12/4/2008 11:25:00 PM Volunteers start Watson
Woods restoration project
with native tree harvesting
Doug Cook/The Daily Courier
American Conservation Experience volunteer Koen Stronkhorst, above, on Thursday prunes a tree cutting from a willow that is native to Watson Woods, located south of Prescott Lakes Parkway near Highway 89. Stronkhorst and several others are gathering the cuttings, which they will plant in the woods’ riparian preserve early next year in an effort to refurbish the Granite Creek Watershed.
Doug Cook/The Daily Courier
Jason Beyer, left, an independent contractor working for Prescott Creeks Preservation Association’s Watson Woods restoration project, on Thursday bundles a group of 10 native tree cuttings from the woods.
PRESCOTT - After a decade of planning, volunteer crews have begun the ecological restoration of Watson Woods Riparian Preserve south of the Prescott Lakes Parkway and Highway 89 intersection.
This week, 16 volunteers with American Conservation Experience, a non-profit conservation corps whose members participate in projects across the Southwest, helped cut and harvest six species of cottonwood and willow trees in Watson Woods and the Granite Creek Watershed.
Early next year the non-profit Prescott Creeks Preservation Association, the project's sponsor, and its volunteers will plant the cuttings throughout the preserve in an effort to refurbish the forest to its original condition.
By planting trees, such as the arroyo willow, Prescott Creeks wants to reduce harmful bacteria in the watershed while increasing the presence of nutrients and bolstering the ecological conditions of nearby Watson and Willow lakes. Storm water runoff brings contaminants from industrial areas, roads and lawns into the creeks and lakes.
"This area used to be a 1,000-acre forest before the city was built and before the gravel mine (nearby)," said Ann-Marie Benz, Prescott Creeks' watershed program coordinator, as she walked through the preserve Thursday. "Trees will slow and capture the water, and then filter it."
This project's main goal is to relocate four reaches of the creek and enhance six wetland areas by planting up to 20,000 trees.
The American Conservation Experience (ACE) crew's members - who are young adults that hail from the United States and countries abroad, including Germany, Holland, South Korea and France - will spend eight days here.
Volunteers bundled the cuttings into groups of 10 so they could later haul the branches to Watson Lake for soaking. After the cuttings are submerged for about a month, crews will plant them.
"The willows and cottonwoods grow really easily. They just need moisture, for the most part," said A.C.E. crew supervisor Diana DiMuro, 27, a full-time employee of the corps, based in Flagstaff. "Most of the time you can dig a hole, stick a cutting in the ground, and they'll grow pretty well."
Like other volunteers involved with the work, DiMuro's contingent harvested donor trees from the watershed, instead of nursery-grown vegetation, because those trees have properties that allow them to root when subjected to moist soil.
In addition to the cost-effectiveness of planting native tree cuttings, those removed at or near the preserve have superior genetic site adaptations because of their long-term co-evolution with the site.
A.C.E. volunteer Koen Stronkhorst, a 19-year-old from Holland, said he joined the corps in September after abandoning his studies two years ago in the States.
DiMuro said A.C.E. provides housing for Stronkhorst and its other volunteers during their days off in Flagstaff. The organization also provides tents and food on trips.
"I've always had a wish to travel and see something of a different country and work there," Stronkhorst said with a slight Dutch accent.
Throughout December, trained volunteers from Prescott Creeks, Yavapai County Adult Probation and many others will harvest these cuttings.
Then, in January, Prescott Creeks will start channel realignments and wetland excavation.
Benz said the goal is to eventually blaze walking trails through the south side of the preserve and open it up to hikers and recreational enthusiasts.
