|
Bill would designate Ariz.'s Fossil Creek as wild and scenic |
|
|
|
|
Arizona's Fossil Creek would gain environmental protection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act under legislation introduced this week by Arizona Republican lawmakers.
H.R. 199, introduced by Sen. John McCain and Rep. Rick Renzi and cosponsored by Sen. Jon Kyl, would designate Fossil Creek as a "wild and scenic river" -- a classification that would provide the creek's stream flow with legal protections to prevent it from being dammed or otherwise threatened in the future.
"Fossil Creek is a unique Arizona treasure, and would benefit greatly from the protection and recognition offered through Wild and Scenic designation," McCain said in a statement.
Located in Arizona's Mogollon Rim country, the spring-fed stream was virtually dried out due to an upstream diversion dam. The Arizona Public Service in 1908 diverted the water for the generation of electricity to power central Arizona mining operations and the city of Phoenix. The dam was decommissioned in 2005.
According to American Rivers, the creek will provide habitat for several very rare desert fish species. The legislation is supported by the Yavapai-Apache Tribe, which had relied on the watershed for hunting, gathering and spiritual traditional sites.
American Rivers praised the the lawmakers for being the first members of Congress this year to meet its "40x40 Challenge," -- a campaign announced last year to designate 40 new "wild rivers" by the 40th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 2008.
The "40x40 Challenge" goal is to convince people to call lawmakers and nominate rivers. Designations of wild and scenic rivers require congressional action on a case-by-case basis. Such designations block activities that would damage water quality.
There are currently 165 rivers comprising 11,358 river miles in the wild and scenic river system, but at least 3,400 other rivers meet criteria for designation under the law, the group said. Nine rivers have been designated in the past five years.
 |
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 17 October 2007 )
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed