Page 2 - Wood Plenty, Grass Good, Water None

Shaw, Harley G. 2006. Wood plenty, grass good, water none: Vegetation changes in Arizona's upper Verde River watershed from 1850 to 1997. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS- GTR-177.FortCollins,CO:U.S.DepartmentofAgriculture,ForestService,RockyMountain Research Station. 50 p.
Abstract— Thepurposeofthisstudywastocomparecurrentwoodlanddensityanddistribution in and around the dry upper Verde River watershed in northwestern Arizona with conditions priortoAnglo settlement. Historic conditions were assessed using early photographs and early diaries and reports. The expedition led by Amiel Weeks Whipple was retraced and areas de scribedin1854comparedwiththepresent.DiariesandreportsofmembersoftheSitgreaves (1851) and Ives (1858) expeditions, Francis Aubry (1857), Edward Beale, John Marion (1870), and Edgar Mearns were also used to assess presettlement woodland conditions. Photographs from 1867, 1871, 1910, and 1917 were repeated between 1995 and 1999. Based upon these early sources, Ihypothesize that the aerial distribution of woodlands have not changed greatly since 1851 ,although densities within m a n y stands have increased. Iconclude that at least three dense stands of woodland of unknown extent existed in the study area as early as 1851 .
Key words: Vegetation history, woodlands, juniper, Topographical Engineers, Army Explorations, Verde River watershed, Arizona, Whipple, Sitgreaves, Ives, Mearns
The Author
HarleyG.Shaw isaretiredwildliferesearchbiologist.HecompletedaB.S.inWildlifeManagement attheUniversityofArizonaandanM.S.inWildlifeManagementattheUniversityofIdaho. He worked forArizona Game and Fish Department for27 years.
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