community support, Glomski and Donovan went to the City of Prescott concerning Watson Woods. In the summer of 1994, Glomski and Jim Donovan, now Prescott College alumni, presented the concept of turning Watson Woods into a riparian nature preserve to Mayor Daiton Rutkowski and City Council member Lou Franyi. After a few site visits, Rutkowski and Franyi were enthusiastic about the idea for a preserve and gave a preliminary "go-ahead." With a donation from the Prescott College Student Union, a Watson Woods Organizational Plan was drafted, detailing the Preserve concept, a project time line, and a budget with potential funding sources. Rutkowski and Franyi ushered the plan to the rest of the City Council and City staff. The City was overwhelmingly supportive and began working to formalize plans for the Preserve.
Late in the summer of 1994, after gaining City support, Glomski and Donovan formed the Watson Woods Advisory Committee, gathering local community activists and experts to guide the implementation of plans for the Preserve. The Committee, made up of many distinguished members of the community with backgrounds in environmental planning and/or resource issues, decided it needed non-profit status to achieve its goals.
That fall Glomski contacted Betty Sigfried and Betty Bridgewater, of Prescott Creeks Preservation Association. Agreeing that it was an unnecessary use of time, energy, and funds for the Watson Woods Committee to incorporate as a separate non-profit, the two Bettys turned over the inactive Prescott Creeks Preservation Association to the Watson Woods Advisory Committee. The new PCPA held its first board meeting on October 17, 1994. Jim Donovan was elected President, Eric Glomski became Vice President, and Brooke Parlette served as Treasurer and Secretary. PCPA then defined a mission of "Preserving and Restoring the Creeks of the Prescott area."
The first year for the new PCPA was filled with logistics and grant writing. During the summer of 1995, PCPA secured a 25 year lease with the City of Prescott for the Watson Woods property, wrote and received grants from the Arizona Department of Water Resources Water Protection Fund, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Partners for Wildlife program, and Arizona Game and Fish Heritage Fund to conduct planning and build infrastructure at the newly established Watson Woods Riparian Preserve. Over the next two years the Watson Woods Comprehensive Plan, the Preserve fence and entrance kiosk, and 8 groundwater monitoring wells were completed with funds from those grants. Three Watson Woods clean up days, co-hosted by PCPA and the Keep Prescott Beautiful Committee, added to the organization's initial successes. The clean up days were so successful that volunteers in 1998, grumbled about a lack of garbage to pick up. Recently, the Water Protection Fund funded a vegetation inventory of the Preserve, perimeter signs, fencing, a brochure, and Watson Woods bird-watching list.
At least 100 projects are delineated in the Watson Woods Comprehensive Plan. When biological and physical inventory (amphibians and reptiles are still left to complete) work is completed, the next large project at Watson Woods will be the design and construction of a formal trail system. PCPA hopes Prescottonians and area school children will be able to help in both the design and construction of this project.
In addition, PCPA just completed a draft Mitigation Plan for the 69/89 Connector Bridge that will cross the Preserve. The Plan discusses planting cottonwood and willow trees to replace vegetation lost during construction of the bridge, fencing to limit the extent of construction impacts, and certain considerations to reduce impacts to wildlife at Watson Woods.
But PCPA is more than Watson Woods. The organization is also in a joint stewardship project with the Prescott to install signs with creek names at all road and creek crossings in town (nearly 200 signs!) by June of this year. The group aspires to more too. Eventually they hope to work on creek projects throughout Prescott and support other area creek efforts. If you are interested in helping PCPA or have a creek project in mind contact Michael Byrd at 776-4490.
In order to raise money for and awareness of Prescott's Creeks, PCPA will sponsor its annual PCPA wine-tasting and auction on June 4. Fantastic food will be served to accompany fine wines from the David Bruce Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Following the feast there will be an auction. If you are interested in joining this spirited evening tickets will be $65 per person and available from Eric Glomski at 776-8656.
Byrd, Sigfried and Glomski are Active Members of Prescott Creeks Preservation Association.
Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number: (pb164f4i15). Reuse only by permission.
In the early 1900s, an occasional miner could be found panning for gold on Granite Creek, just south of the Gurley Street bridge. Over the last ten years the Prescott Creeks Preservation Association has been making sure that area creeks will be a vital part of our community.