WSP04744

• File Number: 8042.A
• Description: Section "D" General Studies, Other States
• State: AZ
• Date: 6/15/1964
• Author: No Author Found
• Title: The Arizona Watershed Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Forest Service
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

The Arizona \'(/atershed Program

of the
U, S. Depanment of Agriculmrt:,. Foresr Servin:

The basic ohje-ctives for the Fore~t Service's
Arizona Watershed Program are fivefold:
1. To pilot test research findings in vegetation
manag-ement which are designed to increase
water yield by manipulation of the vegeta-
tive co\'er.
2. To determine c().<>ts of these treatments.
3. To develop improved methoc1s and tech.
niques for :-.tultiple Use ~1anagement prac-
tices and for resource inventories and ap-
praisals.

4. To measure the positive and negative ef-
fects of vegetation manipulation on all :-':8-
tional Forest resources and make an eco-
nomic e\'aluation of these practices.
5. To continue needed waten;hed management
research.
To attain these objectives the Forest Service
has a number of projed.." underway. They are
widel~' scattered and are located in the four
major vegetation types within the Salt and
Verde River \Vater:;.heds.

TaNTO N~ fO'lR4t - Three Bar Project

Four watersheds ranging in size from .50 to 270
acres, were instrumented with V-notch \veirs
and rain gages during the summer of 1956 as
part of a cooperative study between Salt River
Valley Water Users' AK<.;ociation, Tonto >."a-
tional Forest, Arizona Game and Fish Depart-
ment and the Rocky ~lount.ain Forest and
Range Experiment Station. All were in cali.
bration status when burned hy wildfire in June
1959. Intermittent streamflow on watershf'd:-o
C and D during 2 prefire years yielded from
1.09 to 2.20 inches, with the higher yields com-
ing from watershed D. Ko measurable stream-
flow occurred on watersheds A and B prior to
the fire.

At the present time. the main objpctives are to
measure those change!' in water and sediment
yields that take plat'e coincident with meas-
ured vegetation reco\'ery under different cul-
tural treatments as follows:

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. Chaparral art'a burnf'd in Bouldt'r FiN"-1959.

Watershed
B
C

Size
51 acres

Trratment
Seeded to lovegras.<;es
Seeded plus ~'early
spraying
~atural recovery
only
Sediment yield:-; which were high c1uring the
fifl't :3 years after the fire have declined mark-
erlly during the pa:-;t one and one-half yeafl'.
The control of :-;hnlb regrowth by annual
spraying on watershed C has been associated
with :,igni(icantly increased water yield over
that predicted from un~prayed waten;.hed D,
during the past two yeafl'. Watershed C has
flO\H'd continuously since the fall of 195ft Flow
on watefl'hed 0 cea:-<{'d for a while during early
summer 1963 indicating that with the regrowth
of shrubs to a canopy ('owr o( ahout 30 per-
cent. water yield may he returning to prefire
levels.

77 acres

D

.50 acres

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