ARIZONA'S SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICTS

Arizona's SOIL CONSERVATION Districts... It's a serious business... saving the food-producing areas for our Nation's future generations.

Glamour and romance in soil and water conservation? Ask any of the 176 Soil Conservation District supervisors in Arizona. You'll get a variety of answers but all pointing to a quiet satisfaction in knowing something worthwhile is being done to preserve and improve vital soil and water resources. It's a deadly serious business determining the best use of land and water to maintain and improve the standard of living for a growing population. The twenty-one-year history of Soil ConservationDistricts in Arizona is one of dedication by hard-working, unselfish men and women who believe in what they are doing. They are not looking for praise. The Arizona SCD story involves civic-minded people who have devoted much time to the benefit and welfare of their neighbors, community, state and nation. They have given freely and generously of their time. They have spent literally thousands of dollars of their own time and money to further the Soil Conservation District movement. What has been done is a significant contribution to the economy of the state.

Background

Last year on its fiftieth anniversary as a state, Arizona observed the twentieth anniversary of its first Soil Conservation District as well. This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of Arizona Territory. Next year 1964 we officially celebrate the Centennial of the establishment of the first Territorial Capital in Prescott. Arizona a land of contrasts. Climate ranging from subtropic temperatures near sea level at Yuma to

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS LEGEND

ARIZONA'S SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICTS OUR FUTURE SALVATION LIES IN THE WISE AND JUDICIOUS USE OF SOIL.

CANYON CREEK

INTRODUCING YOU TO A SMALL STREAM FULL OF FISHING AND SUMMER PLEASURE.

DOWN WHERE THE GRASSES GROW

BEAUTY IS ABOVE AND ALL AROUND US, BUT DON'T FORGET GRASSES BELOW YOU.

A DRINK FOR THE DEAD

A STRANGE TALE OF OLD ARIZONA-SO STRANGE AND WEIRD IT HAS TO BE TRUE.

PAUL FANNIN ARIZONA HIGHWAY COMMISSION

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS is published monthly by the Arizona Highway Department a few miles north of the confluence of the Gila and Salt in Arizona. Address: ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, Phoenix 9, Arizona. $4.00 per year in U.S. and possessions; $5.00 elsewhere; 50 cents each. Second Class Postage paid at Phoenix and at additional mailing offices under Act of March 3, 1879. Copyrighted, 1963, by the Arizona Highway Department.

Allow five weeks for change of address. Be sure to send in the old as well as the new address.

Let's Go Fishing

About this time of the year it is always fun to start examining the fishing tackle box and plan ahead to those delectable days when you have that rendezvous with a cool, chatty fishing stream in the high mountains. There you will hear the song of the gentle, summer breeze in the pine trees. There you will listen to the mountain stream, crystal clear and cold, making music as it tumbles over the polished rocks. There you will find mountain meadows dizzy with the color of summer flowers. There you will savor the smell of wood smoke, boiling coffee and frying bacon on the grill, and at night sense the unfathomable mystery of a million stars and if you are lucky the companionship of a friendly moon. Heaven and earth seem closer when you are in the high mountains.

This month we take you to a friendly and pleasant little stream-Canyon Creek-up in northern Gila County. Our guide for this enjoyable jaunt is Robert Whitaker, the type of sportsman-writer-photographer who loves to search out unusual places far from the beaten path.

Canyon Creek is just such a place. You have to rough it to get there, and when you get there you are on your own. No fancy accommodations (or, we should say, no accommodations), not even good roads! But you'll like Canyon Creek. It runs through some of the wildest country in the state and has about as many personalities as you can imagine in its sixty-mile journey from small springs under the Rim to the desert terrain where it joins the Salt.

You'll find the fishing good, the weather perfect, and the scenery sensational. We think you'll enjoy a vacation on Canyon Creek.

In another feature in this issue we bring you the story of Arizona's Soil Conservation Districts. It's quite a wonderful story-the story of many men and women working with many of our state and federal agencies with the goal of mind of best use of our water, best use and preservation of the soil for the greatest good of all of us. There is a message here for every American thinking only of what is good for America.... R.C.

FRONT COVER

"FALLS ON CANYON CREEK" BY ROBERT B. WHITAKER. This photo was taken along Canyon Creek in the Tonto National Forest about one mile below the lower boundary of the OW Ranch. Not many week-end fishermen reach this portion of Canyon Creek, since it is about a two-mile hike from the OW road. This is splendid trout water-deep pools, tumbling falls, fast water. The canyon narrows here after leaving the broad green meadows of the OW valley. Rolleiflex E2 camera; Ektachrome Pro; f.14 at 1/125th sec.; 3.5 Xenotar lens; June; bright sun, puffy clouds; ASA rating 64.

COLOR CLASSICS FROM ARIZONA HIGHWAYS THIS ISSUE

35mmm. slides in 2" mounts, 1 to 15 slides, 40c each; 16 to 49 slides, 35c each; 50 or more, 3 for $1.00. Catalog of previous slides issued available on request. Address: ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, Phoenix 9, Arizona.

CRK-1 Falls on Canyon Creek, cov. 1; WH-53 Rich Grazing Range, cov. 2; CRK-2 Canyon Creek near Red Lake Road, cov. 3; CRK-3 Inviting Pool on Lower Canyon Creek, cov. 4; CRK-4 Where Canyon Creek is Born, p. 17; CRK-5 Near Headwaters of Canyon Creek, p. 18; CRK-6 Canyon Creek in OW Valley, p. 19; CRK-7 View of OW Valley, p. 19; CRK-8 Canyon Creek Above OW Ranch, center spread; CRK-9 Along Canyon Creek, p. 22; CRK-10 Canyon Creek at Reservation Line, p. 22; CRK-11 Canyon Creek Near Lost Tank Ridge Road, p. 23; CRK-12 Beaver Dam on Canyon Creek, p. 23; CRK-13 Where Canyon Creek Meets the Salt, p. 24.

Continued from page one cold, alpine-like readings at 12,000 feet elevations in the north. Annual precipitation varies from three and onehalf inches on the desert to thirty inches in the mountains.

Land in Arizona is divided into the following categories: 67,500,000 acres of rangeland; 1,500,000 acres of farmland; 500,000 acres in cities and built-up areas; 3,100,000 acres of wildlife land and unused desert; and 88,000 acres of cemeteries, roads, airports, mines and miscellaneous.

Modern conservation farming and ranching means wise and intelligent use of soil and water resources to continually provide for Arizona's ever-expanding population, a population that has trebled in twenty years from 500,000 in 1942 to 1,500,000 in 1962, and is still growing. Urban population has increased in the same period from 175,000 to a million and rural population from 325,000 to 400,000. The city of Phoenix has grown from 65,000 to half a million. Already it's having effect upon the land. Arizona districts, as sounding boards, will provide a common-meeting ground for all interested in land use. Experience and first-hand knowledge, which help to meet this ever-increasing pressure for land and water, will gain in importance as time goes on. Soil Conservation Districts blanket the nation, covering about ninety-three percent of the farms and ranches and more than ninety-six percent of the farm and ranch land in the United States.

What Are Soil Conservation Districts?

Legally constituted units of state government, districts are not branches of any Federal department. They are responsible for soil and water conservation within their territories, much as counties are responsible for roads, or school districts for education.

Arizona Districts are established in accordance with the state soil conservation district law, passed in March, 1941, which restricted districts to farmland.

Revision in 1954 allowed districts to include rangeland, thereby opening up new opportunities which ranchers had long awaited.

Districts are initiated by petition signed by twentyfive landowners. A public hearing determines the need for the district and gives those interested an opportunity to express themselves. If the outcome of the hearing is favorable, a referendum is submitted to a vote of landowners within the proposed boundaries.

Soil Conservation Districts are administered by supervisors who are elected by their friends and neighbors and here in Arizona they serve without pay or expense to the state. Most states appropriate money for direct district administrative use, however.

Districts have no power to tax or issue bonds and are not tax-supported. So, as money is required to operate any organization, Arizona Districts figure out ways and means of raising money for operating expenses. These include direct contributions and owning equipment which is rented to cooperating farmers and ranchers.

Districts are concerned with making the best use of land and water through voluntary development of sound conservation farming and ranching practices, financed by the individual landowner. In general, they are authorized to do everything needed for conservation of soil and water resources, subject to state laws affecting the use of water.

Headwaters, Oak Creek, near Flagstaff-well-managed watersheds essential for irrigation users Early Steps in Conservation

Eight SCD's were organized in the first year of the State Districts Law. On February 27, 1942, certificates of organization were issued to Bridgeport, Camp Verde, San Francisco Peaks, Navajo County, Duncan Valley and Gila Valley. Next, Apache, March 2, and San Simon, March 20.

Early conservation practices carried out by districts were mostly land leveling, pasture planting, crop rotation, crop residue use, streambank protection and terracing. Ditch lining and work on range land came later.

Fifty-three SCD's have been organized in Arizona. As conditions changed, many districts felt they could do a better job through consolidation. Now there are forty, including two all-Indian districts at San Carlos and Parker. Over 56,000,000 acres or about seventy-seven percent of the State's 72,688,000 acres are now legally within Soil Conservation Districts.

Conservation Problems

The big job ahead: Reach the ninety percent of the population not on farms and ranches those in villages, towns, cities and suburbs-to let them know what is being done and how they can help. Total conservation cannot be done alone by those who live on and work the land. The concerted efforts of all are required.

Another problem: Find a happy meeting ground between the upstream users range, timber, wildlife, recreational and the downstream users irrigation farmers, cities, industries. Through efficient water management and utilization, more water can be made available to all.

Districts help to generate a better understanding between upstream and downstream users by round-table discussions and field tours. The SCD law and the state water code are specific as to what can and cannot be done.Soil Conservation Districts endorse the idea that landowners and operators are responsible for soil and water conservation on their land. These people have demonstrated they will accept responsibility if fully informed and provided with assistance to supplement their own knowledge and resources. But districts feel the non-farm public also should do its part in helping promote the conservation program.

Basic Concepts

Conservation farmers and ranchers are often referred to as stewards of the land people who have been given responsibility to manage land which belongs to God. Humans retain title to a piece of land only for a life time, a comparatively short period. The good steward acknowl-edges this responsibility as a tr ust and a privilege that demands faithfulness.

Teamwork

The Soil Conservation District Law is administered in Arizona by the Soil Conservation Division, State Land Department, which consists of the director and his secretary.

In at least two instances, the State Land Department has arranged for state contributions of funds to bring in the U. S. Geological Survey agency to conduct a ground water survey requested by Districts.

There are nine million acres of state-owned land within Districts. Many district supervisors believe that state government has an obligation to help finance conservation measures on these lands. They also feel that the State should establish management guidelines providing for sustained productivity on state lands.

Federal agencies administer and assist in several programs that give help to individuals and groups of farmers and ranchers in developing and executing systems of land use in Soil Conservation Districts.

The Soil Conservation Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture furnishes technical assistance to cooperators under written agreement with the district - professional, on-site help to farmers and ranchers in developing and carrying out conservation programs on state-leased and privately-owned lands.

Educational activities to further the cause of conservation are performed by the State Extension Service through its county agents and by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for Indians.

To speed up conservation work, credit is furnished by the Farmers Home Administration, Federal Land Banks, and private lending agencies.

The Agricultural Conservation Program Service shares the cost of certain conservation practices - usually up to fifty percent-on jobs that could not have been completely performed without direct public assistance.

Public lands constitute a major factor in the over-all conservation picture in Arizona. Most of the 31,100,000 acres of federally-owned land within the state is included in districts. Agencies administering this land, particularly the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, generally have agreements with districts to carry out the government's share of conservation work. Other land ownership: Indian, 19,600,000; state, 11,000,000; and private, 10,988,000.

The complex land ownership pattern in Arizona of federal, state and privately-owned makes conservation and development very difficult unless plans for grazing management and installation of improvements are carefully coordinated across ownership boundaries.

Program On the Land

Districts throughout the state are furnished leadership and guidance in the National Cooperative Soil Survey being conducted by the Soil Conservation Service, Forest Service, and the University of Arizona.

Soil surveys show kind, texture, depth, water-holding capacity, and other outstanding and limiting features. This information, which is an inventory of soil resources of the farm or ranch, is available to land owners for immediate use in conservation planning.

Professionally-trained conservationists who are assigned to assist cooperating farmers and ranchers include agronomists, range management specialists, engineers, soil scientists and others.

Conservation planning by farmers and ranchers results in a sound soil and water conservation program which coordinates physical, economic and human resources of the farm or ranch toward goals to meet long-time needs of the land. The conservation plan is the product blended from knowledge and experience of the farmer or rancher And the skill of the professional soil conservationist. Soil survey data from many sources governmental agencies, experiment stations, research institutions, state universities, and experience of progressive farmers and ranchersfurnish landowner and technician information to develop conservation plans. Problems are studied on the ground and alternate solutions are discussed. Weighing anticipated results, desires of the landowner and economic returns, the farmer or rancher voluntarily decides what to do in each case. The result is his decision, his plan.

A combination of conservation practices, based on inherent qualities and needs of the soil, is adapted to each field and pasture to make the best use of resources and insure stability of the land.

Grass Management

To maintain or improve a range, the rancher thinks of his grass as a crop to be cared for as a farmer cares for a planted one. His job is to see that the desired species are maintained and the maximum amount is produced and harvested consistent with good management in accordance with soil, climate and elevation. A rancher, interested in good management, gives his grass first consideration. He knows if he abuses the plants, the range will deteriorate, produce less and cause a loss in income, not only now, but for future generations as well.

Range Seeding

There are 67,500,000 acres of rangeland including 3,180,000 acres of commercial timber and 14,900,000 acres in juniper and piñon woodland. It is all grazed.

Range reseeding is just getting under way in Arizona. Successes are exceptions rather than the rule. Districts, federal agencies and the University of Arizona have worked hard on this problem.

African lovegrasses do fairly well in warmer parts of the state and wheatgrasses can be seeded successfully in the mountain areas. However, a solution has not been found for the country in between, where piñon and juniper predominate.

The Conservation Needs Inventory conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture, University of Arizona, and Districts on state and privately-owned lands and completed in 1961-shows that seven and one-quarter million acres of poor range could be improved through seeding. Of this, two million acres will require brush control first. It is known how to seed about three million acres of this, but for the remaining acres, adaptable species must be found and suitable equipment devised to do the job. A mammoth project!

Irrigation Efficiency

In Arizona, where there is more good, arable land than there is water to irrigate it, all known methods must be used to make maximum efficient use of irrigation water. Research and experience have made great strides along these lines during the past two decades.

All of the farmland is irrigated except about 80,000 dry farm land in Northern Arizona. Farmers are conscious of the importance of water and many are now irrigating, not by the calendar, but by soil and plant needs. Steps are being taken to reduce the loss of water from the source to the farms.

Evolution in Land Leveling

The amazing story of land leveling began a generation ago when farmers generally felt that there was no need for leveling if water could be gotten over a field. Slowly, they learned that water would go farther and crop production would be greater if fields were on uniform grades-no ups and downs.

Steeper grades were gradually reduced until dead-level designs were reached. Presently, the highest-type of leveling, for which most farmers are shooting, puts entire fields or borders to dead level commonly called basin leveling, the ultimate in making most-efficient use of scarce and expensive irrigation water. By planning ahead and examining the moisture content of the soil, the farmer can turn in just the right amount to wet the soil properly to the correct depth. Thus, water is not lost through deep percolation or by running off the field as waste. About the same dramatic and highly-significant story of progress can be told of concrete ditch-lining, another water-saving medium. This once was a back-breaking, time-consuming, hand-labor job. Scientific experimentation and vision of farmers who wanted to lighten the

leveling, the ultimate in making most-efficient use of scarce and expensive irrigation water. By planning ahead and examining the moisture content of the soil, the farmer can turn in just the right amount to wet the soil properly to the correct depth. Thus, water is not lost through deep percolation or by running off the field as waste. About the same dramatic and highly-significant story of progress can be told of concrete ditch-lining, another water-saving medium. This once was a back-breaking, time-consuming, hand-labor job. Scientific experimentation and vision of farmers who wanted to lighten the Flood Prevention The White Tanks Flood Prevention project, constructed early in 1954, was the first of its kind in the United States-a pilot project in which the Agua Fria SCD, Maricopa County, Army Engineers, Soil Conservation Service, local people and firms pooled resources to protect valuable property. Devastating floods used to roar out of the White Tanks Mountains west of Phoenix. This project has proven to be an outstanding example of rural area development. It is also the realization of a dream that began as early as the 1920's. The project includes two flood retarding dams. Army engineers subsequently completed the nine-mile McMicken Dam in 1956 as part of this overall watershed operation. Following successful completion of this and other pilot projects throughout the country, the Small Watershed Protection Program Public Law 566 was passed in August, 1954, based on the premise that to keep flood damage to a minimum it is necessary to treat all of the watershed. This treatment provides for scientifically-developed plans and designs based upon what is needed to prevent future damaging floods. It may include flood-water retarding structures, conservation land treatment, irrigation system improvement, wildlife features and provision for recreational use.

Since Arizona SCD's do not have authority to tax, build or maintain structures, watershed projects must be sponsored by local agencies with this authority such as counties, cities, irrigation districts and flood control districts. The governor's office decides whether and when these projects should be constructed. In every instance where an application has been made, the local SCD supervisors have encouraged the project and pitched right in to get things organized and going. They have committed themselves to carry out the land treatment phases of the program.

Close collaboration between downstream and upstream users is needed to make certain all water belonging to downstream users is turned loose to serve these people. Consequent airing of needs and rights is bringing about a healthy feeling and better understanding. Users are learning each other's problems and how to give and take so all will benefit to the maximum.

Small watershed projects, like Soil Conservation Districts, are entirely governed by the wants and needs of local people. They are not federal projects, although the government makes technical and financial assistance available within the limits of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act after the people decide what they need.

This work is just getting underway in Arizona. Construction on a four million dollar project began in 1961 near Safford and will be finished next year. Three additional projects have been approved: two in Pinal County and one in Mohave County. Construction will start on these this fall. Planning and preliminary investigations are being made in Cochise and Maricopa Counties on seven watersheds.

Urban Invasion

Land means many things to many people: To some, a home; to others, a place to earn a living; and to still others, an area for recreation, hunting and fishing.

Land is limited and expensive; therefore, its use is fundamental to the democratic system as well as to orderly conservation and wise use of soil and water. Land does not have to be exploited; it can be used in full harmony with public interest and capabilities of the land.

Land uses in sharp competition with one another further complicate an already-complex relationship. The solution: Closer cooperation between groups of farmers and ranchers, county, city and other planning organizations and more attentiveness by urban people to what is happening on farm and ranch land surrounding cities.

In this fast-moving modern age of space exploration, population explosion, atomic mysteries and high cost-ofliving, we must not forget the fundamentals of conservation that underlie good land use. These include use of basic facts about soil, water, plants and people, and the inter-relationship between them as a basis for land and water management.

Conference of Soil Conservation officials and farmers (Eden, Arizona)

They relate to the need for proper combinations of treatments and uses encompassing the sciences of soil, agronomy, forestry, range ecology, biology, engineering and economics. These are interwoven into what we recognize today as soil and water conservation technology.

They include principles of human interests and needs and recognition that all people who use the land are the key to its future.

Conservation, it has been shown: Improves economic conditions in the general area.

Protects and improves the tax base.

Reduces sediments to reservoirs, thus prolonging their storage use for irrigation, domestic, industrial and other uses.

Improves the habitat for fish in streams by reduction of sediment.

Recognizes that livestock watering facilities developed for range management also supply watering places for wildlife. Many stock tanks are also stocked with fish providing for fishing.

Reduces the cost of production of agricultural products, thereby favorably affecting prices to consumers.

It is estimated that there are approximately 60,000 acres devoted to houses and housing projects in the Salt River Valley near Phoenix. There are possibly half that many at Tucson, with proportionate amounts in other cities and towns throughout the states.

University of Arizona water scientists estimate that general farming in the state requires five to six acre-feet of irrigation water a year, or 6,900,000 annually. A subdivision with homes, industry, etc., requires an average of about 2.6 acre feet per unit about half of what farming requires or 300,000 acre feet annually in Arizona. Even though this is a saving of water which can be used elsewhere, many regret that so much of the best irrigated farm land is being covered with concrete, brick and asphalt-lost for crop production. In fifty to one hundred years this good land may be sorely needed for agriculture.

What Has Been Done on State and Privately-Owned Lands?

Soil surveys, basic to sound conservation planning and application, have been made on more than four million acres of farm and range land. This type of information is essential to locate problems and determine solutions.

In two decades, 3300 farm conservation plans have been developed, covering 600,000 acres mostly irrigated.

Arizona has 4500 miles of concrete-lined ditches. Other water conservation practices include: 700,000 acres of land leveling; 385,000 acres of improved irrigation water management; and 4500 miles of dirt field ditches relocated on nonerosive grades. In addition, districts furnished assistance in the installation of forty sprinkler systems, 1100 overnight storage reservoirs for conservation of irrigation water, and 400 miles of permanent irrigation pipe lines.

Management practices on farm land total one-half million acres of crop rotation for improvement of soil structure; 300,000 acres of crop residue management to help prevent wind erosion and to add humus to the soil; 20,000 acres of pasture planted primarily on irrigated land and 364 fish ponds built and stocked to add to the family nutrition and provide recreation. Wildlife area development to improve quail and duck hunting was accomplished on 40,000 acres, District accomplishments on state and privately-owned range land since 1954 are impressive. 17,000 acres were seeded; 665,000 acres were grazed under a scientifically-developed rotation-deferred grazing plan; 4000 stock water units were built including wells, tanks, springs and troughs, and 216 grass management plans to improve range resources have been developed on ranches extending over four million acres.

Economic Significance

Since work in Arizona's Soil Conservation Districts started late in 1942, landowners, cooperating with districts, have spent approximately 120 million dollars of their own money on conservation practices. This is an average of about five million a year. The best estimate is that the conservation job on cultivated land is about half completed. Another 100 million dollars of landowners' money will be required to finish this work. The conservation job on range and watershed lands of the state accomplished since 1954 shows the work is well under way. The remaining needs of these lands are great and undetermined. It is too early to estimate what the job will cost or how long it will take.

Objectives Abead in Arizona Districts

Our objectives are to work towards completion of the conservation job on all cultivated lands and furnish effective leadership on irrigation water research to obtain maximum benefits from the limited supply. We hope to put more emphasis on range conservation work. To do this will require concerted effort to finish the National Cooperative Soil Survey so basic information will be available for use in planning and application. With these facts we can make a big dent in the conservation work needed on range and watershed lands. The history of man is a story of hungry people looking for food. Those who control the food-producing areas will control the life of man. That is why we are concerned. Soil, as once believed, is not indestructible.