The Verde River Network

Hello Verde River lovers!
My name is Ron. I'm 35, and I have been playing on or in the Verde River for most of my life.
The Verde River is characterized not only by the water that flows through it, but by the lack of water that surrounds it. The river begins in tributaries among aspen and pine in the high Bradshaw Mountains of central Arizona, and twists its way through scrub oak, juniper, grasslands, spring filled hollows and cactus filled canyons on its way to damnation in the reservoirs north of Phoenix. It collects water from some of the most dramatic landscapes anywhere in the world; Oak Creek Canyon, Fossil Creek, West Clear Creek, The East Verde, and Beaver Creek, and has done this for roughly 60 million years. The river hosts a belt of fluorescent green in a perfect desert, and is one of the last great free-flowing rivers in North America.
Sadly, the Verde now rates as one of the United States’ most endangered rivers, due to a fiendish plan to pump directly from the Verde's headwaters, in order to feed rampant subdivision development in Yavapai County. This pipeline is an ill-conceived and overpriced monstrosity that is currently the greatest threat to this beautiful place.
This is a page for everyone who loves the Verde River. It is a place for paddlers to come together. It is a place for people to connect, whether their interests are hiking, swimming, birding, fishing, hunting, paddling, conservation, or just watching the water flow by. If you are setting out on a paddle trip, post it here. Would you like to see a section of river preserved, cleaned up, or protected? This is the place for bulletins. Browse my Friends list to find others with an interest in river use and conservation. Send photos of your river experience. Soon, I will be posting maps, stories and videos about this incredible desert resource, as well as my blog. Blog, blog, blog. That's fun to say.
I would like this site to be a connection point for everyone with an interest in my favorite river; an intersection of ideas and motives, in order to better connect and protect this amazing place. This is a place to bring together every person and group that would like to see the river saved. Every one of us is a seperate finger. Let's pull together and make some working hands, or if needed, a fighting fist. This is a place for positive words, and positive action.
For further information on the Verde and how to protect this wonderful place from developers and greedy politicians, follow these links:
Save the Verde
American Rivers
Arizona Wilderness Coalition
Stewards of Public Lands/Verde Stewards
The Verde Watershed Organization
So many groups! So many like-minded citizens!
These groups are passionate, motivated, and organized. Please pitch in and volunteer! You will be glad you did! For some outstanding info about the Verde itself, as well as cool paddling maps, check out The Friends of the Verde River Greenway , as well as the FREE Boater's Guide to the Verde River . Essentially a complete guidebook in pdf form.
For a teriffic story written by NKS check out this issue of The Noise , our favorite Northern Arizona arts/news/conservation publication. Scroll down to page 14 of the pdf to see it, or visit her blog for more!
Check out Verde River friend Gary Beverly's outstanding slideshow on the upper Verde. It's an outstanding testament as to why the Verde River needs protection NOW! If you haven't seen the upper Verde, and few ever have, this slideshow should really open your eyes.
Thanks for your support!
-Ron
Dad, Artist, Teacher, Conservationist, Paddler
Oh, and one more thing: if you find your comment has been deleted below, it's probably because it contained an image that was so wide it changed the dimensions of my page. If you would like to post a photo or something else, please make sure it is no more than 450 pixels wide. Thanks!