Chip Norton is happiest when he is out on the river. While his passion for kayaking has taken him throughout the western US and Alaska, he is the first to admit that it is the Verde River, his home river, that remains his favorite.
The Verde is one of Arizona’s few remaining perennial rivers. It is home to an amazing diversity of wildlife, including at least 270 species of birds. The willows and cottonwoods, Arizona’s rarest forest type, give way to the pale-colored sandstone.
Chip Norton enjoying time on the river
Spending time on the river navigating the spring run-off energizes Chip. Floating past the lush expanse of plants and spotting bobcat, deer and bald eagles inspires him with awe.
He remembers one summer day back in 1990—when the water level was so low that he could not go for a paddle. “Plus, the water smelled like sewage,” he said. He could not ignore his concern that the river might eventually dry up. That day, he did the only thing that made sense from his perspective. He decided to act.
Doing something so few do, Chip retired at the age of 58 to begin his second career as a full-time community volunteer inspired to conserve rivers.
Chip is not a river ecologist, and he did not have a background in conservation. Yet he is a diligent problem solver and a man who likes to think big. The Verde River could not have asked for a more committed river champion.
He started by founding Friends of Verde River Greenway, a non-profit that brings people together to restore riparian habitat. Friends of Verde Greenway evolved into Friends of the Verde River, working at a watershed scale on river conservation including flow restoration, sustainable river recreation and groundwater issues.
After a decade focusing on restoration, Chip became interested in irrigation practices that used less water. In 2016, he collaborated with The Nature Conservancy and Hauser & Hauser Farms on a pilot project to improve summer river flow by switching to crops that used less water in the summer.
That is when the idea for Sinagua Malt was born. Chip consulted his friend Steve Ayers on the feasibility of a malting operation, and Steve immediately joined him as a founding director. Local conservationist Bob Rothrock soon joined them.
Using barley for malting has two significant benefits over traditional crops like corn and alfalfa. First, it consumes less water. Second, the highest water need for growing barley occurs in March, when the Verde experiences peak flow. “Barley doesn’t need any water after Memorial Day,” said Chip. “With drought and climate change, that’s just as important as using less water.”
Chip then boldly dipped into his retirement savings to build a small-scale malt house that processed locally grown two-row barley into malted barley. He also had to step up to the plate and learn to malt himself. Several craft brewers declared the malt tasty and became his first customers.
Sinagua Malt has been successful and recently expanded its operations. When asked about the key to project success, Chip said simply, “There was always a time when any one of us working on this project could have quit. But we just didn’t quit.”
Today, Sinagua Malt is a benefit corporation committed to distributing at least 5% of its profits to support river conservation. Hauser and Hauser Farms has converted more acreage to barley, as have other farmers in the watershed. This expansion of crop conversion acreage is largely the work of The Nature Conservancy, without whom this project could not have happened.
Chip’s quest to save his local river led him to a team effort that has saved and will continue to save, millions of gallons of water for the Verde River.
“Seeing improved summer flow through Camp Verde is immensely rewarding,” said Chip. “Despite extreme drought conditions, the Verde River in Camp Verde has enough flow this summer to support farmers and recreationists.”
One of Arizona’s few remaining perennial rivers, the Verde, is home to an amazing diversity of wildlife. Nearly half of the state’s bald eagle nest territories are located along the river. Roughly 10 percent of Arizona’s rarest forest type—the species-rich Fremont Cottonwood/Goodding Willow habitat—can be found along its banks.
The upper Verde is still relatively remote and isolated. As is flows south, it winds its way through the beautiful and arid landscape southwest of Sedona, Arizona. Its flow provides a lush, green corridor of plants and is home to at least 270 species of birds, 94 species of mammals and 76 species of native amphibians and reptiles. Over 60 miles of the river is federally protected under the Wild & Scenic Act.
Yet the Verde River is in danger of running dry.
For the second year in a row, Forever Our Rivers provided a grant to Friends of the Verde River to help them remove giant reed (Arundo donax), along Oak Creek, which flows into the middle Verde from the east.
One of the fastest-growing terrestrial plants in the world, giant reed competes with native cottonwood and willow for moisture, suppressing the success of native seedlings. Giant reed’s stem and leaves contain a variety of nasty chemicals, rendering it unsuitable as food or nesting habitat for wildlife. It offers less shade than cottonwood and willows, contributing to higher water temperatures. And even worse, dense, woody stands of giant reed are very susceptible to high-intensity wildfire.
“Wildfire is typically rare along rivers. However, it is becoming more common around the state,” said Willie Sommers, invasive plant program coordinator of the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, who partners with Friends of the Verde. “Removing giant reed checks a lot of boxes—improved wildlife habitat, reduced risk of wildfire and improved access for recreation,” Sommers said.
Neighboring landowner Dean Bowen agrees. “We had a fire across the creek in Cornville that exploded to about 1,500 acres in a matter of three or four hours,” said Bowen. Shortly thereafter, he and his neighbors instituted a community evacuation call system, just in case.
Friends of the Verde collaborates with the department and Arizona Conservation Corps, Verde Earth Technologies and Conservation Legacy field crews. Together they monitor previously infested areas of the watershed and treat any resprouts, leveraging previous investments of $4.5 million and months of efforts on more than 10,500 riparian acres.
Forever Our Rivers funding will support treatments on 15 river miles of Oak Creek. “There is very limited water—and every drop is important,” said Tracy Stephens, program director for Friends of the Verde River. “There is no room for noxious plants.”
“Removal of Giant Reed” – Friends of the Verde River
Collaboration Creates Big Win for Rivers
Photo by Alex Cogbill @local_color_studio_gallery
River enthusiasts across Colorado celebrated National River’s month with an “Outstanding Waters” protection for the headwaters of Taylor River and lower Soap Creek, which feeds into Blue Mesa Reservoir.
The designation was awarded by the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission in June, following a rigorous three-year process. The Southwest Colorado Outstanding Waters Coalition put forth the proposal, in collaboration with local, state and national water conservationists.
An impressive total of 520 river miles in the Gunnison, Upper Dolores, San Juan, San Miguel and Animas watersheds were permanently protected.
The Outstanding Waters award is focused on water quality. Among other criteria, water must be of “exceptional recreational or ecological significance”. While downstream users benefit from the high-quality water, the designation does not affect their water rights.
More information can be found in this article published by the Gunnison Country Times.
Access to a free digital map of the South Platte River from Map the Xperience.
The map can lead you to golden cottonwood fall foliage, help you scout future adventures, or just introduce you to Colorado’s incredible South Platte River. SOL’s top-of-the-line paddling gear could get you out on an end-of-season adventure or ready to hit the water next spring. And don’t forget the holidays! Give the gift of time on the river while helping rivers stay healthy.
The donation minimum is $25, and the Promotion funs from September 22 through October 6, 2021.
Give through our donation webpage or send a check to Forever Our Rivers Foundation, PO Box 3492, Grand Junction, CO 81502. We’ll send you a receipt and all applicable promotion deals in a confirmation email.
Bring us along on your adventures by tagging @foreverourrivers and using the hashtags #gearforrivers #weareforrivers #hereforrivers.
Congratulations Shauna Holden!
High fives to Shauna Holden, who bested the competition in our fly counting contest to win our custom Abel Reel and SaraBella Fishing fly rod!
When we asked her where she would take her new setup she said, “I am stoked about getting out to fish the Tulpehocken Creek with my new rod and reel.”
If you want your own Forever Our Rivers rod, keep reading this newsletter! We’ll announce when it’s released for sale to the public.
Shauna is a Pennsylvania angler who understands the importance of healthy rivers, saying,
I reside in Pennsylvania where we are very lucky to have some amazing places to fish. Unfortunately due to pollution and climate change, many of our rivers and creeks are having a hard time sustaining fisheries.
Clean viable water is a right for all living things and organizations like Forever our Rivers are helping us be better custodians of the earth.
Activities ranged from facilitating a Youth Water Summit to river instruction with the 5th grade at North Fork School of Integrated Studies, trips to the Eureka Science Colorado River exhibit for students from Montrose and Delta Colorado, and helping 4th graders from Montrose School District participate in the Natural Resource Festival.
Friends of Youth and Nature definitely made the most of their grant award! We are so proud to partner with them to make a difference in river health, community connection, and access. As they put it,
Water – our most precious resource – is often taken for granted. With increasing pressure from climate change and cumulative drought conditions, learning about our local watersheds, how we use water in our daily lives, and how we can help conserve clean water are vital lessons in today’s world!
Now we need to figure out how to adapt. Many such decisions will be made at the local level. Some will be executed by river-focused nonprofits working on the ground. Our job is to help them succeed. We believe that communities are the best stewards of their rivers. That’s why we raise funds to support our nonprofit partners as they seek and implement solutions on their rivers.
The Eagle River Watershed Council is one such nonprofit. In response to this summer’s water shortage, they’re launching a drought mitigation program. It will raise awareness about the drought, water conservation methods, and water quality concerns driven by stormwater runoff and post-fire erosion. They’ll redouble efforts to alert local anglers of dangerously high water temperatures and plant shade-giving, water-cooling trees by the Eagle River.
We’re honored to lend a hand. We worked with SaraBella Fishing and Abel Reels to create a Forever Our Rivers fly rod and reel package, and we’re giving one away to help raise money for the effort.
Together, we can make a difference for our communities, for our fish, for our wildlife, for our rivers, and everyone downstream. It’s past time that we make every drop count.
Enter to win the SaraBella 9’ 5 weight medium-fast action custom graphite fly rod with metallic charcoal paint, hand wrapped deep blue, metallic gold, and white threads, a Colorado-harvested, hand lathed invasive Russian Olive reel seat attached to a custom-designed, high-end Abel Reel, and Flor-grade cork handle emblazoned with our simple mission, ‘Rivers Give, We Give Back.’
Work with Us!
We are searching for a driven and creative Executive Director to lead our movement, galvanizing customers, businesses, and nonprofits to come together to conserve and restore America’s rivers. The ideal candidate will demonstrate expertise in marketing (preferably cause-marketing), conservation finance, including long-term conservation fund growth, and an understanding of river ecology and restoration practices. They will also have deep business acumen, an understanding of the culture of prospective corporate partners, and an exceptional ability to cultivate in-person relationships. The position is remote with frequent travel expected to cultivate in-person relationships. Familiarity with and networks and relationships in the Southwest United States are preferred.
Forever Our Rivers is an equal opportunity employer.
In this episode, we sit down with Collin Ewing, manager of the McInnis Canyons, and Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Areas for the Bureau of Land Management. These public lands are stunning, featuring dramatic desert landscapes with towering red rock canyons and two beautiful sections of the river, the Ruby Horsethief section of the Colorado, and the lower Gunnison River near Grand Junction, Colorado.
As COVID-19 encourages people to get outside, the Bureau is working to manage the increased pressure on the landscape. We talk to Collin about how to recreate responsibly to preserve the wilderness experience for visitors and protect habitat as the crowds swell.
In 2016, the Bureau launched a permit system on Ruby-Horsethief. It helped preserve the area’s wilderness feel, protect the landscape from overuse, and raise funds to keep restrooms clean, build infrastructure like boat ramps, and restore habitat. The Bureau is currently working on a similar system for the Lower Gunnison River. Collin would love to hear your comments and suggestions.
Collin is also heading down the Grand Canyon this summer and walks us through his plan to mitigate Covid risks. These conversations will help you recreate responsibly on any public lands trip you’re planning this summer.
