Friends of the Verde River

Environmental consulting services sustaining flows programs aim to keep more water in the rivers and creeks of the Verde watershed. In fy23, the River friendly living is a program certified 15 homes, five businesses, one farm, and one building or development as River friendly." We awarded 10,000 in small grants to five homeowners and four organizations or businesses for projects that improved the River for our communities. Through the Verde River exchange, we kept 10.9 million gallons of water in the Verde River.

Nature parks and other similar promoting community stewardship. the Verde River links people together, improving a sense of community around nature. Verde water watchers, a new group of volunteers that is monitoring water pollution in lower oak creek, collected 227 water samples over the year by volunteers working 181 volunteer hours. During the 2023 Verde bioblitz, 587 participants made 5,928 observations of 1,076 animals or plants over two weeks in april, advancing our knowledge and engaging youth in nature. About people 300 registered for the Verde valley birding & nature festival, four days of birding trips and workshops centered in cottonwood. Over 100 people volunteered during fy23.

Environment, conservation, and wildlife habitat restoration. the Verde River supports important unique water-dependent ecosystems in Arizona. Over 270 species of birds, 94 species of mammals, 76 species of native amphibians and reptiles, and countless invertebrates use the Verde River system at some point in their life cycles. Friends of the Verde River works with members of the Verde watershed restoration coalition (vwrc), a collaborative effort uniting private landowners, organizations, and agencies with a common interest in the health of the Verde River watershed. In fy23 we monitored and treated 2,197 acres of habitat, held volunteer events, and worked with 12 new private landowners.